July 31, 2000
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Site Highlights:
Gila National Forest
Moderate hike
Few visitors
Fascinating walkway
Rugged mountains
Many waterfalls
Plume remnants
Many nature trails
| Go to first part of day trip - Mogollon Ghost Town Go to third part of day trip - City of Rocks State park |
| Catwalk Recreation Trail |
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Whitewater Canyon, site of the famous Catwalk National Recreation Trail, was a central point in the mining saga of southwestern New Mexico.
The town of Graham, also called Whitewater, grew up around a mill built by John T. Graham in 1893. The town survived less than 10 years. | |
| All that remains to mark the spot is part of the mill walls clinging to the west side of the canyon near the entrance to the Catwalk. | ||
| The Early Years |
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Whitewater Canyon presented special mining and milling problems.
The mill, powered mainly by electricity, could not be built close to the mines because of the rough and narrow canyon. While the stream frequently dried up at the mill site, it ran almost continuously on the high mountains where the mines were located. Eventually, electricity was generated and water was provided to the town after the construction of an 18-inch pipeline reaching about three miles up the canyon. The present day Catwalk follows the route of the line. Despite the large investment of time and money, the Graham Mill was never highly successful because of inadequate ore processing methods. It was finally closed in 1913. After 1913, the massive rock walls of Whitewater Canyon saw few visitors until the 1930's when the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was assigned the task of rebuilding the Catwalk as a recreation attraction for the Gila National Forest.
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| The CCC-built Catwalk served until 1961 when the Forest Service constructed the present metal Catwalk. | ||
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| The Details |
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| Site Gallery 1 - Walking The Trail |
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| Site Gallery 2 - Additional Images |
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A national recreation site - preserved and protected! |
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| For More Information |
| Gila National Forest Gila National Forest - Recreation : Catwalk |