Colfax County, New Mexico, Place Names

ABBOTT. Also Called New Abbott. On NM 58, 19 miles east of Springer, near Abbott Lake. named for Horace C Abbott, who became the first postmaster. Post Office 1881-1963. In 1936 a number of the settlers moved to a location called "The Forks", at the junction of NM 58 and 39. Abbott formerly called Sauz.

ABREU. Former settlement on the Rayado River, 20 miles west of Springer. Named for a promient family, owners of a large ranch in the old Maxwelll Land Grant.

ADAMS LAKE. A small lake covering about 2 acres of land near Cassel Rock and Ash Mountain. Named for a prominent family of the vicinity.

AGUA FRIA. "agua fria" Spanish for "cold water". A small community between Taos and Eagle Nest. Post Office 1924-1934.

AGUA FRIA PEAK. Altitude 11,000 feet. near the village of Agua Fria. The Agua Fria Rito rises near Agua Fria Mountain and forms Cieneguilla Creek to empty into Eagle Nest Lake.

AHOGADERA. See San Francisco Mesa.

AMERICAN CREEK Flows into Cieneguilla Creek in Moreno Valley S of Eagle Nest.

APACHE Post Office1877-1882; mail to Chico Springs. .

ARMS Post Office 1879-1880. First postmaster, Henry M. Arms.

ASH MOUNTAIN 3 miles E of Taos County line on the Rito Leandro, in the axwell Land Grant.

BALDY Peak is so named because of the absence of timber on the rocky summits. Settlement 5 miles NE of Elizabethtown. Post Office, 1888-1926.

BARELA MESA On north boundary of the county. Named for Senator Barela, a prominent Spanish- American resident of Trinidad, Colorado. , in the 1890's.

BARTLETT MESA North of Raton at Colorado Line. Named for Carlos Bartlett, an early settler and founder at the Bartlett Estate in Vermejo Park in 1906.

BEAR LAKE West of Eagle Nest Lake. BEAUBIEN - MIRANDA LAND GRANT See Maxwell Land Grant.

BEAVER CREEK Flows into the upper Rayado River in SW corner of Colfax County.

BELL 12 miles NE of Raton. Settled by a group of dissatisfied miners from Blossburg, who went on Johnson Mesa to farm. Named for Marion Bell, leader of the settlers. First postmaster, Alonso S Bell. Post Office, 1891-1933.

BLACK LAKE In SW corner of Colfax County. named because, when viewed from a distance, dense timber surrounding the water makes it look black instead of blue. First inhabitants here were Don Jose Maria mares and his wife, Dona Jenara Trujillo, in 1886. Years earlier, in 1857, Jose Maria Mares had been captured by indians while he and his brother were with a hunting party. They were taken to Taos, where they were sold to Don Juan Mares, who adopted them and brought them up as his own children. Post Office 1903-1927.

BLACK MESA 8 miles SE of Raton. Distinguisdhed by interesting carvings on W side.

BLACK MOUNTAIN

BLIND CANYON At the head of Vermejo River; extends east from Caliente Canyon. Cowboys called it "blind" because it has but one entrance.

BLOSSBURG 5 miles up Dillon Creek, NW of Raton. Settled about 1881 as a coal mining town, by a Colonel Savage from Blossburg, Pennsylvania, and named for his home town. There is now little left at the siter. Post Office, 1881-1905; mailo to Gardner.

BLOSSER CREEK, GAP Flows into Eagle Tail Creek, which empties  into Hebron Reservoir. Creek flows tthrough the gap about 15 miles SE of Raton. This opening through the mountain range was named for a man by the name of Blosser, who had been evicted from his ranch by the Maxwell Land Grant Co., and who used the gap to run cattle through to the pinon country south of the mountains where the grazing was good.

BONITA CREEK Spanish for 'beautiful" . Runs through Bonita Canyon in west partof Colfac county.

BOX CANYON 30 miles SW of Raton; 3 miles North of Dawson. The name, in general, applies to a canyon closed at the far end, or so narrow as to make traffic through it difficult or impossible, that is, a man is boxed in.

BRACKETT Post Office 1910-1917.

BRILLIANT Former coal mining community on AT&amp;SF RR, 6 miles NW of Raton. {Post Office, 1906-1935 and 1940-1964.

BRILLIANT CANYON

BRILLIANT CREEK

BUFFALO HEAD High point of rock North of Folsom; named for its resemblance to the head of a buffalo.

CABRESTO CREEK CANYON. Local spanish "rope, halter, lead ox". Runs into Red River NE of Questa.

CABRESTO LAKE 4 miles SW of Baldy Mountain.

CALIENTE CANYON, CREEK. Spanish for "hot". At the head of Vermejo River, 12 miles north of Dawson.

CANADIAN RIVER also called RED RIVER. Name originating from the Caddo Indian word "kanohatino" meaning red; or the Spanish word "Canada" meaning ravine or gulch. River starts in northern New Mexico, Colfax County, to form the Mora-Harding County line of separation, then turns east through San Miguel and Quay counties, until it goes across Texas into Oklahoma, where it is known as Beaver River. Finally it joins the Arkansas, and becomes the Red River of Louisiana. An 1828 map shows it as the "Canadiano Rio". Spanish land titles call it "Rio Rojo" or Red River. While trying to find the origin of the river in 1806, Zebulon Pike was arrested and deported by Spanish authorities.

CANN CREEK Small stream entering the Ponil Creek.

CARESSO CREEK  Flows SE into Cimarron River east of Springer.

CARISBROOK or CARRIS BROOK  AT&amp;SF RR stop in Sugarite Canyon. Post Office 1907-1908; mail to Raton.

CASSEL ROCK Near Taos County line

CATALPA Post Office, 1882-1884; mail to Madison.

CATSKILL Former community on Little Red River, 30 miles NW of Raton. Originally settled in August 1890 by a group of lumbermen under company management of H.G. Frankenburger. The Union Pacific Railroad built a spur from Trinidad, Colorado, and C.F.Meek, the railroad's general manager, is said to have named the town because the scenery resembled the Catskill Mountains near his home town in New York. As the timber resources failed, the railroad pulled up its tracks in 1902. By 1916, Catskill was a ghost town. Now a tourist attraction. Post Office 1890-1905.

CEDAR HILLS At the mouth of Cerrososo Canyon.

CERROSOSO CREEK "Cerro" is soanish for "hill or peak". Crosses US 64, 3 miles east of Cimarron.

CHASE CANYON 6 miles north of Cimarron, named for M.M.Chase, a pioneer settler in the canyon.

CHICO means "small" in Spanish, but it is also the nickname for the Spanish name "Francisco". In New Mexico "chico" is identified with green corn, soaked in water, and heatedin an oven overnight. The town is 12 miles north of Abbott and 22 miles east of Maxwell. Post Office 1895-1956. Formerly known as CHICO SPRINGS.

CHICO CREEK Rises near Chico, and flows into the Canadian River.

CHICO HILLS Roughly, in the area between Chico and Abbott.

CHICORICO also called SUGARITE. The word is a version of "achicorio" wghich refers to a wild native endive or chicory. However, Calvin Jones testified in litigation over the Maxwell Land Grant in US District Court in Colorado on September 13, 1883, the creek, mesa, and canyon known by the word "chicarica" were named by the Comanches for the great quantity of birds which lived in the pine timber here. The Comanche word for bird, he testified, was "rico" and the word for "spotted" was "choco". The Spanish words "chico rico" mean "rich little fellow" The Anglo transposition of the words was "Sugarite".

CHICORICO CREEK Named first. Rises near Colorado state line and flows down the canyon into Raton Creek, then into a stream called Una de Gato (Cat's Claw in Spanish), and finally joins the Canadian Red River. The Creek is now called the Sugarite River. In Sugarite Canyon the river flows through Lake Maloya and Lake Alice. Lake Maloya is the reservoir from which the city of Raton gets its water supply. As the Sugarite River flows into Raton, it runs by Sugarite Street.

CHICARICA MESA is now called BARELA MESA see Barela Mesa. Chicarica Mesa is seperated from the Raton Mesa by Manco Burro Pass.

CHICORICO CANYON or SUGARITE CANYON is 2 miles south of Lake Maloya.

CHICO SPRINGS Post Office 1877-1895; changed to CHICO.

CHICOSO Post Office 1876-1877.

CHIMNEY CANYON Runs east from Caliente Canyon which branches from Vermejo River Canyon 10 miles north of Dawson.

CIENEGUILLA In Spanish "cieneguilla" means "mittle marsh or marshy place".

CIMARRON. The term "cimarron" is an Americanism in Spanish, having originated to describe a fugitive slave in the West Indies. The meaning of the word generalized to describe a wild or unruly person or untamed animal. Applied in New Mexico to the wild bighorn sheep of the Rocky Mountains. Fray Angelico Chavez pointed out that the wild red plum which grew abundantly along the northeastern rivers of New Mexico was called "ciruela cimarrona". Thence, the word specifies a place once inhabited aboriginal mountain sheep. Both wild horses and cattle were later known as cimarrones. It is atown on US 64, 38 miles southwest of Raton. Settled in 1841 with the filing of the Beaubien Miranda Land Grant. In the 1860's and 1870's Cimarron was the principal stopping place for travelers on the Santa Fe Trail via Taos. Cowboys in northern New Mexico, both lawless and law abiding, made it their hangout, and Buffalo Bill organized his Wild West show here. The first postmaster was Lucien B Maxwell. Post Office 1861 to present day.

CIMARRON CANYON West of the town of Cimarron. May have been named earleir than the town.

CIMARRON CREEK, RIIVER Flows through the Cimarron Canyon east then south to form Canadian Red River, with its famed Palisades of the Cimarron. It is shown as "Semerone" on and 1828 map.

CIMARRON RANGE

CIMARRONCITA CREEK Flows into the Cimarron River.

CIMILORIO See VERMEJO PEAK

CLEAR CREEK - Rises near Clear Mountain and flows north to the Cimarron River in Cimarron Canyon. The waters of Clear Creek prompted its naming, as they are fed by snows and run deep through a heavily wooded section.

CLEAR CREEK MOUNTAIN - In the northeast part of Colfax County.

CLIFTON, CLIFTON HOUSE - 6 miles south of Raton on the Canadian Red River. Built in 1867 by Tom Stockton, a rancher, as headquarters for cattle roundups in this section. During the 1870's and 1880's, it was leased for a station of the Barlow-Sanderson Stage Line, which added a blacksmith shop and stables. With the arrival of the AT&amp;SF RR in 1879, the stage was discontinued, and so was the Clifton House. Nothing remains of the site, but the graveyard, with its boardmarkers. Post Office 1869 to 1879.

COAL CANYON - The Maxwell Land Grant of 1889 shows two canyons with this name, one extending west from Dillon Canyon near the Swastika Coal Camp, the other ecxtgending southwest from the mouth of the Canadiam Red River Canyon.

COLEMAN - A community started in 1885 in the Maxwell Land Grant, when many war weary Southerners were seeking new homes in northeastern New Mexico. Coleman was the name of people living near Elkins in the 1870's.

COLEMAN CANYON CREEK - At the head of the Vermejo River Canyon, near the ghost town of Elkins.

COLFAX - On US 64, 5 miles south of Dawson and on a branch of the AT&amp;SF RR. Enjoyed its peak of prosperity in the 1890's, during a mining boom at Dawson. Post Office 1908 to 1921.

COLFAX COUNTY- Created on January 25, 1869, and named for Schuyler Colfax, Vice President of the US, 18969-1873. At this time the county extended from Taos County to the Texas - Oklahoma line, and included the larger part of the Maxwell Land Grant.

COLMOR - On US 85 and AT&amp;SF RR 11 miles south of Springer. The railroad came through on July 4 1879, and Colmor came into existance ten years later. First settlement was in February, 1887. Name came from joining the first three letters each of Colfax and Mora Counties., whose edges the town touches. Post Office 1887 to present.

COMANCHE CREEK - Waters of this creek originate in the north end of the Moreno Valley, flow into Moreno Creek, and then go into Eagle Nest Lake. It was a marauding spot for Comanche Indians and therefore named for them.

COSTILLA PARK - Costilla in spanish means "rib". It is 6 miles west of Van Bremer Park.

COTTONWOOD - This tree grows commonly along waterways, is spanish it is "alamo". Former small town 10 miles north of Dawson, on Cottonwood Creek.

COTTONWOOD CANYON - 4 miles south of Raton and south of the mouth of Canadian Red River Canyon. There is also a second COTTONWOOD CANYON -15 miles north of Dawson and east of the Vermejo River Canyon.

COTTONWOOD CREEK - former settlement in the Maxwell Land Grant, now deserted.

COW CREEK

COYOTE CREEK

CROW CREEK - Flows from mountains past Kohler into Canadian Red River, west of Eagle Tail Mountain. Named in an early day day for the vast quantity of crows that flew over the country. They built nests in the cottonwoods on the streams, and the early American settlers used poison to cut down their numbers. Creek flows across Crow Creek Flats. See Raton Creek.

CUESTA DEL OSHA PEAK - Spanish "hill or peak of the Osha plant". On the Colfax and Taos County border, 5 miles southeast of Tienditas. Named for the osha plant which grows abundantly here. Osha has a stem which tastes like celery, and the root is used for medicine.

CUNICO On NM 193, 30 miles southeast of Raton. Post Office 1927 to 1942. See KIOWA

CUNNINGHAM - Settlement 15 miles southeast of Raton on the old Maxwell Land Grant. Named for Dr. J. M. Cunningham of Las Vegas, who was one of the New Mexicans who left the state just to ride in on the first train of the AT&amp;SF RR in 1879. In 1901, he was involved in litigation centering around land grant suits with Charles Springer as defendant.

CUNNINGHAM BUTTE - 9 miles southeast of Raton.

CURTIS CREEK - Flows across Crow Creek Flats from mountains to Canadian Red River, almost paralleling Crow Creek 2 or 3 miles to the south. Named for old "Dad" Curtis, pioneer, who started Curtis Ranch.

DAWSON - 14 miles northeast of Cimarron in the Maxwell Lnd Grant. Named for two brothers, John Barliley and L.S.Dawson, who settled on the Vermejo River in 1867. JB Dawson started to develop the coal mine which after 1901 was made  productive by the Phelps Dodge Corporation, and the SP RR. After railroads started converting to diesel power, the community gradually disappeared. The mine closed on April 30, 1950. Post Office from 1900 to 1954.

DAWSON CANYON

DEAD HORSE CANYON - 11 miles north of Dawson, up Vermejo Canyon.

DEAN - On NM 234, 20 miles northwest of Maxwell. Probably named for the canyon.

DEAN CANYON - With its little stream, the canyon begins at a point pn the Ponil, 4 miles north of Cimarron and extends westward. Named for an early settler who had a cabin here.

DILLON - On AT&amp;SF RR, 3 miles south of Raton. Named for Richard C. Dillon, governor of New Mexico from 1928 to 1932. Town established by the railroad company shortly after the railroad was built through the county in 1880. At this point, the railroad branches, and these lines extend up Dillon Caanyon to former coal camps of Gardiner, Swastika, Brilliant, and Blossburg.

DILLON CANYON - Starts about 3 miles southwest of Raton and winds in a northern direction to the Colorado state line.

DORSEY - 1 mile west of the Canadian Red River near Eagle Rock Mountain. Named for Dorsey Lake. Post Office 1879, intermittently to 1912.

DORSEY LAKE - Small lake, 2 miles south of Koehler Junction, on Crow Creek Flats. Named for Stephen W Dorsey, US Senator from Arkansas, co-owner of the Ingersol Dorsey Alley Ranch. When Ingersol successfully defended Dorsey in a law suit over government mail contracts, Dorsey paid Ingersol with 5,000 acres of land and some cattle. Dorsey at one time lived at Chico.

DOVER - See GATO

DRY CIMARRON RIVER - The river is beleived to have been a disappearing river because of the notable feature of sinking and rising agin farther on. Flows from the foot of Johnson Mesa in Colfax County, cuts a deep canyon across the northern part of Union County, across a corner of Oklahoma, and finally empties into the Arkansas River near Dodge City, Kansas.

DUTCHMAN'S CANYON - Extends west from Dillon Canyon where Blossburg was at one time a busy coal camp. Named because of an old Dutchman who lived in the canyon when mining operations first started at Blossburg.

EAGLE NEST - Settlement on US 64, 20 miles northeast of Taos. Established in 1920, and called THERMA, Greek for "hot". Name Eagle Nest advocated in 1935 because golden eagles live in the mountanous region. Their feathers are used by the Taos Native Americans for ceremonial worship.

EAGLE NEST LAKE - Created by a dam finished in 1919 by Charles Springer at the head of Cimarron Canyon. It is 5 miles long and 2 miles wide. It is located midway between Taos and Cimarron.

EAGLE PARK - Referred by Lewis H Garrard in 1846. Probably an early name for Ute Park.

EAGLE ROCK MOUNTAIN - 5 miles west of Eagle Tail Mountain on the west bank of the Canadian Red River, in the Maxwelll Land Grant.

EAGLE TAIL CREEK - North of Eagle Tail Mountain, about 15 miles south of Raton, flowing into the Una de Gato Creek. Name comes from the mountain, whose shape resembles the long, sweeping rail, of a resting eagle. See Blosser Creek, Gap.

EAGLE TAIL MESA - at the eastern edge of the Maxwell Land Grant, near Eagle Tail Mountain, named for the mountain.

EAGLE TAIL MOUNTAIN - About 25 miles northest of Springer. See Tinaja Mountain.

ELIZABETH PEAK - Also called Baldy Mountain. A short distance northeast of Elizabethtown, east of the Moreno River; elevation 12,491 feet. Named for the daughter of a first settler in Elizabethtown, possibly Elizabeth Moore. See Elizabethtown.

ELIZABETHTOWN - Former copper and gold mining camp on NM 38, 5 miles northeast of Eagle Nest, in the north end of the Moreno Valley. First house was built in 1865, when the place was called VIRGINIA CITY. In 1866 a group of prospectors found gold near Willow Creek. At the first semblance a city appeared and was named in honor of Elizabeth Moore, daughter of John W Moore. A dithch was excavated from Red River for a place dredge called "The Eleanor". Prospecting continued in Old Baldy Mountain as late as 1930. The town was the first county seat of Colfax County. It is now deserted. Post Office from 1868 to 1931.

ENGLAND - Post Office from April to December in 1881.

E TOWN - See Elizabethtown.

FARLEY - Ranching and farming community on NM 193, 13 miles northeast of Abbott. A branch of AT&amp;SF RR formerly ran here from Mt. Dora. Established in 1929, taking the name of its first postmaster. Post Office, 1929 to 1932. FIVE DOLLAR CANYON - 7 miles north of Dawson, extending east from near the mouth of Caliente Canyon, and just northeast of Upper Vermejo River Canyon. Said to be named for a pioneer settler who always wanted to bet 5 dolars, but never had it. FIVE DOLLAR CREEK - Flows through the canyon of the smae name.

FRAMPTON - Post Office 1892; mail to Clapham.

FRANKLIN - 9 miles southeast of Springer. Post Office 1876 to 1879.

FRENCH - Trading point on US 85, 9 miles north of Springer. Named for Capt. William French, who came to America in 1883 from French Park, Ireland. He owned the WS (William Slaughter) Ranch, first in Grant County.; when it moved to Cimarron, he organized the French Tract, a group of farms with French as a center. Because of litigation over water rights, the plan failed and little remains today of the farms and town. French was the author of "Recollections of a Western Ranchman", 1883-1889. Post Office, 1908 to 1945.

FRENCH LAKE - 7 miles east of Cimarron. See French.

GARDINER - Coal mining camp 3 miles west of Raton in Dillon Cabnyon. Owned in 1897 by the St. Louis, Rocky Mountain and Pacific Coal Co. The Gardiner Swastika branch of the AT&amp;SF RR extended from Dillon to the camp t6o take out coal. Post Office 1897 to 1940.

GARDINER CANYON - Runs west from mouth of Dillon Canyon, starting about 3 milessouthwest of Raton.

GATO - Spanish for "cat or wild cat". On AT&amp;SF RR, 3 miles south of French. Formerly called Dover.

GILLESPIE

GONZALES CANYON - In the extremem northwest corner of Colfax County. extends north and south from Vermejo Canyon to the Colorado state line.

GONZALES MESA - 12 miles west of Springer in thge Maxwell Land Grant

GREEN MOUNTAIN - 15 miles southeast of Raton.

GREENWOOD CREEK - Stream northwest of Cimarron, tributary to the Ponil.

HARLAN - Named for T.B. Harlan, of St. Louis, chief counsel of the Maxwelll Land Grant Co.

HEBRON - On AT*SF RR, 11 miles south of Raton, at Hebron Dam. Post Office 1902 to 1910.

HEBRON DAM - An artificial reservoir for irrigation purposes. See Blosser Creek, Gap. HECK CANYON - On NM 199, 18 miles west of Springer, on Sweet Water Creek, in the center of the lumber district. Named for the Mathew Heck family, who owned property in the canyon. Post Office 1927 to 1943.

HECK SPRINGS - On NM 21, 25 miles west of Springer.

HEMATITE - Post Office 1897 to 1899; mail to Elizabethtown.

HEWITT CREEK - In the south Moreno Valley; flows into the Cieneguilla, thence into Eagle Nest Lake.

HOLKEO CREEK - Rises near Peck's Mesa in the southwest corner of Colfax County and flows intoUte Creek after crossing Union County line. Holkeo is reported to be a Native American name.

HOPE - Post Office 1888 to 1889; mail to Grenville.

HORSESHOE LAKE - a 10 acre lake just below timber line at the head of the main East Fork of the Red River.

HOXIE - 20 miles south of Raton where US 85 and 64 seperate, the former leading to Santa Fe by way of Las Vegas, and the latter by way of Cimarron and Taos. SANTA FE FORKS is the original name, dating from the 1820's when the Santa Fe Trail forked at about this spot. However, of late years the little crossroads filling station has been lknown as Hoxie because William Hoxie owned and operated the place in 1925.

HUMBUG CREEK - In northeast end of the Moreno Valley. Flows into the Moreno River and thence into Eagle Nest Lake.

IDLEWILD - Settlement 3 miles west of Eagle Nest.

INDIAN CAMPS - At the entrance of Cimarron Canyon. Once a camp of travelling Native American bands, where many arrowheads can be found.

INDIAN HEAD - 5 miles north of Cimarron, west of the highway. Name comes from the likeness of a head and face showing in sandstone rimrock.

JARITA CREEK - Correct name for JACETAS CREEK. Flows into the Canadian Red River at the southern Colfax - Union County line boundary. Named for many willows on its banks.

JOHNSON MESA, PARK - 16 miles east of Raton and north of US64 and 87. Named for Lige Johnson, first settler in the park, which is south of the mesa.

JONES CANYON - Extends from the Colorado state line to the Canadian Red River, 10 miles west of Raton.

JUAN LA CRUZ CANYON - At the head of the Vermejo River, near the former site of the Elkins post office. Named for Juan La Cruz who first had a home in the canyon in 1875.

KAPPAS ARROYO - Side stream from the Canadian Red River.

KEOTA - Station tunnel on AT&amp;SF RR, 3 miles north of Raton.

KIMBALL - Post Office 1890; changed to SPRINGHILL.

KIOWA - 15 miles southwest of Capulin. Known as the Kiowa District, which was first known as the KIOWA CAMP. Although the Kiowa Native Americans never lived here, at certain seasons they liked to stop at this place en route to the east, to fish and hunt and give their ponies rest and food. Post Office 1877, intermittently to 1904; mail to Folsom. This post office was also sometimes called CUNICO, a family name often heard in this section

KIT CARSON PEAK - Small peak at the mouth of the Little Red River about 3 miles south of Raton. Some people call it SQUAW PEAK. They say that a small group stood off an attack here, while one of their party rode off for help.

KOEHLER - 16 miles southwest of Raton on NM 375. Named for Henry Koehler, one time chairman of the Maxwell Land Grant Board. The land was owned for sixty years by the St. Louis, Rocky Mountain and Pacific Coal Co., but in 1955 the Kaiser Steel Corp purchased the coal mining properties, and in 1957 the mining operations were reactivated. Post office 1907 to 1957.

KOEHLER JUNCTION - On the Ute Division of AT&amp;SF RR where the tracksfor Koehler coal camp begin; the junction is 2 miles east of Koehler.

LADD - First postmaster, Charles B Ladd. Post Office 1886 to 1889' mail to Springer.

LAKE ALICE - In Sugarite Canyon about 2 miles south of Lake Maloya. The Lake is Raton's supplementary water supply. Named for Alice Jelfs, the daughter of John Jelfs, a prominent baker in Raton at the time the lake was constructed by the AT&amp;SF RR.

LAKE ARROYO - Side stream from Canadian Red River. Named for the character of its location.

LAKE EIGHT - Part of a group of numbered lakes in an area 5  by 7 miles northwest of Maxwell.

LAKE FOURTEEN - See LAKE EIGHT

LAKE MALOYA - 6 miles northeast of Raton; near head of Sugarite Canyon. It impounds water froom springs, rain, and melting snow for Raton's municipal water supply; also used for fishing and recreation.

LAKE TWO, SEVEN, TWELVE, THIRTEEN, TWENTY - See LAKE EIGHT

LAUGHLIN, LAUGHLIN PEAK - In the east end of Colfax county near the Union County line.

LITTLE RED RIVER CANYON - Named for Little Red River which flows through it. See Canadian River.

LLOYD - On NM 85, 6 miles southwestof Maxwell

LOCO ARROYO - Spanish for "crazy". Flows into the Canadian Red River. The so called "crazy" creek was named because of its intermitent risings.

LORETTA - Community in coal minig area 2 miles north of Dawson. Named for the Loretta coal mine.

LOWERY CANYON - 15 miles north of Baldy Mountain on the north fork of Ponil Creek.

LYNN - On AT&amp;SF RR, 6 miles north of Raton. Railroad settlement at the south entrance to famous Raton Pass Tunnel, highest point on the line. Post Office, 1891 to 1910; mail to Wooten, Colorado.

MANCO BURRO - MANCO DE BURRO PASS - Spanish for "crippled". See Chicarica Mesa. Between Chicarica Mesa and Raton Mesa, southeast of Raton. Manco de Burro pass got its name first from a burro getting crippled, and the stream. There was a burro, part of a pack train, that put his knee out of place and limped when. Anything that limps is called "manco" in spanish according to litigation presented over the Maxwell Land Grant in September 13, 1883.

MAQUINA CREEK - Spanish for "machine". 14 miles south of Cimarron. Named for a sawmill built there in the early 1870's.

MARTINEZ - The Martinez family name is traceable to Hernan Martin Serrano, a settler who arrived with Onate in 1598. The Martin Serrano family returned to NM after the reconquest in 1692. By the 19th century descendants had dropped the Serrano name and added ez to the surname Martin. First postmaster Marcelina V Martinez, Post Office 1889 to 1902.; mail to Aurora.

MAXWELL - Farming and ranching town on US 85, 13 miles north of Springer. Established in the late 1880's by the Maxwell Land and Irrigation Co on the Canadian River. Named for owner Lucien Maxwell. Post Office 1879, with suspensions and name changes to present day. Once covered not only the extent of western Colfax County, parts of southern Colorado, easstern Taos County, all of Union County, and embraced a total of 1,174,764.93 acres of land, the largest single land holding in the Western Hemisphere. Lucien Maxwell was a hunter and a trapper from Kaskaskia, Ill., who arrived in NM in 1849. He married Luz Beaubien, daughter of a wealthy landwowner. After the father's death he bought out the heirs. The land grant was not recognized by the US government on June 21, 1860.

MC CHRISTOBAL CREEK - Small tributary to Ponil Creek on CS Cattle Co. Ranch, northwest of Cimarron.

MC WILLIAMS CANYON - Extends from the Colorado state line to the Canadian Red River, 15 miles west of Raton. Named for a Baptist minister who made his home here during the 1870's.

MELOCHE - 10 miles south of Raton and 4 miles west of Thompson. Named for the first owner of TO Ranch, Tony Meloche, who is listed as postmaster at Vermejo from 1874 to 1883.

MESA LARGO - "Mesa" is spanish for "tableland", the name for a high plateau. "largo" meand long or large. It is 7 miles west of Capulin.

METCALF CANYON - North of North Ponil Creek, about 6 miles north of former Stern post office.

MEXICAN CREEK - In the northern part of the Moreno Valley, flows into Moreno Creek, which in turn flows into Eagle Nest Lake. Named by the Mexican gold miners of Elizabethtown., who congregatged along this creek to make their adobes.

MIAMI, Farming and ranching community on NM 199, 12 miles west of Springer, settled in 1908. The first colonists were from Miami County, Ohio., which got its name originally from a tribe of Native Americans who made their home in southwestern Ohio and southwest Indiana. Post Office 1908 to present day.

MIAMI LAKE - Artificial reservoir, 8 miles west of Miami.

MICE LAKE - 5 miles northeast of Raton.

MIDNIGHT - A gold mining and boom town that was on Bitter Creek in the northwest corner of the Moreno Valley. Finally abandoned when the factions fought over the belle of the dance hall. Midnight was the liveliest time of the day; so the name was chosen by the miners. Post Office 1895 to 1898; mail to Cerro.

MILLS CREEK - Small creek in the north end of the Moreno Valley., flows intothe Moreno River which goes on to Eagle Nest Lake. Named for Judge M. W. Mills.

MILLS PASS - 3 miles north west of Baldy Mountain, in the Maxwell Land Grant. See Mills Creek.

MOLLOY LAKE - See lake Molloy

MORENO CREEK, NORTH&lt; SOUTH - Spanish for "dark". These two creeks rise in extreme north and west end of the Moreno Valley and join to form the Moreno River.

MORENO RIVER - Flows south to Eagle Nest, these waters were used at one time for placer mining operations, when gold was washed off the ground in the Elizabethtown district.

MORENO VALLEY - In mountains on watershed between Colfax and Taos counties.

MOUNTVIEW - Post Office 1895 to 1900. Changed to DAWSON.

MUDDY CREEK - Small stream in the north end of the Moreno Valley, which at one time supplied water to placer miners of Elizabethtown. Flows into the Moreno River; waters are always riled and muddy, giving the stream its name.

Colfax County end 

Harding County

GENOVA - Shown on 1895 map, 10 miles southeast of Gallegos, in present day Harding County. Post Office 1884 to 1898; mail to Gallegos; 1904 to 1905; mail to Logan.

GRAVEYARD IN THE SKY - Stone formation near Bueyeros. So called because of graves of pioneers on top.

LEON - Spanish word for "lion". Now deserted; was on the east bank of the Ute Creek, 20 miles northeast of Mosquero. Post Office 1898 to 1911.

LEON CREEK - Small creek that flows southwest into Pinabete Arroyo.

MALPAIS HILL - 1 mile west of Ute Creek and south of Sierra Negra Mountains.

MESTENO - Spanish ofr "wild or untamed" usually referring to an animal such as a wild horse. The american word "mustang" is derived from this spanish word. On SP RR near Mills.

MILLS - Farming and ranching settlement along NM 39, 11 miles north of Roy on SP RR. Name honbors Melvin W Mills, early day attorney and rancher of Springer and Elizabethtown. Post Office 1898 to present day.

MINNIE BUTTE - In the northeast corner of Harding County, about 3 miles west of the Union County line.

MOSQUERO - Spanish for "fly trap or mosquito swarm". The county seat of Harding County. on SP RR and NM 39, 19 miles southeast of Roy. Stock raising and farming community and the site of dry ice plants. Post Office 1908 to present day.

MOSQUERO CREEK - Rises east of Mosquero and flows southeast to join Ute Creek in the south ccentral part of Harding county.

Harding County end 

 

Mora County

EL ALTO - Suburb of Mora

ELK CREEK - Uppermost tributary to Cow Creek, entering 3 miles above Martin's Ranch.

ENCIERRE -Spanish for "enclose". Post Office from 1887 to 1890; mail to Wagon Mound.

EVANS - Small station house on AT&amp;SF RR, 2 miles east of edge of Ocate Mesa. See Levy.

FEVERAS - 3 miles northwest of Ocate and 2 miles west of NM 120. In 1849 or 1850 a carpenter named Manuel La Favre worked for Lucien B Maxwell and lived at Rayado, 12 miles northeast of this community.

FORT BARCLAY - 2 miles north of Watrous. Not a government fort, but a forage camp, often referred to as a fort. The large, square enclosure, with high adobe walls and a heavy gate that could be locked, was used as a camping place for pioneers and wagon trains. The stockade furnished protection from raids. Post Office 1851 to 1854, under the name of BARCLAY'S FORT.

FORT UNION - Ruins of an abandoned, dismantled US fort, on NM 477, 8 miles north of Watrous. The mile square, open post without stockade was built in 1851 by Colonel Edmond Von Sumner and was used by soldiers, officers, and their families throughout the Indian Wars and the Civil War. The fort was an important commercial center as well as a strategic military post. Finally abandoned in 1890. In 1956 Fort Union became a national monument. Post Office 1851 to 1891.

FORT UNION MILITARY RESERVE - Includes the western 2/3 of Turkey Mountain, a tract of about 7 by 9 miles, and also flats southwest of the mountains and around old Ft. Union, a tract of about 3 by 6 miles.

FRIJOLES CREEK - Rises on border of Mora nad Taos counties and flows northwest into the Rito de la Olla.

GALLEGOS LAKE - 5 miles southwest of Wagon Mound, just east of AT&amp;SF RR.

GALLINAS - 3 miles northwest of Ocate near the Mora Colfax Counties line.

GARCIA - First postmaster, Placida R Garcia, post Office 1892 to 1898; mail to Beenham.

GASCON - In shee p raising district, 10 miles southwest of Mora. Name means native of Gascony, France. Post Office 1898 to 1901; 1905 intermitently to 1930.

GASCON CREEK - Flows past Gascon above Rociada.

GOLONDRINAS - Spanish for the birds "swallows". 18 miles north of Las Vegas

GUADALUPITA - Spanish for "little Guadalupe". Farming, lumbering, and sheep raising community on NM 38, in Rincon Range 16 miles north of Mora. Post Office 1879 to present day.

HALL'S PEAK - Community on Ocate Creek near the Mora Colfax county line. It was in the Mora Land Grant. Named for the nearby Peak. Post Office 1887 to 1912. The peak rises to an elevation of 9,800 feet, in the northwest corner of Mora County.

HAMILTON MESA - In the western part of Mora county, west of the Rio Valdez.

HOLMAN - Farming and sheep raising community in the western part of Mora County, 5 miles northwest of Mora. First postmaster, Charles W Holman. Post Office 1894 to present day.

JAROSA - 6 miles west of Wagon Mound on the slopes of Turkey Mountain in the Mora Land Grant. So named because of the location near a grove of willow trees.

JAROSA CANYON - Runs south, just north of Hamilton Mesa.

JICARITA MOUNTAIN - Rounded like an inverted basket. It is sacred to the Picuris People and has a shrine on its summit.

JOHN SCOLLY LAND GRANT - An area 6 miles square surrounding the town of Watrous. Granted by Governor Armijo about 1844, within the Mora Land Grant. Litigation continued between heirs of the two grants for half a century.

LA CASA LAKES - SDpanish for "house". Several small lakes west of Cleveland.

LA CUEVA - Spanish for "cave". Ranching community on the Rio de La Casa, at junction of NM3 and NM21, 5 miles southeast of Mora. Post Office, 1868 to present day.

LA CUEVA LAKE - 1 mile east of La Cueva, and 5 miles southeast of Mora.

LAGUNA LINDA - Spanish for "beautiful lake". On the flat ridge between the Rio La Casa and Cebolla Creek, near Cleveland.

LA JARA - Spanish for :the willows". In New Mexico, this term is used to describe a scrub willow tree. Settlement 3 miles north of Rainsville.

LA JARA CREEK - Flows east and south near Rainsville to enter Coyote Creek 2 miles from the Mora River.

LA JUNTA - Post Office 1868 to 1879; changed to WATROUS.

LAS FABRES - See FEVERAS

LAS GALLINAS - See GALLINAS

LAS MANUELAS - Small community in a cluster of Spanish settlements north of Ocate.

LEDOUX - Farmiong village 4 milessouth of NM 3, 24 miles northwest of Las Vegas. Post Office 1902 to present day.

LEON - Spanish word for "lion". Post Office 1892 to 1912; mail to Baca.

LEVY - Ranching and farming community on US 85 and AT&amp;SF RR, 5 miles north of Wagon Mound. Named on July 12, 1883, to honor the manager of the railroad commissary. Formerly called EVANS. Post Office 1908 to present day.

LO DE MORA - See Mora County

LOMA PARDA - Spanish for "gray brown hill". Ghost town on the north bank of the Mora River, 6 miles northwest of Watrous. Durting the heydey of Ft. Union, 6 miles to the northeast, Loma Parda entertained the soldiers with saloons, dance halls, and gambling houses. Post Office 1872 to 1900; mail to Watrous.

LOS CHUPADEROS - 6 miles northeast of Mora on an old wagon road to Guadalupita and Ocate.

LOS HUEROS - Spanish for "fair skinned, blonde". Settlement in the hills north of Ocate.

LOS NARANJOS - Spanish for "orange trees" or "the Naranjo folks". This family surname came to New Mexico in 1600, but there is no connection between the first pioneer and the few individuals of this name who were here in 1680 and returned in 1693. On NM 120, 20 miles northwest of Wagon Mound.

LOS SISNEROS - Spanish for "the Sisnero folks". 14 miles north of Mora and east of NM 38.

LOST BEAR LAKE - 2 miles above Pecos Falls, and 11 miles west of Mora; source of one of the tributaries of the Pecos River.

LOUIS - Formerly TRAMPERAS. First postmaster, Louis R Garcia. Post Office 1892 to 1896; mail to Clapham. See Miera.

LUCAS - First postmaster, Anna Lucas. Post Office 1908 to 1911; mail to Roy.

LUCERO - Pedro Lucero de Godoy, a native of Mexico City, came to NM early in the 17th century. His sons and grandsons figured prominently during the reconquest. Their descendants heavily populated Rio Arrivba and Rio Abajo districts in Spanish times. On NM 38, 7 miles northeast of Mora. Post Office 1885 to 1936.

LUJAN CREEK - East fork of Mora River above Chacon; rises in Rincon Range in extreme NW corner of Mora county.

LUNA CREEK - West fork of Mora River above Chacon; heads in Rincon Range.

MAESTAS CREEK - 3 miles west of Rociada

MALDONADO - Post Office 1896-1897; mail to Wagon Mound.

MC PHERSON - See SANDS

MELVIN - Post Office 1895 to 1899; mail to Wagon Mound.

MIERA - The earliest record of this surname, is that of a soldier, Bernardo Miera y Pacheco, who appeared in Santa Fe as early as 1756. His son, Anacleto, is said to be the founder of the family that settled this town. It is 9 miles south of Barney, at the Harding county line. At one time it was called TRAMPERAS, also LOUIS. First postmaster, Francisco Miera. Post Office 1889, intermittently to 1927.

MILLS BUTTE - 3 miles west of Canadian Red River in the eastern part of Mora County, and halfway between north and south boundaries.

MOGOTE - Spanish "hummock" or "young animal horns".

MORA - On NM 3 and Mora River, in the western part of Mora County. It is the county seat and shopping center for the nearby communities. Post Office 1864 to the present day.

MORA COUNTY - Formed February 1, 1860, with the town of Mora as the county seat.

MORA LAND GRANT - The entire district was designated LO DE MORA and DE O MORA in early documents. The spanish contraction indicates the spring where the mulberries frow. The Mora surname comes from one or more individuals such as Mora Pineda and Garcia de la Mora, who came to NM after the reconquest of 1692. People with this surname were living on the frontier of MoraCounty at the end of the 18th century. In a 1835 a decree gave each of 76 settlers a strip of land on which they settled. Founding the town of Santonio de lo de Mora, now Cleveland. The grant of land extended from Mora to Wagon Mound.

MORA RIVER - Rises in the Rincon Range, est of Sangre de Cristo Mountains; flows through west and south sections of Mora County into San Miguel County where it joins the Canadian River north of Sabinoso. Shown as RIO DE MORA on an 1828 map.

Mora County end

Quay County

ENDEE - Ranching and farming community on US 66, served by CRI&amp;P RR, 37 miles east of Tucumcari. Name is said to have been adopted from the brand of the ND Ranch established by the Day brothers, John E and George, in 1882. The two letters in the brand were joined so that the straight line forming the right side of the N also became the straight line forming the front end of the D. Post Office, 1886 to 1955.

FORD - Post Office 1907 to 1910; mail to House.

FORREST - Farming and ranching community on NM 18, 36 miles south of Tucumcari. Named for Forrest Farr, son of thge first postmaster and storekeeper, Watt Farr, who moved here from Missouriwith his family in 1907. When a new school building was constructed in 1928, Forrest was moved 1 mile north of its first location. Neighboring communities, including Plain, Stockton, Kirk, and Frio were started in the early days, but  only Forrest survuved. Post Ofgfice 1908 to 1919, and 1932 to the present.

FORT BASCOM - In a horseshoe bend on the south side of the Canadian River, 12 miles north of Tucumcari. Established iun 1863 under the direction of Brig. General James H Carleton, then acting commander of the Military Department of New Mexico. Built on land leased from the owners of old Pablo Montoya Grant. Named to perpetuate the memory of gallant Capt. George N. Bascom, 16th US Infantry, who fell at the Battle of Valverde on February 27, 1862. Fort Bascom was abandoned by the military in 1870, the land reverting to the owner, John SD. Watts, from whom the government had leased the site. The soldiers were moved to Fort Union. Post Office, 1874 to 1892. Name changed to Johnson.

FRIO - Community shown on 1936 map, 3 miles northwest of Forrest. Post Office, 1919 to 1922. See Forrest.

FROST - Post Office 1909 to 1910; mail to Porter.

GLENRIO - English "glen" plus spanish river "rio". One of the rare combinations of English and Spanish to create a place name. On US 66, 41 miles east of Tucumcari, on the Texas state lline. Founded in 1903, when CRI&amp;P RR was built here. Post Office 1916 to the present.

GOTERA - Spanish for "drip"

GRAVEL PIT - Named in 1906 when CRI&amp;P RR started mining gravel for its own use.

HANLEY - Post Office 1907 to 1918

HARGIS - On SP RR, 6 miles west of Tucumcari, just west of Tucumcari Metropolitan Park. Named for settlers.

HARRIS - First postmaster, Otto W Harris. Post Office 1908 to 1918.

HARTFORD - Post Office 1907 to 1910; mail to Looney.

HASSEL - Ranching community in southwest corner of Quaycounty, 20 miles northeast of Ft. Sumner. First postmaster, John W Hassel, Post Office 1907 to 1948.

HOUSE - An agricultural and ranching community on NM 86, 33 miles northwest of Melrose. Named for either Lucie J House, who in December 1902 settled on the 160 acres where House is now located, or for John L House who built the first grocery store in 1904. First postmaster, Lucie J House. Post Office 1906 to present day.

HUDSON - On SP RR and US 54, 11 miles southwest of Logan. Started when CRI&amp;P RR built a line between Dalhart, Texas and Santa Rosa in 1901. First called Revuelto and known as a railroad switch; then named Hudson, for a civil war veteran who lived there. Post Office 1908 to 1926.

IMA - Farming and ranching community on NM 156, 12 miles south of Montoya and 26 miles southwest of Tucumcari. In 1902. I.W.Moncus, with his wife, daughter, and brother in law, settled in the canyon used by the notorious, Black Jack Ketchum, for a hideout. In 1908, farmers came into the community, filing on each 110 acres of land. In 1909, Moncus established a store. He named the post office for his oldest daughter. Post Office, 1908 to 1955.

JONESVILLE - First postmaster, Joseph C. Jones. Post Office, 1908 to 1911; mail to Pleano.

JORDAN - Southwest part of county, on US 156, 28 miles south of Tucumcari. Named for Jim Jordan, who established the post office, 1907 to 1955. From 1902 to 1909, the locality was the scene of constant fights between cattlemen and sheepmen. Homesteaders came later.

KAPPU - First postmaster, Anthony Kappus, Post Office 1910 to 1913.

KIRK - Post Office 1908 to 1921. See FORREST.

LESBIA - On CRI&amp;P RR, 9 miles east of Tucumcari. Named when the railroad started through Amarillo, Texas, to Tucumcari in 1901-1902, and knows as a railroad switch. Transfer name from an Aegean island famed as the home of the Greek poetess Sapho. Formerly called RUDOLPH. From 1910 to 1913, as CASTLEBERRY, for the first postmaster. Post Office 1914 to 1918.

LIBERTY - A roaring cowtown in the 18970's on Pajarito Creek. It was the mecca for cowpunchers a hundred miles around. Now, not even a ghost town, as it has vanished completely from its location 3 miles from the present city of Tucumcari. The settlement died when the railroad came to Tucumcari in 1901.

LLANO ESTACADO - "llano" is the spanish word for the geography "plain", thence "staked plains" in spanish.There has been considerable debate both as to the origin and meaning of this colorful term for a great plateau stretching from the Canadian River in NM and Oklahoma south for 400 miles. The Pecos River is, roughly the western edge of the Staked Plains, and the Palo Duro Canyon, 200 miles away, is the eastern border line. Curving along the north and west rim is the caprock, like a stockade or "estacada" in spanish, "palisade, fence". This rough barrier made the canyons and grassed areas a refuge for game and wild horses, and pasture land for cattle. Other explanations for the name have ranged from the yucccas as "stakes" in the eare to the belief that caravan trains from Chihuahua to Arkansas marked their trail with stakes. The name does not appear in the map of 1849.

LOCKNEY - Former settlement 15 miles west of Nara Visa, near the Quay Harding county line. Post Office 1909 to 1935.

LOGAN - Ranching community, 24 miles northeast of Tucumcari, on NM 39 and US 54. Named in honor of a Captain Logan of the Texas Rangers. Post Office 1901 to present day.

LONE STAR -

LOONEY - First postmaster, Henry J Looney. Post Office, 1908 to 1913; changed to WOODROW.

LOYD - Post Office 1906 to 1914.

LUCERO MONTOYA - See Montoya

LUCIANA, LOUISIANA MESA - Large Mesa connected by a narrow strip of land to the Llano Estacado, 20 miles southwest of Tucumcari. The people at Bell Ranch say Luciano is the old name corrupted in recent times to Louisiana, and that it was owned by a pioneer5 Spanish settler named Luisiano or Luciano.

LUCILLE - Post Office 1911 to 1934; previously ORTON

MATER - 17 miles northest of Tucumcari on US 54, between Logan and Hudson. Started when CRI&amp;P RR put in the line to Dalhart, Texas, and Santa Rosa in 1901. The name is a family name.

MCALISTER - Farming community on NM 86, 36 miles south of Tucumcari and 19 miles NE of Tolas. Named for A.I. McAlister, who built the first store and whose wife was the first postmaster. Post Office 1907 to present day.

MESA PINCA or PINCO MESA - "Mesa " is the spanish word describing a high plateau. "orphan sheep" an exprerssion to an orphan calf. It is 3 miles west of Quay.

MESA REDONDO - Spanish for "round mesa". A high flat topped mountain towering above the surrounding valley, 6 miles west of Norton. Covers ten or twelve sections of land that are excellent cattle range. It was the hangout of the Spikes gang of outlaws and cattle thieves, which was broken up by cattlemen and posses in the early 18900's. 

MINEOSA - Possibly a mis spelling of "miniosa" spanish for "containing minio, red lead". Near the Quay Union County border, 9 miles northwest of Nara Visa. Post Office 1908 to 1913.

MONTOYA - Bartolome de Montoya, a Spaniard who married Maria de Zamora in Mexico City, came with his family to Santa Fe in 1600. The marriages of his 5 children and their descendants are recorded in the growing Spanish colony. Also known as Lucero Montoya. A farming and ranching community on US 54 and 66, 21 miles west of Tucumcari. Established in 1902 when CRI&amp;P RR built a siding here. Formerly called ROUNTREE. Post Office 1902 to present day.

MOORE - Postmaster John A Moore, Post Office 1903 to 1912

MURDOCK - 12 miles northwest of Melrose. Post Office 1907 to 1917.

Quay County end

Union County

Union County end

Source: New Mexico Place Names, A Geographical Dictionary. T.M. Pearce, Ina Sizer Cassidy, Helen S pearce; The University of New Mexico Press, 1965. LCCC No. 64-17808.