D e s e r t E x p o s u r e
September 2009
High-Tech Hideaway
A solar-powered oasis, Georgetown Cabins is bringing some of the energy back to a mining ghost town.
By Pat Young
If former inhabitants could see Georgetown today, they wouldn't recognize the high-tech, innovative community called Georgetown Cabins that has sprung up overlooking the original townsite. (Maybe some of them do visit — the Georgetown Cemetery is only a mile down the road.)
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The Lindauer cabin, named after a
prominent Georgetown mercantile owner in the town's heyday. |
Once a thriving silver-mining community of "1,200 hardy folk," east of Silver City and north of the Santa Rita mine, Georgetown declined in the 1890s. It left behind only a few foundations and mine shafts tucked in the hills on Georgetown Road to tell its story.
A traveler near the turn of that century commented in an article, "It was sad to see the once bustling silver town quiet." The writer noted that maybe the town could be given another chance to prosper as a resort for people to enjoy.
Along came Jon and Susie Eickhoff to fulfill that prophecy, 100 years later. He has a mechanical engineering degree. She has a PhD in industrial organizational psychology. They owned a fast-track computer engineering service company in Michigan that was once featured in Fortune magazine, but when Jon had a heart attack in 1996, their lives changed.
Jon attributes the "better business skills" to his wife, who began running the company. To keep his engineer's mind busy, he built an amusement park for the employees' kids called "Susieville." After a few years they started migrating occasionally to New Mexico's sunshine, working remotely from their laptops.
Jon recalls that one day they woke up and said, "What are we waiting for?" The Eickhoffs sold the business and moved to Silver City eight years ago. Then they told their real estate agent, Tim Donovan, that they also wanted a little getaway spot bordering the forest. He showed them an historic 10-acre parcel on Georgetown Road. After wading through haphazard old surveys with "next to the fencepost" language and old mining claims, they purchased the property in 2007.
Susie says they discovered that many people come out to the Georgetown area for recreation or to search the Georgetown Cemetery for family histories. They decided to do something with their newly purchased property that others could enjoy, too, and that's when they initiated "another creative outlet" for their skills.
Relaxing in the first of three cabins built so far (they "test" each cabin with a stay themselves), the down-to-earth couple talk about their plans. They also talk about the difficult task of collecting history on a town that basically disappeared before the territory became a state, making records almost nonexistent. But memories live on, and a lot of locals have shared family stories and bigger-than-life legends with the Eickhoffs. (Much of the history and other information gathered for their project is available online at georgetowncabins.com.)
Georgetown was named in 1877 by John Magruder in memory of his brother George, who died in a mining accident. The Magruders' mining claim became the townsite. The historic town was laid out in a "V" shape, with a "better side," a "bawdy side" and a business district in the middle. The parcel purchased by the Eickhoffs was the site of the McGregor Mine, and in fact they purchased the property from McGregor descendants.
The first cabin they built is named the Jolly-McGregor after Malcolm McGregor, miner and prominent Grant County citizen. It features Southwest furnishings and decor, right down to the chile ristra hanging on the wall.
The second cabin is called the Lindauer after a prominent Georgetown mercantile owner, Sigmund Lindauer, who kept a book of IOUs for residents who couldn't afford to pay. (Stroll down the historic storefronts at the Deming Museum and you will discover a likeness of the haberdashery he eventually owned in Deming.) This board-and-batten cabin has a western theme to it.
The third completed cabin, a Victorian cottage, is named Storz after John M. Storz, butcher and livery stable owner. Solid ash flooring and cabinets with coordinating floral, stripe and damask wallpaper give the cabin a feeling right out of the last century.
A fourth cabin under construction will be named after Judge James A. Lucas, who had a reputation for the same "frontier justice" that Judge Roy Bean was famous for. The fifth cabin will be named for mule skinner-turned-miner Stanton S. Brannin, and the sixth cabin will be called the Ailman, a name familiar to anyone in the Silver City area. Ailman was the discoverer and owner of the Naiad Queen, the richest silver producing mine in the area. Ailman later opened a banking operation in Silver City, and his historic red brick home now houses the Silver City Museum.
All six high-efficiency cabins feature similar one-bedroom, open space floor plans with kitchens, gas fireplaces, high-definition televisions with DVD, wi-fi, private decks with forever views and gas barbeques. All are furnished right down to the plush robes sporting Georgetown Cabin logos that hang in the closets.
This "prototype community," as Jon describes it, is totally off the grid and eco-friendly. A large solar system as well as LP gas and water systems are shared by all of the cabins.
Driving to this scenic spot from the Mimbres Valley, winding through the Gila National Forest with the Gila Wilderness and Black Range as a backdrop, it seems an anomaly to suddenly come upon this little community of cabins studding the hillside above the road. It is even a bigger surprise to enter the property by driving past the huge, high-tech solar panel array.
A colorful history (Billy the Kid was said to hide out here, and Miss Kitty from the TV series "Gunsmoke" was said to have been fashioned after one shady local named Lottie Deno) plus a serene setting only 18 miles from Silver City give the Georgetown Cabins a unique character.
One guest, a retired geologist, says, "This place offers everything. . . solitude, wildlife, views and rocks." Another guest says the cabins reflect "engineering excellence." Yet another guest sums up the Georgetown Cabins by saying, "If we build a cabin someday, we would love it to be like this."
Georgetown Cabins, 104 Georgetown Road, PO Box 590, Silver City, NM 88062, 534-4529, georgetowncabins.com
Pat Young is a retired journalist who lives in the mountains near San Lorenzo.
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