Historical Marker
Kelly
Historical marker location:
US 60, Kelly, New Mexico
( in Kelly on US 60 west)
Silver was discovered in Kelly around 1866 and the town site was laid out in circa 1879. Kelly boomed with silver mining and eventually zinc mining, becoming one of central New Mexico’s most prosperous mining towns. At one time, it boasted a population of 3,000. When zinc played out in the 1930s, Kelly began to die and is now a ghost town.
New Mexico was one of the last territories to become a state, gaining statehood in 1912. Before that, it had been part of the Spanish Empire, Mexico, and the United States Territory of New Mexico.