{"id":29740,"date":"2019-05-22T00:56:15","date_gmt":"2019-05-22T06:56:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nmhotsprings.com\/wordpress\/?p=29740"},"modified":"2020-01-14T16:40:00","modified_gmt":"2020-01-14T23:40:00","slug":"history-of-riverbend-hot-springs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/riverbendhotsprings.com\/?p=29740","title":{"rendered":"History of Riverbend Hot Springs"},"content":{"rendered":"
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”31463″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center” style=”vc_box_shadow_border” onclick=”link_image”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]\n
Riverbend Hot Springs celebrated 30 years in business in January of 2020. <\/strong><\/div>\n

Many don’t know that Riverbend was originally a bait shop, built over 70 years ago. Lee and Sylvia Foerstner bought the property in 1988 and opened the worlds first and only Youth Hostel with riverside hot springs baths in 1990. Riverbend Hot Springs was officially born and this is our story.<\/strong>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_column_text]\n

Native history<\/div>\n

The hot springs of Truth or Consequences were here long before man and if we all continue being responsible stewards of the springs, they will be here long after. Native tribes didn’t write their history in books. They passed it down verbally, from generation to generation. We know for sure that the ancient Mimbres people inhabited this area. We have archaeological evidence. As recently as the 19th century, it is also believed that the nearby Apache tribe, the Warm Springs Apaches would frequent this area. It was a sacred neutral healing grounds. Opposed tribes at war would tend to their wounds here in peace. Weapons were not allowed during these healing “time-outs”.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_single_image image=”31452″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center” onclick=”link_image”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Lee and Sylvia became friends with the famous chief Geronimo’s great-great-grandson, Harlyn Geronimo, while Sylvia was the Director or our local Geronimo Springs Museum. He shared the verbal history that was passed on to him, that Geronimo was once a guest of Chief Victorio in this area. He spent one of the most peaceful years of his life here and this is even where he met Harlyn’s great-great-grandmother, Kate. Lee and Sylvia, with the blessing from Harlyn, created the Geronimo Days Peace Gathering. The festival continued throughout the 90s and honored the natives’ heritage and this area’s rich history of peace and healing.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]\n

1912-1945<\/div>\n

The construction of Elephant Butte Dam was started in 1912 and completed in 1916 when Hot Springs, New Mexico was incorporated. This created Elephant Butte Reservoir (lake) and since they diverted the river, created the village of Hot Springs. Before that, the area was known as Ojo Caliente de Las Palomas (hot springs of the doves) and was a muddy, hot springs, wetland area near the county seat at the time, Las Palomas. The Rio Grande used to be shallow, wide and wild; meandering through our current downtown area and hot springs used to bubble up naturally in muddy pits surrounding the river.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_column_text]When the new river channel was created (deeper and narrower) it lowered the shallow aquifer level and drained and dried out the land that became downtown Hot Springs and later Truth or Consequences (name change info here<\/a>). The hot springs were still there but just needed to be reached via wells and it enabled the town to be built right over the aquifer. The town grew fairly rapidly as a recreational spot near the booming mining towns of the area (now ghost towns<\/a>). It was full of bars, brothels and hot springs where you could rest, relax and rejuvenate before hitting the roads or the mines once again. During it’s peak in the late 30’s and early 40’s, there were up to 40 hot springs locations where you could ” take the waters.”[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_single_image image=”31488″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center” onclick=”link_image”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_column_text]\n

1945-1988<\/div>\n

Nona and Luta Pierce and their family moved to Hot Springs, New Mexico in 1945 and completed construction in 1946 of the brick building\u00a0 where they lived (now the Triple Suite and Courtyard Suites<\/a>) and the riverside bait shack (now the Hot Minnow Baths<\/a>), called Pierce’s Minnows. Pierce’s Minnows was THE place to get bait for the many fishermen who came here to fish the Rio Grande and both Elephant Butte and Caballo Lakes (both here in Sierra County). Their granddaughter, Dianne still lives in the area and is thrilled with how her family’s property has transformed over the years. They ran Pierce’s Minnows for many years until selling it in the late 1970s. The property changed hands at least twice and was Smith’s Minnows when the Foerstners stumbled upon it in the Summer of 1988.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_single_image image=”31470″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center” style=”vc_box_rounded” onclick=”link_image”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]\n

1988-1990<\/div>\n

The Foerstner family was in Truth or Consequences for a vacation\/future home scouting mission from their home in Yuma AZ. Sylvia is a native New Mexican from Tucumcari and wanted to be closer to her folks and roots. Lee has always been drawn to the power of the hot springs. The family of four was soaking daily and driving around when they drove by 205 S. Riverside Drive (the one and only commercial property on the river) when they noticed Mrs. Smith was hanging a for sale sign on Smith’s Minnows. Eureka! Lee and Sylvia asked her to take down the sign and they negotiated a sale, right then and there.<\/p>\n

In August, we moved in and took over the little bait shop on the river. Lee and his boys, Ben and myself (Jake), would camp in the nearby Gila Wilderness and trap minnows ourselves. The shop had crawdads, waterdogs and worms as well. Life was simple but good. However, Lee always had something in the back of his mind: “Could there be a new hot springs here someday?”[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1\/2”][vc_column_text]One fateful day, Ben was to let some water out of our truck minnow tank before transferring the minnows. The distracted 13 year old boy spaced out and let all the water out, killing all of the months worth of minnows and halting the family business. What seemed like a disaster at the moment turned out to be the happy accident\/catalyst for the Foerstners to pursue their dream!<\/p>\n

Lee drilled a 40′ well and hit 109 degree hot mineral water. He bought and transferred commercial water rights from an old school local healer, Dr. Dave Cloverleaf who believed in the Foerstners and wanted to see T or C make a comeback. They pumped the hot springs right into the the minnow tanks via fire hose! (we cleaned them first ;-)) The famous “Hot Minnow Baths” and Riverbend Hot Springs was born![\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_single_image image=”31490″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center” onclick=”link_image”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]\n

1990-2001<\/div>\n

Now, the question was, how could we make a small building and a couple of mobile homes into a hot springs destination? A friend of the family suggested that we open up a Youth Hostel. It is like a lodge, but for backpackers, and young international travelers. Bathrooms, kitchens, and sometimes bedrooms are shared among guests and hostels give off this feeling of welcoming community that is lacking from most hotels. Communal meals, shopping and day excursions are a commonplace and you never leave a hostel without having more friends than you came with.<\/p>\n

Besides some dormitories and semi private rooms, we had riverside hot springs in bait tanks, a couple of tipis, retrofitted trailer rooms, and a floating room on the river called “The Love Boat”! We were a quirky, unique hit waiting to be discovered. That happened when we were highlighted on the back cover of Lets Go USA<\/a> in the early 90s. Soon we had guests coming from all over the world and guide books were raving about this little funky hostel on the river with hot springs. A decade of fun ensued that my parents could write several books and sitcoms on, but I’ll we’ll save the details for the documentary (c’mon Hollywood!).[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column]

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