Rigby

Farming and cattle town in south-central New Mexico Territory in 1878.[1]

Situated on the eastern slopes of the Sacramento Mountains,[2] about 17 miles east of Silver Springs. Named for early homesteader Kenneth Rigby.[1]

In January of 1855, white settlers in the area called upon the U. S. Army for protection against the Mescalero Apaches. Captain Henry W. Stanton and a party of soldiers were dispatched from San Patricio, but were attacked by surprise by Indians along the Penasco River. Stanton, several of his troops[2] and Kenneth Rigby[1] were killed in the skirmish. By the 1870s, the Indians were under control and more ranchers began to settle in the region.[2]

Relic of Fort Tejon: In July of 1878,[1] Carl Jimson called on Drake to come to Silver Springs to kill Bret Maverick rather than facing him himself. When Drake arrived, he was said to be calling on Jimson about some land out by Rigby.[3]

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ABOVE: The site of Rigby today,[1] now known as Mayhill, looking north along U. S. Highway 82.[4]

In 1885, Rigby was renamed Mahill, after local rancher John Mahill, when the town's first post office was established. Due to a clerical error by the Postal Department, the spelling was changed to Mayhill in 1904.[2]

Today, the town of Mayhill still maintains a thriving ranching, farming and lumber industry.[2]

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