Virden, New Mexico

Virden is a small village in northern Hidalgo County, New Mexico, on the north bank of the Gila River.

White settlers also began arriving in the valley during the 1870s. All of these earliest arrivals, both Hispanic and Anglo, were brave men and women, as the surrounding areas were still intermittently occupied by native Apache warriors, and confrontations were not unusual. Some families homesteaded and established farms along the river, while others developed ranches by accessing sections of the river and springs in the surrounding canyons and hills.

A Methodist church, also used as a school, was built on 40 acres of land donated by A.C. Windham, an early rancher in the area. Reverend Hackett, the Methodist minister, was also the school teacher. Those 40 acres became the future townsite of Richmond and what is now Virden. The Richmond name was a nod to the Richmond Mining Company, which had mining interests in the surrounding hills, particularly north of the Gila River Valley.

In 1910, Mormon colonists living in the Mexican states of Chihuahua and Sonora found themselves caught in the middle of the battles of the Mexican Revolution, and soon found it necessary to relocate to the United States for safety. Those refugees temporarily settled in communities along the border, but yearned for the culture and lifestyle of the colonies they were forced to leave behind in Mexico. One group became aware of a tract of more than 800 acres of land for sale by the Gila Ranch Company near Richmond, New Mexico. Representatives were sent to investigate the area along the Gila River, and they returned with a positive recommendation.

Twenty-one families formed the “New” Gila Ranch Company and negotiated the purchase of the land. Each family was to receive farmland and a home site. Parcels were numbered, and each family drew from a hat to see which lot would be theirs, and what their annual payment would be. The purchase price of the 800 acres was $50,000 to be paid as $5,000 down and $5,000 a year at 7% interest per annum on the unpaid balance for the next 9 years. Most of the families in the consortium had to borrow money for the down payment because they had been forced to abandon their homes and investments in Mexico.

Officers for the “New” Gila Ranch Company collected the payments from each family each year and sent them to Mr. Earnest W. Virden, the banking representative for the sellers. Faith in themselves and each other was essential in this arrangement. Each family had to make its annual payment, or the entire 800 acres would become subject to foreclosure. The arrangement fostered tremendous unity, trust, and cooperation in the village as they worked together to meet the annual obligation.

The final payment for the 800-acre purchase was made to Mr. Virden on February 24th, 1924. The people of Richmond decided to change the name of the village to Virden to honor the kindness and fairness shown by Mr. Virden to the “New” Gila Ranch Company consortium during the 10-year contract. Virden, New Mexico, was officially established in 1924.