A brief comment about the Bennetts, submitted by William Baxter, Vice-President,
Cerrillos Hills Park Coaltion:
Edmund F. Bennett and George C. Bennett, were long-time residents of New Mexico.
Edmund and George were drawn to New Mexico, by way of Leadville, Colorado,
arriving in early 1879 as part of the first wave of "Colorado" miners who flooded
the Cerrillos Hills.
Edmund found his place here, in New Mexico, and spent the rest of his life working
and developing mines in Cerrillos, and dealing in mining properties.He married late,
had one child, and finally died in Cerrillos in 1906. The two Bennett brothers
owned several mines in the area, among which were the Aztec, Micky Free, Tuskeegee,
Handy Andy, Cactus, Four Aces and A&B lodes, all of them lead-silver mines. In a
classic case of bad timing, Edmund, in 1889, located a then-relatively worthless
turquoise claim at the north end of the Cerrillos, and after a short time abandoned
it without registering it. The same lode was immediately snapped up by the American
Turquoise Company, of New York, and it became the famous Tiffany mine, which fueled
the fabulous American turquoise boom of the 1890s.
George C. Bennett was not gripped by the chance for instant riches from a hole in
the ground as was Edmund. Though he continued to maintain his interest with his
brother in their Cerrillos mines, George joined with W. Henry Brown, of Santa Fe,
as Bennett & Brown Photographers. The Bennett & Brown studio and gallery was a
fixture in Santa Fe, upstairs on the west side of the plaza. This productive
partnership survived for 3 years before George went off to freelance. George was
something of a searcher, and was apparently unable to find his personal place in
the world as his two older brothers had done. One of his clients, Adolph Bandelier,
in 1889 wrote of George: "Bennett is an excellent photographer, but he lacks energy
& endurance. Besides, he is far too firmly imbued with that great American spirit
which calls every Spaniard a dog, and every Indian a brute. Such men, in the long run
I cannot use here." In part for want of drive, and in part for his unease around
people of different cultures, what might have been the notable photographic career
of George C. Bennett in New Mexico turned out to be little more than a footnote.
The Bennett family's photographic skills are especially evident in the images
produced by older brother Henry H. Bennett, in Wisconsin, and George C. Bennett,
in New Mexico, and they are instantly recognizable for their finish and workmanship.
This website is maintained by the Cerrillos
Hills Park Coalition
and is dedicated to the creation, enhancement and stewardship
of an historical, recreational, and cultural open space in
the
Cerrillos Hills, Santa Fe County, New Mexico, USA
