madrid old coal town museum

Enjoyed the visit, very entertaining. i wish they have handouts or flyers that talk about each room. great location also.

SUMMATION: MAD’-rid with the emphasis, most appropriately, on “Mad.” Not much of a museum, but worth a visit if you are in the area. They have lots of junk. The rich history of Madrid deserves better.NAME: Old Coal Mine MuseumTITLE: “Junkyard” [Tripadvisor, review #185, 22 November 2014]NEW MEXICO TRIP REVIEW NUMBER: 39TELEPHONES: (505) 438-3780, 743-0743WEB PAGE: http://www.themineshafttavern.com/madridmuseum.htmlE-MAIL: admin@themineshafttavern.comSIZE: 7 buildings on 3 acresLOCALITY: 2846 Highway 14 [1], Madrid, New Mexico 87010Mesita de Juana Lopez Grant, Ortiz Mine Grant, Sections 36, Township 14 North, Range 7 East LATITUDE, LONGITUDE: 35°24’21”N, 106°9’16”WDIFFICULTY LOCATING: easyOCCASION: Traveling the Turquois TrailPARKING: Ample and easy parking during the week, but can be crowded on weekends. Two parking areas are designated for motorcycles.HOURS OF OPERATION: 11:30 am-4:30 pm every day in the summer, 11:30 am-4:30 pm Saturday-Sunday other seasons (April-October)FEES: $5 adults, $3 kidsATTRACTIONS: Old train engine #769 (1901), cars, jail cell, mining equipment, workshop, and an operating theater. Exhibits include the Electrical, Fire, Edison, Powerplant, Madrid Christmas, Baseball, Coal Mining, Ghost Town, Movies and local history artifacts [=junk]. Group tours and packages are available. Otherwise self guided.GREETING: excellent LAYOUT: not like a normal museum because it is mostly outside and in several ramshackle buildings.PHOTOGRAPHS: Collier Magazine (December 1941), see OCMM web page AMENETIES: The Mine Shaft Bar is adjacent (see my Review).GIFT SHOPS: many in townHEALTH: Old-fashion coal mining was not good for the health of the miners or the community. Tons of black mine slag remain in and around the town [2]. Coal dust is in the air.AWARDS: “Most Endangered Historic Places” (2005)REVIEWS: ranked Good, 3.7 [3] out of 5, 15 reviews (Tripadvisor) HISTORY: Collier Magazine reported “Toyland is a children’s’ paradise, with wonderful free rides, built with discarded mine equipment, and a real railroad, with steam locomotive and cars” in December 1941. This may have been the start of the Coal Mining “Museum” in Madrid. The Madrid Old Coal Town Museum was "Resurrected" beginning in April 2012 with new exhibits and stories of the past in Madrid. The history of the town is quite interesting [4], but has sadly devolved to a Hysterical Historical Carnival, Eccentric Artist Reserve, and Road-Hog Paradise.FOOTNOTES:[1] Turquois Trail (see my Review)[2] I grew up in an old, ghost-mining county. We had high amounts of iron in our water. The mines (Gold, Iron Ore, and Mica), as in Madrid, had long since closed, but their pits, tunnels, and effects remained.[3] They round-off to 3.5. One of their reviews is about the town and does not even mention the museum.[4] At least 1500 years ago, Native Americans mined turquoise and lead in the Madrid area. When Francisco de Madrid arrived in New Mexico in 1603, he was only interested in Gold and Silver and ignored the aboriginal efforts. The Spanish returned around a century later, found Silver, and made the Amerindians mine it. This outrage led to the Pueblo Revolt of 1680. In 1693, the Spanish re-conquered the area. Later, Roque Madrid returned to the Madrid area in search of lead to mine. Members of this family were still in the area when coal was first mined in 1835 or 1836. The town evolved and was named “Madrid” in 1869, but was never incorporated. No one knows if it was named for the Madrids, or the capital of Spain (The former seems more credible). In 1889, the Santa Fe Railroad extended a 6.5-mile, standard gauge, spur line to the town. The rich coalmines in Madrid covered 30 square miles, connected by a network of tunnels of the Lucas and White Ash, Peacock, and Cooke mines. During this time over 3000 people lived and worked in Madrid, exceeding Albuquerque in population. In 1906, the Albuquerque and Cerrillos Coal Company consolidated all the coal mining. Madrid became a “company town” until 1940 with everything owned and operated by ACCC. In 1919, Oscar Joseph Huber became the Superintendent of Mines. Coal production increased in 1920 and peaked in 1928 at 180,000 tons shipped. There are many horror stories about company-own towns, but Huber took care of his workers, provided many amenities, and was a model for other places. In 1920, Madrid had its own coal-fed power plant, wired all the houses for electricity, had the first lighted Baseball Park in the west, and their Christmas lighting display became legendary. Belinda Vasquez Garcia published a book, The Witch Narratives” (Vasques Garcia, 2012) which was set in Madrid, in the 1920s and 1930s. When the owner of the mine was killed in a mining accident in 1936, Huber gained controlling interest. He purchased Madrid and all the surrounding areas. After WWII, the demand for coal declined. In 1954, the ACCC ceased operations, almost everyone moved away, and the whole town was offered for sale for $250,000; however, no one was interested. After the last coal train left, most of the mines shutdown, and Madrid became a ghost town by 1959 and for almost the next 20 years. In 1970, Joe Hubur (Oscar’s son and owner of the town) began resurrecting Madrid. Sadly, they only revived their town through these unfortunate parodies of their long history. Sometimes the cure is worse than the disease. The end of the movie “Wild Hogs” (2007, Disney) was filmed in Madrid. This may be the basis for its attraction to bikers. The movie received negative critical reviews (average 3.8 out of 10 or Poor), but was popular (#1 rating), made lots of money ($254.6 million), and has become a cult classic. Almost all of the movie was filmed in New Mexico, including Madrid. The TV Series “Breaking Bad” (2013, Season 5 last half, Episode 14, AMC) mentions Madrid. Madrid once, or still does, mine Coal, Lead, Gold, Silver, and Turquois. Recently, they have begun to quarry Granite.REFERENCES:Vasques Garcia, B. 2012. The Witch Narratives: Reincarnation (The Land of Enchantment Tribology #1). CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, North Charleston, South Carolina, 353 pp. [Very Good, 3.9 out of 5, 50 reviews (Amazon); Good, 3.5 out of 5, 23 reviews, 69 ratings (Goodread)]

Not a large museum by any means - but if you like to really be able to look around up close, at your own pace, and see some of the history of the area - this was a really fun museum to spend some time at. The guide that got us started was very knowledgeable of the area and the coal mine's original existence and then she let us on our own to explore. For the money it was a steal. The drive up is pretty for the area and the town is small, but quaint. We aren't really into the shops, but came specifically for the drive and the museum and we were not disappointed.

Wanted to see the town that was featured in Wild Hogs. Maggies Diner is a Tee Shirt Shop. Imagine my surprise when I walked in and there are literally HUNDREDS of t-shirts on the walls and on the tables that were once used for the movie. I asked why they didn't use it as a restaurant and was told it never was a restaurant to begin with! We did wander into an interesting gallery full of New Mexico photos. That was the highlight. We didn't want to stop at any of the bars as we were heading back to Albuquerque. Would maybe look into the Chile Festival ... that would be fun. There are numerous boutiques and a couple of restaurants.

I can't believe we paid to see a bunch of stuff with no explanation at all. Basically just piles of junk.

Not at all what I expected.The museum doesn't explain anything about working in a coal mine or how it was to live in a coal town.Just a collection of incoherent scrap.Next time I will spend my $5 on a cold beer next door.

Ok, so I'm thinking most of these reviews are done by reviewers who have not visited this place in awhile...In short, if surfaces covered in mouse droppings and dust, bottles hanging around filled with stale beer and old cigarette butts, Christmas decorations still hanging (In May 2014) sounds appealing to you, stop here. Sadly, the place has been neglected from top to bottom, and it has really gone down hill. Save your pennies (more realistically, $5 Dollars Per Adult, $3 per child) and go to the (really cool!) Tinkertown Museum up the road instead! In closing, because I'm a "glass half full" type of person, I will say that the large pieces of coal, old cars, old Ferris wheel, and Train were really cool to see. The kids loved being able to go inside of the train and ring the bell. Unfortunately, until they clean this place up, I'll have to give them 2 stars.

The Madrid Old Coal Town Museum was what you would expect of a small town museum. Not a whole lot but interesting and fun in it's own way. We didn't have a guide or curator so we just ended up wandering around. It maybe took us 20 minutes to a half hour. We loved the theatre and the old cars. Seeing the parts that they used was neat as well. They also have a little wall dedicated to the films that were shot in the area including Wild Hoggs. So basically, if you are expecting a small town museum experience it is worth it. If you are expecting the Smithsonian, back away.

A great museum to get the low down on how Madrid, NM came to be what it is today. The curator and guide is very knowledgeable and friendly. It is also a good place to start your visit to this eclectic village that has been brought back from ruin. Stop by the Mine Shaft Tavern for a cold beer and great entertainment.

I hadn't been to Madrid in a long time -- it was pretty fun. We started at the museum. It's $5 a person, and I thought it was worth it to get a nice overview by the museum director followed by several buildings and lots of interesting stuff. The Christmas exhibit was interesting -- my grandmother said her family used to drive down from Mora County to see the lights when she was a kid. A lot of old equipment -- medical (old x-ray machine), water pumps, electrical, plows, coal mining equipment. In the last building there were bats hanging out in the rafters (not above where you're allowed to walk, but they still fly around a bit). The train was cool -- we climbed up in and rang the bell. Anything that doesn't have a barricade you're allowed to touch.

Madrid is a very magical and eclectic town that embodies all that is New Mexico. Spend a lazy evening sipping a cold brew and listening to live music at the Mine Shaft Tavern and if you like chocolate cake with rasberry syrup drizzled over it try The Hollar for a great deal. I bet it's the largest slice of cake you have ever been served! Might feed 4-5 of your best friends but I ate the whole thing myself. The shops are full of wonderful art of all kinds and locals visit in all the shops. Enjoy the history of this small mining town. It's like no other place you have ever been.Be sure to check for a live performance at the Engine House Theater. If your lucky enough to be there when they perform, you will be in for a real treat.

As part of the "Turquoise Trail", south of Santa Fe, the town is a funky combination of galleries, restaurants and tourist chachkas. Getting there is part of the fun with desert vistas, and, if you come from the south, great mountain views. If you have more than a few days in Santa Fe, Madrid makes a nice side trip.

Took a drive up in the hills to Sante Fe from albq and made a pit stop at Madrid and it was a very pleasant experience. Evidently it was a backdropp for a movie WILD HOGGS with travolta. Didnt see movie seems to be a cult thing. I stumbled apon a coal mine which confused me because of the volcanic nature of the area. I quizzed the local bartender at the coal mine museum who by the way was a geologist , he solved the puzzel. There are working coal,gold,silver,and tourquoise mines in the area. Very interesting town,laid back and friendly. Several neat taverns and shops. There is one minor drawback. portapoties are only facilities I found on a cursory search. Enjoy the place I did.

It's kind of fun and doesn't take too much time. If you take this little drive up or down NM 14 there's plenty of time to spend some time in the little village of Madrid. However, I recommend a warm day cause you'll be out in it. Have a bite to eat at the local cafe.

Don’t expect pretty exhibits here, but it is well worth a quick visit. Everything is pretty much the way it was left decades ago. The museum is spread out through several ramshackle buildings and includes a full train engine, mining equipment, a work shop, and the local theater which is still in use. There is also a dusty but interesting exhibit on Thomas Edison’s work at electrifying the mine and the town of Madrid, and his attempts at gold mining. It is certainly worth a quick tour and a must see for history and mining enthusiasts.