Brian,
I grew up in Silver City in a mining family that explored a lot of the local mining history. I do not believe there was a Longfellow Mine in the as-current County.
I suspect the article is actually referring to the Longfellow Mine in the Clifton-Morenci mining district in what is now Greenlee County, Arizona. In 1880, Clifton-Morenci would have still been a part of New Mexico Territory, and, though I can't recall exactly, likely part of Grant County.
In any case, it is doubly likely that the 20" gauge railroad is the Coronado Railroad (there were no 20" railroads in the Santa Rita, Tyrone, or Silver City mining districts beyond underground mine railroads) - it connected the Longfellow Incline (from the Longfellow Mine owned by Longfellow Copper Co.) to Clifton.
Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 02/05/2023 07:08PM by rainbowroute.