Ghost hunt of Loma Parda, NM

Investigation Report

Location: Loma Parda, New Mexico
Date: 08 August 2001
Weather Conditions: Mostly Cloudy, rain
Humidity: 65%
Geomagnetic Storm Activity: Unsettled
Temperature: 82
Number of Photos taken: 46
Number with possible targets: 2
Average EM Readings: 8mg
Average M fields Readings: 2 nt
Average E Field Readings: 1 vpm
Cold Spots detected: None
Hot Spots Detected: None
Olfactory Phenomena: None
Visual Phenomena: None
Type of Investigation: Ghost Hunt / Documentary

Location Description and History

Road to Loma Parda

The road into Loma Parda

In 1850, Lieutenant Colonel E. V. Sumner took his first look at the U.S. troops stationed in Santa Fe and the temptations offered to soldiers there.

He immediately determined to remove them from "that sink of vice and extravagance" by establishing forts only in remote areas.
The plains near La Junta seemed a likely spot since the Santa Fe Trail came across there from Independence, Missouri. And, thankfully, no large towns could deter the soldiers from their duties. Loma Parda (Grey Hill), a small fanning community six miles away, was the closest town.

Soldiers didn't need a town, however, to bring them some of the delights that had been available in Santa Fe. Hardly had Fort Union been completed in 1851 when a group of prostitutes established
their trade in nearby caves.

A Captain Sykes ended the sinful practice by capturing the women and shaving their heads; the caves now are a part of Cafion de Las Pelones, Baldwomen's Canyon.

But enterprising merchants in Loma Parda realized that what caves could provide, houses could provide better--or at least in more comfort. The town became what is called a "blow off' town, where the soldiers would go to gamble, dance, drink, and carouse with women. An officer named Hollister dubbed the place "a sodom," allowing Ralph Looney, in Haunted Highways, to make a memorable biblical pun by calling Loma Parda "Sodom on the Mora."

The Mora River did indeed run freely near Loma Parda, but it was Loma Lightning, a vicious whisky, that ran freely through the town. Hollister complained that the fort's guardhouse and hospital were filled with men who met up with the Lightning. Julian Baca's dance hall featured live music twenty four hours a day, and the thriving bordellos gave an ironic meaning to the name of the fort.

Commanding officers tried various ploys to keep soldiers away, usually by making the town strictly off limits. The most ingenious idea considered was to lease the whole town and then destroy it. But by 1872 Loma Parda had become a town of over four hundred, with its own post office. There was at least one establishment, the McMartin brothers' mercantile, that did legitimate business with the fort itself. Mainly, however, the offerings of the town were meant for the wayward soldiers. In addition to the brothels and bars were pool halls and dance halls that served a variety of libations, even champagne. Wagon service to the fort was available for one dollar per round trip, but that was far too expensive for the average soldier.

Saloon

Julian Baca's Dance Hall and Saloon

Two stories will serve to illustrate the violence and rowdiness of Loma Parda. One night in 1882 a soldier named James Gray was murdered in town. His friends at Fort Union went AWOL
dressed as cowboys and attended a dance at Loma Parda. By infiltrating and asking the right questions, they ascertained the murderer, "invited" him outside, and hanged him.

Then there was James Lafer's visit in 1888. He rode into town, hauled a woman up into the saddle with him by dragging her across his horse, and rode right into a saloon. When his horse would not drink any liquor, he summarily shot it in the head, grabbed the woman, and exited, leaving the horse dead on the barroom floor. Many other anecdotes exist about Loma Parda, the best in Lloney's book and in a pamphlet called The Loma Parda Story by E Stanley.

When the importance of Fort Union began to fade, so did Loma Parda. The post once lasted until 1900, or nine years after the fort was abandoned. A few families kept farming in the area, but by World War II it had been abandoned entirely. The only bridge into town washed away in 1948 and has never been replaced. A footbridge now provides access to the town.

Reported Phenomena

Shadowy figures have been seen roaming about the town ruins at dusk by tourists and locals. The stories here vary. Many say that the old townsite is haunted by the spirits of prostitutes who come down from Cafion de Las Pelones. Other reports claim that the ghosts are lost souls who lost their lives in the town sometime during its violent past.

The Investigation

We arrived just before dusk after almost canceling the ghost hunt because of rain. Fortunately, the storms had moved off to the north and there were only a few sprinkles when we arrived.

We parked in the designated area and crossed a small footbridge to gain access to the site. We moved north, investigating the ruins from the road. Lightening in the area often triggered our equipment, so our readings have a possibility of being natural sources. The strangest reading we picked up was near Baca's saloon. The reading was 6 milligauss that held steady for 12 seconds.

Due to the storms, we were limited on the type of detectors we could use and eventually decided to just take photographs of the area.

Photographs

Click on the thumbnails to view the larger image

Initial Conclusions

The most interesting image is thumbnailed on the left. There are a variety of opinions on what the object in the photo is and if it is a ghost or not. On the skeptical side, the "figure" in the photograph may be nothing more than a residual charge of the camera's CCD, caused by taking the previous photograph during a lightning flash.

Since no EM measurements were obtained while the photograph was being taken, the image is inconclusive as any form of data.

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