Buried treasure: Brantley Lake hides secrets of a Wild West town
Brantley Lake has a rich, colorful past. Located north of Carlsbad, the lake was created in 1988 by completion of a four-mile-long dam across the Pecos River. The dam holds back some 42,000 acre-feet of water that keep the secrets of one of the wildest Wild West towns.
Seven Rivers, so named for the seven arroyos entering the Pecos, was a booming town of 300 in the 1880s. This once-raucous town now lies silent beneath Brantley Lake. At its height, it boasted a post office, two stores, a hotel, a school and two saloons—one reportedly had easily removable doors that served as stretchers for those who were slow on the draw.
The town’s desperado image was re-confirmed with archeological excavation of the graves in Seven Rivers’s Boot Cemetery and reinterment of remains in Artesia’s Twin Oaks Cemetery. A memorial in their honor reads: “This monument was erected in memory of all whose lives ended at Seven Rivers, many as victims of the time and place in which they lived. Only a few were old. All played a part in settling the last frontier.”
Of the 14 bodies of men between ages 18 and 45, ten bore fragments of bullets and knives. They died over trespassing and rustling accusations, Union and Confederate alliances, and personal vendettas. The nearest sheriff was 125 miles away in Lincoln.
Fugitive Billy the Kid, rustler Bob Edwards, rancher John Chisum, saloonkeeper Les Dow, and the Jones family are among the characters who made Seven Rivers legendary. Their stories and photos are on display at the Brantley Lake State Park visitor center.
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