Not much left, just this scattering of buildings, a business or two and perhaps a home tucked in the canyon.
If anyone knows more, please leave a comment!
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About Me
- Autumn
- I live in Southern New Mexico. Everywhere has residual memories, my goal is to capture some of them. I am interested in the obscure, unusual, the ordinary, and many things that are overlooked and ignored in our busy lives. I welcome any suggestions. Please leave feedback, I'd love to hear from you on any post or on which photos you like! All photos are by me unless otherwise stated. Feel free to blog mine but please link back to this page. Thanks! If you want to use my photos for commercial purposes please e-mail me.
I think I remember Pam Wallace Knopp mentioning Wootens as relatives. I've slept since then so could be wrong, but it is worth asking.
ReplyDeleteJerri
I hear Old Wooten was the last stop for water, before the train proceeded up to Cloudcroft. Old Wooten had a sawmill at one time. The first post office was located here in 1894, before moving to the area of High Rolls. The last photo of the building with the brick fireplace used to be the Mountain Park Steak House back in the 1970's. It was a nice little restaurant for people to come up and enjoy a good meal. The old farm across the road used to belong to Tony Lama, the boot maker. I hear he had a chicken business here back then. I also learned from the old timers that there was an ice cave in the mountains south of Old Wooten, which had ice year round. Folks would ride horseback in to this area and pack out the ice in large chunks for home use.
ReplyDeleteTony Lama did own that steak house. Many years ago he once dated my aunt. According to my Aunt she was young had just divorced. While dating Mr. Lama her ex beat her pretty bad. Mr. Lama found him and beat him "to within an inch of his life". And said "if you ever even so much as look in her direction you're dead". Her and Mr. Lama didn't marry, but she always spoke highly of him. I loved to tell that story.
DeleteCorrection to last sentence. She loved to tell that story. (Not I loved...)
DeleteThanks for that information! I love learning things I did not know.
ReplyDeleteBenjamin F. Wooten was my great Grandfather and lived in Wooten. It was named for him. His house was located to the east where the Poplar trees are or were. He supposedly was the first postmaster. The El Paso Times did a real good article back in the 1980's about him.
ReplyDeleteThe building with the fire place to the west, at one time was my grand fathers restaurant "Price's Steak house"
ReplyDeleteearly 1950's. I have a post card "50s" of it an a photo shot in the early 70's under a different name.
Mike
I know who built Old Wooten, although I can't recall his name. In 1994 I bought a 1970 Ford F250 from the original owner. He claimed he built Old Wooten. It's a long story but he was elderly and bed ridden with Parkinson's at the time. He passed only months after I bought the truck. I still own it today.
ReplyDeleteI think the Prather family may have ties to it. A friend of mine , who is a member of the Prather family, told me the origins. I wish I remembered what she said.
ReplyDelete