In April of 1877, two miners found gold along Percha Creek. A town sprang up. the two miners started the mines called Opportunity and Ready Pay. Other mines in the area were the Rattlesnake and the Bonanza. No one could decide on a name, so several names were put into a hat and "Hillsboro" was drawn. In 1879, the post office opened. In 1884, Hillsboro became the county seat. By 1907, there were 1,200 people in town. The mines produced about $6 million. But the mines began to run out and Hillsboro lost the county seat to Truth Or Consequences in 1938. There is still a courthouse and several other old buildings here.
In 1882, silver was discovered by Jack Sheldon on the Percha Creek in present day south central New Mexico. A town sprang up called Percha City. The mines that popped up were called the Solitaire, Iron King, Calamity Jane, Black Colt, Caledonia and Little Jimmy. By the end of that year, Perch City had a population of 1800. The town eventually changed its name to Kingston, due to the nearby Iron King Mine. The town had a peak population of 7,000. over $7 million was mined from the nearby mountains from the 1880's to the 1890's. There are still a few remains from Kingston's heyday, including the former Percha State Bank, a former Assay Office and a cemetary.
