A Pictorial History of Quay County, New Mexico Agriculture in the 20th Century

1
A Pictorial History of Quay County, New Mexico
Agriculture in the 20th Century By Jeff
Bader Quay County Agricultural Extension Agent
Special thanks to Tucumcari Historical Museum,
Tucumcari/Quay County Chamber of Commerce,
Tucumcari Agricultural Science Center, Quay
County Extension Office and Private Collections
for the photographs presented here.
2
Free Land Bureau in Logan N.M. around the turn of
the Century.
3
Tucumcari Field Station, 1903. Became the New
Mexico State University Agricultural Science
Center.
4
Quay County Fair Exhibit, 1908.
5
By some accounts, Montoya N.M. in the early
1900s had upto 1000 people living there, now
only a handful remain.
6
Farm products raised by R.B. Waltrip - 1916.
7
Bell Street, Nara Visa, NM about the turn of the
century.
8
Dryland peach orchard, 1916.
9
Rabbit drives were common in Eastern NM in the
early 1900s. Drivers walked side by side and
killed every rabbit that crossed their path. This
one took place at McAlister, N.M. in1917. 600
Rabbits were taken that day.
10
Homesteading in Quay County about 1900.
Mary Lou Hornsbys homestead.
Dugout in Montoya, N.M..
11
San Jon, N.M. Broom Corn processing Scenes,
1920s.
12
Bugger Red bull- dogging from a car at the
Cowboy Roundup in Tucumcari around 1920.
13
Branding at the Kohn Ranch (T4 Cattle Company) in
the early 1920s.
14
Mules for sale in Downtown Tucumcari at the site
that later became the Elk Drug Store.
15
Roundup on the T4 Ranch, early 1920s.
16
First modern cotton gin in Quay County, 1922, San
Jon, N.M.
17
Cultivating Cowpeas at what is now the New Mexico
State University Agricultural Science Center at
Tucumcari.
18
T4 Cowboys in the early 1920s.
19
Processing silage at the Tucumcari Field Station.
Parts of these buildings remain today.
20
400 cattle killed by the US Government on the T4
Ranch due to drought. The Ranch Received 9 per
head compensation.
21
Hereford cattle were dominant in Quay County for
the first 80 years of the 20th Century.
22
Duke Hornsby building fence, 1940s.
23
Branding with a wood fire.
24
Harvesting Potatoes
25
The Arch Hurley Conservancy District was
completed in the late 1940s and brought
irrigated agriculture to Quay County.
26
Boys in the cantaloupe patch, 1940s.
27
Broom Corn (1949 ) was a major crop in Quay
County until the 1960s.
28
Castor Beans are one of the many crops that have
been grown in Quay County. The slides that follow
show others.
29
Sugar Beets
30
Melons
31
Sweet Potatoes
32
Onions
33
Cutting Alfalfa, 1949. Alfalfa has become the 1
forage crop today.
34
Man and wife working the new irrigation project,
late 1940s.
35
Picking cotton, 1940s.
36
Early weed and insect control in cotton.
37
Wheat Harvest, late 1940s.
38
Wheat on the ground, in Tucumcari, before the
grain elevator was finished (in the background)
1946.
39
The Packin House, 1950s.
40
Roger Harrells Champion Market Calf, New Mexico
State Fair, sold for 1500 in 1949.
41
Mesa Country in the 1950s.
42
4H Livestock demonstration by H.W. Koonsman and
Tommy Smith, 1950.
43
Picking horses out of the remuda, early 1950s.
44
Horses have always been an important part of Quay
County Agriculture.
45
The Quay County Cooperative Extension Service was
lucky to have Travis Nelson and Ted Peabody
working for a better future for all residents.
46
Tucumcari Farmers Market, 1999
47
Modern irrigation techniques are becoming more
popular every year.
48
The old and the new come together.
49
Jose Tall Wheatgrass and Alfalfa mixes are the
improved pastures of choice today.
50
Modern farming techniques in the Arch Hurley
Conservancy District.
51
Bringing the herd off of Mesa Rica.
52
Triticale and Tucumcari Mountain.
53
The preferred way to package hay today.
54
Another way to package alfalfa.
55
Nuff Said