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Written by Carol Ann Wilson Wood Submitted by Helen Wood
Cynthia Pitcher and John Lillie were married in Dowagiac, Michigan around 1868 and came to New Mexico in the 1870’s on the Santa Fe Trail. The year before, Tom Stockton built the Clifton House. One of the first 2 houses in the new town was a log house, now occupied by Interstate Bank. There on March 6, 1883, my grandmother, Grace Lillie was born. She married J.C. Wilson in Chico Springs and around 1903 they moved into their home on 420 S. 2nd St. She died in 1951 and the house she had on S. 2nd St is still in the family. Another daughter, Fannie Lillie married the city blacksmith Ed Cassell and their home was built in 1903, 133 Grant Ave and is a two story house still standing. That same year, John Lillie received a patent signed by Teddy Roosevelt in 1903 for land in Colfax County. Mr. Burch had a newspaper clipping about big hunting parties the Lillies had on their Sugarite Ranch. In 1907, or so, the Railroad needed water, but I feel the city and railroad traded land in Raton for this ranch. Not long ago the city wanted a clear title to some land adjacent to the railroad land for a park. Cynthia and John Lillie and Fannie and Ed Cassell were listed. They did own land on 1st street and Cynthia refused to pay taxes on a swampland which is now the old La Mesa race track. They are all buried in Fairmont, Raton. A brother to Grace Lillie was Charles Lillie who as a young man became bored with working for the Santa Fe and with Ranching. He then went into Mexico and worked for awhile for Poncho Villa’s Railroad. Sugarite Mining Camp The second part of the family history is connected to Sugarite Canyon at the Southern end. In or around 1918 Dr. Allen Palmer Hubbard (Old Doc Hubbard) was appointed as mine camp doctor. Dr. and his wife lived at Sugarite Mine Camp until 1922. Dr. Young sister came from Michigan in 1919 to teach first grade at the camp. Mrs. Davies also came with her two young children to be near her husband a miner. She was also a teacher at the school. There was a mine accident and Mr. Davies’ leg was crushed. Usually, the leg would be amputated, but Old Dr. Hubbard spent long hours picking all the bone splinters out and set the leg. In 1950, Mr. Davies was still able to use that leg with only a slight limp. The mine life was hard, but there were picnics, costume parties and dances. Miss Hubbard met a young man who worked in the mine office at night he dipped chocolate at Vots Sweet Shop. Each morning on his way to the office he would leave a small boy of chocolates or the young teacher’s window sill. This young man was the grandson of John Lillie. In 1927, Helen Hubbard and Charles Wilson wed. Because he had grown up on his grandfather’s ranch, he had found many tracks of the Folsom Man on the Sugarite Ranch and in 1925 he helped show archeologists the tracks -- the finds are in Denver’s Natural History Museum.
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