Conney's Tomb is a historic location near Alma

Alma, New Mexico

Alma is an unincorporated community in Catron County, New Mexico, United States, north of Glenwood and south of Reserve.-History:Sergeant James C. Cooney laid out a town on site of Alma in the early 1870s, but left it undeveloped. The town was bought by a Captain Birney, who named it "Alma" for his...

, Catron County

Catron County, New Mexico

-2010:Whereas according to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau:*89.8% White*0.4% Black*2.7% Native American*0.2% Asian*0.0% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander*3.1% Two or more races*3.7% Other races*19.0% Hispanic or Latino -2000:...

, New Mexico

New Mexico

New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...

. Marked by a large boulder on the side of a roadway, it is the site where former Army Sergeant James C. Cooney

James C. Cooney

James C. Cooney was a Sergeant of the U.S. Army in the 8th U.S. Cavalry when he found large silver and gold reserves in the Mogollon Mountains of Catron County, New Mexico. He was transferred to Fort Bayard, near Silver City, New Mexico in 1870. While scouting for the 8th U.S. Cavalry north of...

 was interred in 1880 after being killed by a group of Apaches.

History

As a sergeant in the 8th Cavalry Regiment at Fort Bayard

Fort Bayard

Fort Bayard may refer to:* Fort Bayard, the city of Zhanjiang in Guangdong province, China*Fort Bayard Historic District, a frontier fort in New Mexico* Fort Bayard National Cemetery, at Fort Bayard, New Mexico...

, James C. Cooney came to New Mexico in 1870. While on duty as a scout, he discovered silver-bearing rock in the nearby Mogollon Mountains

Mogollon Mountains

The Mogollon Mountains or Mogollon Range are a mountain range east of the San Francisco River in Grant and Catron counties of southwestern New Mexico, between the communities of Reserve and Silver City. They extend roughly north-south for about 30 miles , and form part of the divide between the...

, but did not disclose his findings. After
his discharge in 1875, he came to the area in 1876 with two companions to work the claim.

Alma Massacre

On April 29, 1880, Sergeant Cooney, Jack Chick, and a man whose last name was Buhlman were on horseback riding to Alma to warn the settlers of an Indian attack at the Cooney mine and the town of Cooney

Cooney, New Mexico

Cooney is a ghost town in Catron County, New Mexico, United States, east of Alma. Cooney was once home to gold and silver prospectors in the nearby Mogollon Mountains.-History:...

. Victorio

Victorio

Victorio was a warrior and chief of the Chihenne band of the Chiricahua Apaches in what is now the American states of New Mexico, Arizona, Texas and the Mexican states of Sonora and Chihuahua....

 had led a group of Chiricahua

Chiricahua

Chiricahua are a group of Apache Native Americans who live in the Southwest United States. At the time of European encounter, they were living in 15 million acres of territory in southwestern New Mexico and southeastern Arizona in the United States, and in northern Sonora and Chihuahua in Mexico...

 Apache

Apache

Apache is the collective term for several culturally related groups of Native Americans in the United States originally from the Southwest United States. These indigenous peoples of North America speak a Southern Athabaskan language, which is related linguistically to the languages of Athabaskan...

 tribal members in the massacre. Shortly thereafter, Sergeant Cooney's brother Michael and miners from nearby Pinos Altos

Pinos Altos, New Mexico

Pinos Altos, in Grant County, New Mexico, was a mining town, formed in 1860 following the discovery of gold in the nearby Pinos Altos Mountains. The town site is located about five to ten miles north of the present day Silver City, New Mexico...

 drilled, blasted and chipped a sepulcher for his remains in a large boulder. The Sargent has remained interred there since.

Cemetery

The area around the tomb soon became a cemetery with a collection of graves. Four graves in front of Cooney's Tomb were enclosed in a low wrought iron fence. A flood washed away those graves, along with two large marble stone markers. The road by the tomb was rebuilt.

Cooney's brother, Captain Michael Cooney, took over his mine after his death. A town called Cooney

Cooney, New Mexico

Cooney is a ghost town in Catron County, New Mexico, United States, east of Alma. Cooney was once home to gold and silver prospectors in the nearby Mogollon Mountains.-History:...

 was founded shortly thereafter. Michael Cooney died while searching for a lost gold mine in the Mogollon mountains, and the canyon where his body was found was named Cooney Canyon. Today, Cooney's Tomb is located about 5 miles east of Alma in Cooney Canyon on Mineral Creek. In 2009, The Conservation Fund

The Conservation Fund

The Conservation Fund is an American environmental non-profit with a dual charter to pursue both economic development and environmental preservation.The Fund partners with community, government and corporate leaders to fulfill their conservation priorities...

 helped the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service acquire 40 acres, including the tomb, from a private owner. The tomb is now located within the Gila National Forest

Gila National Forest

The Gila National Forest is a protected national forest in New Mexico in the southwestern United States established in 1905. It covers approximately 3.3 million acres of public land, making it the sixth largest National Forest in the continental United States...

.