A rare piece of property in New Mexico is on the market with a price tag that matches it. The ranch-which has one of the darkest histories in the United States-is up for sale at a whopping $96 million.

From the ground, the ranch resembles a very modest four-bedroom house. A view from above, however, highlights everything the expansive property has to offer.

According to Hall and Hall Real Estate Partner Jeff Buerger, the ranch has generated an "unprecedented" amount of interest.


What's for sale?

The sprawling 50,000 deeded acres of land doesn't include a mansion. It features eleven long miles of both banks of the Vermejo River as well as a flourishing elk herd population. According to the listing, the ranch also lies nearby the rugged Cimarron Mountains.

The purchase of the property would also include a 50 percent interest of more than 35 miles of the York Canyon Branch Spur Rail Line.

"Owning half the shares of a private railroad is rare," Buerger said. I've only ever experienced it once in my career."

The abandoned railway line was once used to access the coal mines along the York Canyon. The railway was abandoned after the coal mines closed in the 1990s. The tracks running along Colfax are now being used for car storage.

The property was previously owned by reclusive tobacco billionaire Brad Kelly. Today, the property serves as a place of leisure and hunting.


History

The Dawson property was the birthplace of famous American civil rights icon Dolores Huerta. She is known for establishing the United Farm Workers (UFW)m, a labor union for farmworkers.

The ranch once played a vital role in setting the rights of mining workers across the nation. The town of Dawson housed many migrants and was a multi-ethnic community composed of Mexican Americans, Italians, and other races who hoped to work in the lucrative coal mining industry.


Once a thriving town of 9,000 strong, Dawson featured an opera house, hospital and a department store. It was run by the Phelps Dodge Company from 1906 to the 1950s.

However, an accident in 1913 made the site the second-worst coal mining disaster in American history.

In October 1913, more than 260 miners and two rescuers died in a mine explosion. A decade later, the mine exploded again, killing over 120 men.

Dawson was sold in 1950. Most of the buildings were torn down. Some of the pieces were sent to the state of Kentucky. The once prominent town sat largely forgotten

The Hall and Hall real estate company hopes the new owner will also work towards preserving the historic site and allow access to the general public who wish to pay their respects to the victims of the accident.

Dolores Huerta, who is now 90, said she is hoping for the new owner to build a museum or memorial commemorating the lives of the workers who died in the accident.

"My grandfather and my uncle are buried there," Huerta said. "That place is important to me. It's a beautiful place."


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