Crystal

History

The first known trader in the Washington Pass area (now Narbona Pass) was Romulo Martinez, a Spanish-American from Fort Defiance, in 1873. The names of other traders are recorded for the following years, but they seem all to have been temporary, trading from tents in the summer season. Crystal was founded in 1884 when a trading post was established. Its name likely derives from its Navajo moniker meaning "crystal water flows out." In 1896 John Bradford Moore arrived, an Irishman from Sheridan, Wyoming. He bought the trading site, then cut timber in the mountains and hauled it down to build a log trading post, which he stocked with supplies carted from the rail head in Gallup. He named his post at the western mouth of Narbona Pass the Crystal Trading Post. During the winter months, he employed Navajo weavers to make rugs. Moore ensured that the wool and the weaving was good quality, and created designs of his own, quickly gaining a reputation as a source of good quality rugs. Moore understood what the market in the eastern United States would value, and in his catalog stressed the use of natural materials and primitive technology. Despite this, he introduced production-line techniques, and had no problem with using machine-produced yarns with synthetic dyes. Traders in Navajo rugs had to keep costs down to be able to offer competitive prices, so wages were low. Talking of the weaver's life, Moore said, "there is no more dismal wage proposition than her remuneration for her part in the industry. Given any other paying outlet for her labor, there would very soon be no such thing as a blanket industry ... it is her one and only way of earning money." Moore was succeeded in 1911 by his manager, A. J. Molohon. The Crystal Trading Post was owned by the C.C. Manning…

Geography

Crystal is in southwestern San Juan County, with a small portion extending into the northwest corner of McKinley County. New Mexico State Road 134 has its terminus in Crystal and leads northeast over Narbona Pass to U.S. Route 491 at Sheep Springs. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the Crystal CDP has a total area of , of which , or 0.44%, are water. The community is drained by Crystal Creek, which flows west toward Coyote Wash and Canyon de Chelly.

Race & ethnicity