Judge Paul Moss purchased the property, now known as TIMBERON, from the State of New Mexico in 1933. His principle interest in this land was agriculture. A secondary interest was the housing and entertainment of guests for hunting and social gatherings. His son, William, married former child movie star, Jane Withers. It is reported that they were frequent visitors here and brought many other Hollywood guests to enjoy the secluded beauty and entertainment.
Following the death of Judge Moss, this land was purchased from his heirs by Willie Farah of El Paso, Texas. Farah had a substantial interest in airplanes and lost no time in building the development’s first airstrip.
Click here to watch a youtube video of the Timberon airstrip in the early 70’s
In March 1969, the land was sold by Farah to a group of businessmen who later formed the corporation known as North American Land Development (NALD), which deeded property for parks, a chapel, and a school.
Click here to watch a youtube video of the lodge and stables in the early 70’s
The Timberon Volunteer Fire Department was organized in October 1974. The department was certified by the State of New Mexico effective January 1976. The first fire truck, a 1951 Chevrolet/Howe, was bought from the Jal New Mexico Fire Department. A 3-bay fire station was built during the latter part of 1981 and the beginning of 1982. The Emergency Medical Service was formed within the Fire Department on February 20, 1982.
NALD deeded 18 acres of land in March 1975. This is the property on which the Timberon Lodge, swimming pool, playground, and fishing lakes are located.
Postal Service for a mail delivery route to serve the community was established in December 1974. The Timberon Community Post Office was opened in October 1981, with the zip code, 88350, becoming effective in September 1984.
The only telephone service available in Timberon before 1981 was a radio telephone unit located at the Timberon Lodge. Regular telephone lines were installed throughout the property in Fall 1981.
In 1978, the Baptist Convention of New Mexico provided a grant of $18,000 for the construction of a building on the one acre parcel of land that had been deeded by NALD. The building was completed in May 1979. In March 1981, two additional acres adjacent to the chapel were obtained and set aside for a cemetery. In June 1981, the Timberon Memorial Park Association was formed and assumed ownership of the cemetery.
One of the most important forward steps by members of this small community was the persuasion of the Alamogordo School Board to provide an elementary school at Timberon during the winter months. After great effort, a three-month elementary school was established in December 1980. Timberon’s Little Red School House operated under the jurisdiction of the Alamogordo School District and provided Kindergarten through 6th grade on a full-time basis until 1992. Due to the closing of the Weed Schools, the mountain area was redistricted and placed under the jurisdiction of the Cloudcroft School District in 1992. Unfortunately, Cloudcroft School District closed the Little Red Schoolhouse as of May 26th, 2002, and began bussing the children to Cloudcroft.
The Otero County Electric Co-Op first ran electric power lines to and through Timberon in 1961, to serve the several ranches along the Sacramento River. The first service to the development was made in 1971.
The access to Timberon was maintained by Otero County until 2001 when the first 5 miles of the existing 14 mile gravel Sacramento River Road was improved and paved. Phase Two of that improvement project started in January 2004. With DelHur Industries doing the construction; they completed their phase in the Spring of 2005. This beautiful “Scenic Byway” now brings the paved road to Timberon!
