Lake Valley, New Mexico

This stone building in the ghost town of Lake Valley was a schoolhouse in 1893, then a saloon in 1902. It later served as a general store before ending its life as a Conoco gas station. Town Mountain (elev. 6,424 ft.) is in the background to the right. Lake Valley's population peaked at 4,000 people in the 1880s. Today, there are no residents in Lake Valley and it is managed by the Bureau of Land Management and a motivated and knowledgeable on-site staff. Photo taken 8/12/07.