AT 4:11 A.M. ON MARCH 9, 1916, the railway clock at the Columbus train depot was silenced forever when a bullet struck its face and pierced the gears. The predawn hour marks the onset of Mexican revolutionary Francisco “Pancho” Villa’s 90-minute raid on the small community located three miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border. Residents and soldiers from nearby Camp Furlong fended off the intruders, but not before 10 townspeople, eight American soldiers, and an estimated 100 of Villa’s troops were killed. Villa and his remaining band retreated to Mexico and successfully eluded the Punitive Expedition led by Gen. John “Black Jack” Pershing. Eighty years later, the octagonal wood-framed clock was donated to the New Mexico History Museum by the family of the stationmaster, who survived the battle and requested the broken timepiece as a souvenir. Today, a replica of the clock—complete with bullet hole—hangs in the depot, which is now the Columbus Historical Society Depot Museum. Although the two clocks look similar, the original has Roman numerals, while the replica features Arabic ones. Nevertheless, the replica is a worthy reminder of the day time stopped in Columbus.
See a replica of the clock at the Columbus Historical Society Depot Museum on NM 9, in Columbus, Wednesday through Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.