Dave Farr Oral History: Farr Ranch, East of Horse Springs
Collected by Brenda Wilkinson, BLM Socorro Field Office
From the November/December, 2014 newsletter.

With roots in Germany and Scotland, the Farr family has been in the United States since the early 1800s, and in New Mexico since the late 1800s. George Farr, Dave Farr’s great grandfather, was born in Germany in 1818 and re-ceived American citizenship in Cole County, Missouri in 1854. The family had left Scotland for Germany in the 1600s and trace their roots to a town named Farr in the northern tip of Scotland. Farr’s great grandmother, Ida Murray, was born in Bisbee, Arizona. Her mother was a French Canadian who mi-grated through New Orleans to the mines in Arizona, where Ida was born. Dave Farr’s grandfather (also David Farr) homesteaded at Patterson Cutoff, and his father (also George Farr, with his wife Edith Funk) homesteaded on the Plains of San Agustín, east of Horse Springs, where Dave and Karen Farr still live. They built up the large ranch the family operates today by acquiring additional land over the years. The ranching family tradition continues with Roy Farr, Dave and Karen’s son, who also lives on the ranch with his family, and daughter Amy, who lives on another company ranch near Crownpoint, New Mexico.

The interviews took place at the Farr home east of Horse Springs in February 2008, with clarifications provided in January and February, 2010. [read more]

HELEN CRESS “MuRdERS MoSt FouL”
By Lisa Blessing

As the host venue for the Catron County Historical Society’s February presentation of Murders Most Foul, the Quemado Senior Center fed the multitudes. In keeping with the subject matter, the center was festooned with crime scene tape, a “corpse” under a sheet on the pool table, and crime scene tape of the outline of a victim. The sinister elements didn’t seem to dampen enjoyment of roast beef or roast pork.

Helen Cress played to a full house as she spun the tale of at least four murders surrounding Henry Coleman. Drawing on extensive research done by her mother, Eleanor Williams, Helen bolstered that information with research of her own including forays to the Goat Ranch. [read more]