The Rev. Elijah McLean Fenton came to New Mexico as a missionary in 1881. In addition to his duties as a preacher, he became a surveyor and surveyed most of Sandoval County. In 1892, he was at the Jemez Pueblo mission, and his wife, Jessie Lime Fenton, was a school teacher there. He also served missions in Cuba and Regina. About this time, he and his family homesteaded on Cebolla Creek and built a stock pond which later became Fenton Lake. Elijah and Jessie had two children: Elijah Jr. and Jean. Over the years, their land holdings expanded to 640 acres. His brother, George, also homesteaded in the same area and was married to Jessie’s sister, May Lime, also a school teacher at Jemez Pueblo.
Elijah McLean (E.M.) Fenton Jr., aka Mack Fenton
Elijah McLean (E.M.) Fenton Jr., aka Mack Fenton, lived in the Jemez Mountains most of his life and worked at various jobs besides running their ranch. According to an article by Alice Fenton in the Sandoval County Review, Sept. 20, 1978, he was a surveyor, boiler maker’s apprentice, freight hauler, member of the National Guard, timber cruiser, and assistant forest ranger.
In 1919, he married Alice Brown, and they continued to ranch on Cebolla Creek. After Mack and Alice retired, they moved to Ponderosa to be near their children. Most of the original Fenton land was sold to Calvin and Ruth Horn, who donated the land to Manzano Day School. It is operated currently as an environmental education center, in what is now Seven Springs.