Santa Rita, Ghost town in Grant County, New Mexico, United States

Santa Rita is a ghost town in Grant County, New Mexico, United States, situated about 15 miles (24 km) east of Silver City. It grew around the Chino copper mine and now shows the remains of a few homes, a Wells Fargo bank, a jail cell, and the Chino Mine mill house.

Santa Rita emerged in the late 1800s when the Chino Copper Company began mining a large copper deposit nearby. The town declined after the mine closed in the early 1900s, and most of its buildings were later removed or buried by the expanding open-pit mine.

The name Santa Rita refers to Saint Rita of Cascia, a popular saint among miners in the region. Today, the site is a place where former residents and their families gather to remember the community that once thrived here.

The site is open to explore on foot, but the terrain is rough and there are no facilities, so bring water and wear sturdy shoes. The surrounding area includes abandoned mine shafts and cemeteries, so stay on visible paths and avoid entering any shafts.

Much of the original town site now lies beneath the Chino open-pit mine, which is one of the oldest continuously operating copper mines in the United States. The few visible remains stand at the edge of the pit, offering a sharp contrast between the old town and the huge modern mine.