Syndication News Column:
A Main Street As The Big Ditch – Part Three

The Warren House, built in 1885, still stands on Market Street in Silver City, New Mexico.
(The photograph was provided courtesy of FeVa Fotos/Tom Vaughan, 2010.)

Two major floods, in particular, devastated Downtown Silver City in Mexico in 1895 and in 1903.  These disasters were detailed in the past two editions of The Chronicles Of Grant County.  This news column provides some background on one building that survived flooding.

Overlooking the Big Ditch Park – now a passive recreational landmark that was formerly the site of much of Silver City’s Main Street – is the Warren House.  This news column provides some background on this structure – a structure that is reported to be the only building left standing on what was once a large section of Main Street after much of that roadway was destroyed by the floods in 1895 and 1903 as well as flooding that occurred in years since.

This building takes its name from two people, Orange Scott Warren and Elizabeth Warren.  Details about the two and their family were highlighted on the front page of the Santa Fe New Mexican on June 14, 1902;  the headline was “Women Of The Hour In New Mexico.”  The news article noted that the “O. S.” and Elizabeth were married in 1874, and that they arrived with their three children in Silver City in 1882.  Mr. O. S. Warren, according to this news article, “established an insurance business” in Silver City, but he died a few years later in 1885;  their oldest son then died in 1887.

“The sorrow-stricken mother found it necessary to continue the business founded by her husband and succeeded in building it up into magnificent proportions,” the newspaper reported.  “Today Mrs. Warren probably represents more insurance companies than any other agency in the southwest and the territory covered by her business is an unusually large one.”  Reports from various sources indicated that Mrs. Warren also established and operated a number of other businesses in Silver City.

One reason why the Warren House is still standing is evidently the method of stabilization used by Mrs. Warren after the flooding.  “Concrete from the Warren contracting business was initially used to stabilize the banks of the San Vicente Arroyo, while the Works Progress Administration (WPA) made later improvements [during the New Deal time period of the 1930s],” according to a statement included in the “Silver City Downtown Action Plan” of 2010.  “Both Elizabeth Warren and the WPA were involved in constructing sidewalks for the town as well.”

Beyond flooding, the Warren House also survived at least two fires.  According to The Eagle of Silver City, there was a fire at this home on October 27, 1894.  In a news article dated October 31st of that year, the newspaper reported that “the house caught fire and was damaged considerably before the flames were extinguished.  When Mrs. Warren left the house [with family to see a show] she left a lamp burning in the bath room on the wash stand.  As the fire seemed to have caught in that room it is supposed that the lamp exploded.”

The Eagle reported in this news article that “The loss is fully covered by insurance.”  The newspaper went on to note that this was the second fire at the Warren House “…and the second time that the Silver City firemen saved the house from destruction.”

According to a variety of reports, Mrs. Warren was quite active in civic activities in Grant County and throughout the State of New Mexico.  Several articles refer to Mrs. Warren as being among a group of ladies who led efforts to establish the first hospital in Silver City – the forerunner of what is now today’s Gila Regional Medical Center.  A news article in The Albuquerque Daily Citizen on April 11, 1902, stated that Mrs. Elizabeth Warren was elected as the “Grand Worthy Matron” of the Grand Chapter of the Order of the Eastern Star on that date.  Born in 1854, Mrs. Warren died in 1945.

We’ll detail aspects of today’s Big Ditch Park in Part Four.

A forsythia bush is seen in full bloom along the Big Ditch in Downtown Silver City, New Mexico.
The Warren House is at the top of the photo overlooking an area that was formerly a section of Main Street.
(The photograph was provided courtesy of Amir through Flickr, 2016.)

© 2020 Richard McDonough