Windmills to be auctioned

(ENMN) PORTALES - While the collection of windmills at the Roosevelt County Fairgrounds is an eye-catching sight, maintaining them has become an increasing burden on the county over the past few years.
The Roosevelt County Board of Commissioners took action during their regular meeting Tuesday morning to allow for a public auction to dispose of 45 of the 70 windmills from the fairground's collection. Continued

The Mathematical Windmill

 

(Wikipedia) The Aermotor Windmill Company is an American manufacturer of wind-powered water pumps. The widespread use of their distinctive wind pumps on ranches throughout the arid plains and deserts of the United States has made their design a quintessential image of the American West.
... The first Aermotor was sold in 1888, with 24 windmills in total being sold in the first year. Aermotor soon became a strong competitor among its contemporaries selling over 20,000 of its windmills by 1892. Over the next 30 years Aermotor grew and expanded, introducing accessories and variants on "the mathematical windmill." Continued

Tank, car

Old House 128

Trementina, New Mexico

Old House 125

Trementina, New Mexico

The Challenge Timken Roller Bearing Windmill

It's rare to see an old windmill still attached to its original reservoir.
You can always spot a Challenge Timken model by the wedge shaped box behind the blades.

Old House 94

This house seems to have an indoor pool, or perhaps,
indoor cattle. It's in Hassell, New Mexico.

Aermotor Windmills

(Wikipedia) The Aermotor Windmill Company is an American manufacturer of wind-powered water pumps. The widespread use of their distinctive wind pumps on ranches throughout the arid plains and deserts of the United States has made their design a quintessential image of the American West.
... The first Aermotor was sold in 1888, with 24 windmills in total being sold in the first year. Aermotor soon became a strong competitor among its contemporaries selling over 20,000 of its windmills by 1892. Over the next 30 years Aermotor grew and expanded, introducing accessories and variants on "the mathematical windmill." Continued

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Quay, NM

Old House 58

Old House 51

Taiban, NM

The Deadliest Enemy

Photograph shows cattle on the JA Ranch on the Llano Estacado (staked plains) in the Texas panhandle. In the background are a ranch house, two windmills, corrals and a barn. c1904 (Library of Congress)

(True West Magazine) To the uninitiated in the Old West, the ranching business centered on cattle, but in reality, the livestock trade focused on grass and water, so much so that droughts always threatened the success of the Cattle Kingdom. Continued

Decisions, decisions ...

ENMU is just a small piece of Portales’ diverse attractions

(Albuquerque Journal) Some who have never visited might think that there’s not much more to Portales than Eastern New Mexico University.
And although a significant number of the cultural and historical attractions are connected to the university, there are places to visit in the area that are equally attractive. Continued

Old House 27

On the road between Fort Sumner and Clovis

Melrose

Between the prairie and sky, a thin layer of town, pinned down by trees.

Old House 19

 

I'm not sure if this is a house or not. Whatever it is, it's near McAlister, NM.

Old House 10

 

 

Just outside Las Vegas, New Mexico.

150 Years Ago Today: The Homestead Act

(Library of Congress) President Abraham Lincoln signed the Homestead Act on May 20, 1862. The act provided settlers with 160 acres of surveyed public land after payment of a filing fee and five years of continuous residence. Designed to spur Western migration, the Homestead Act culminated a twenty-year battle to distribute public lands to citizens willing to farm. Concerned that free land would lower property values and reduce the cheap labor supply, Northern businessmen opposed the act. Unlikely allies, Southerners feared homesteaders would add their voices to the call for abolition of slavery. With Southerners out of the picture in 1862, the legislation finally passed. Continued

Photo: My great-grandparents' homestead near Tucumcari, New Mexico, circa 1905.

Windmill