Locals Pitch In to Improve Historical Site

By Misty Cryer

A crew of dedicated volunteers gathered on Saturday, May 31, to help with phase one of the Rocky Arroyo Cemetery Improvement Project.

“The Rocky Arroyo Cemetery is one of the oldest rural cemeteries in Eddy County,” said Jameson Lucas, Secretary/Webmaster for the Southeastern New Mexico Historical Society (SENMHS) and Community Historian with the City of Carlsbad. “Preserving it honors the region’s early settlers, educates the public about local history, and prevents permanent loss of cultural heritage,” he said.

“When I visited on May 12, 2024, the Jones and Smith family plots were in a sad state, and I knew something had to be done,” said Lucas. This led him to contact the cemetery owners and submit a grant request, resulting in SENMHS receiving a 2024 General Grant from the Historical Society of New Mexico (HSNM) to aid in the improvement of the cemetery.

“Thanks to the hard work of 17 dedicated volunteers, four graves were uncovered in the historic Jones family plot,” said Lucas. He explained that the cemetery was created by Heiskell and Barbara (Ma’am) Jones as a new resting place for their 24-year-old son, John A. Jones, and their 15-year-old daughter, Minnie Jones. “Their bodies were exhumed from the now long-gone Seven Rivers Cemetery in the early 1880s when the Jones family resettled on Rocky Arroyo from Seven Rivers,” he said.

“John A. Jones was a participant in the Lincoln County War of 1878 as a Seven Rivers Warrior and was killed on August 30, 1879, by fellow Seven Rivers Warrior Bob Olinger in retaliation for John killing fellow Seven Rivers Warrior John Beckwith, also 24, on August 26, 1879,” said Lucas.

“Both the murders of Beckwith and Jones happened at a place called Pierce’s Crossing. Consequently, Bob Olinger was Billy the Kid’s last murder, carried out on April 28, 1881, in Lincoln, New Mexico. Billy was a friend of John and the Jones family,” he said.

“Minnie Jones was the only daughter of the 10 Jones offspring of Heiskell and Ma’am Jones. In her early teens, Minnie became the postmistress of Seven Rivers, New Mexico,” said Lucas.

“Among the most significant discoveries were two headstones crafted by Robert ‘Bob’ Brookshire—one a rare sandstone marker for Minnie Jones, and the other a striking joint marble monument for both John and Minnie,” said Lucas. “Three-quarters of Minnie’s headstone had broken from its base and remained buried for an unknown length of time,” he said.

Lucas explained that Brookshire was a master stone carver known for his intricate work with both local sandstone and marble. “His surviving pieces are not only rare but richly detailed. A legendary figure in the region, he was the first person to drive a wagon up Rocky Arroyo and later lived as a hermit in the Guadalupe Mountains, where he carved elaborate designs into stalagmites and stalactites,” he said.

“Both John and Minnie’s headstones share a distinct, matching style and will be carefully repaired during phase two of this preservation project, scheduled to take place between August 30 and September 13, 2025,” said Lucas. As part of phase two, he said, a group will return to uncover additional graves and refresh the sign.

According to Lucas, community organizations whose members helped SENMHS on this workday include the Carlsbad Community Lions Club and the Carlsbad Downtown Lions Club.

Lucas said Keep Carlsbad Beautiful, a city-supported initiative, provided gloves, trash bags, and grabbers to the volunteer crew.

The Little Digger Man, a local excavation company specializing in narrow-access excavation, helped as well. “This project would not have been possible without their expertise and know-how in heavy equipment operation,” said Lucas. “Their trailer removed over six tons of dirt from the cemetery during phase one of this project,” he said.

Complimentary breakfast burritos made by Roque Burritos were provided to the volunteers at the beginning of the day with sack lunches made and provided by Carlsbad Community Lions Club served, said Lucas. The newsletter previously mentioned said a historical field trip to the gravesite of Bob Edwards in the afternoon was optional.

“Joseph M. ‘Bob’ Edwards was a reputed horse thief who fled justice in San Saba County, Texas, in September 1874. By around 1878, he had settled along Rocky Arroyo in southeastern New Mexico with his wife, children, and a boarder named Walter E. Thayer—my great-great-grandfather,” said Lucas. “Edwards lived there for several years before his violent end at Rattlesnake Springs, then the ranch of Hank Harrison,” he said.

“On May 8, 1881, Edwards was killed by U.S. Deputy Marshal Thomas’ Kip’ McKinney, allegedly in connection with the theft of 21 horses,” said Lucas. “McKinney had first arrived in New Mexico after a cattle drive to Seven Rivers with his father, Thalis, in the mid-1870s, during which time he may have briefly associated with the outlaw faction known as the Seven Rivers Warriors, though this connection remains speculative,” Lucas said.

“Remarkably, just 67 days after the killing of Edwards, McKinney, alongside Pat Garrett and John W. Poe, helped track and kill Billy the Kid at Fort Sumner,” said Lucas. Of the three-man posse, he said, “McKinney was the only one who didn’t leave a written account of his life.”