Only in Your State | New Mexico | By Juliet White

Abandoned buildings and even entire towns litter the land of New Mexico. That’s because much of our state’s history is closely tied to mining and railroads. As a result, many places experienced a brief period of prosperity, followed by a bust.

Some people find the uninhabited or barely-occupied ghost towns left behind fascinating, while to others they’re just plain creepy.

Cuervo is one such town.

Cuervo is located 16-17 miles east-northeast of Santa Rosa. And it sprang to life at the start of the 20th century with the boom of the railroad.

The little town was chugging along just fine. In 1910, it grew even more, when local land was opened to cattle ranchers. Then came Route 66, which passed alongside the little town.

In the 1940s, it’s peak population was 300. And while it wasn’t going to win any “most likely to succeed” awards, it was hanging in there.

When I-40 was built however, it literally severed Cuervo in two, which required homes to be torn down, and roads to be ripped apart.

The wound of the new interstate proved fatal to Cuervo.

Cuervo does have some residents. 58 of them, to be precise…And it retains its own ZIP Code. Until 2011, Cuervo even had a post office.

The town was abandoned and left for the ghosts.

It’s eerie to wander around these empty buildings, witnessing people’s discarded dreams.

Couches, with springs protruding, sit in vacant living rooms – an illusion of hospitality. There’s a stove in one of the kitchens, but no one around to cook.

Wind gusts through shattered or missing windows, creating a foreboding and melancholy soundtrack.

Husks of abandoned cars left to rust.

Cuervo’s Catholic stone church is the best-preserved of the buildings. But its doors are barred to worshippers.

All that’s left is a playground for paranormal activity, and many claim they’ve seen things, or heard them. Metal sounds as cars drive down the dirt roads, fingerprints mysteriously showing up on the back of vehicles…

Is Cuervo a ghost town with literal ghosts or is it haunted by human predators?

The above image is of the alter at the former Baptist church along I-40 in the small, abandoned town. State police have been researching the immense diction written on the walls of this church, depicting awful stories of incest, and worse. For purposes of keeping this article family-friendly, we will leave you to click here to view the KRQE video on what one couple stopping in the well-preserved ghost town found.

It looks as though someone, a human predator maybe, is living among the abandoned buildings, turning them into something far worse than just for photography.

Cuervo may be inhabited by ghosts or someone with a twisted sense of reality, but either way, the small ghost town looks like an abandoned spot in New Mexico that is frozen in time.

It is beyond eerie how the absence of life in Cuervo will leave you wondering if you are actually alone or if someone’s spirit is following you through the abandoned buildings and streets.

Our recommendation? Keep on driving past this small I-40 ghost town!!