Harding County, New Mexico, Place Names

ABBOTT LAKE. Artificial lake 10 miles SW of Abbott (Colfax County).

ABBOTT STATION. 2 miles south of the Colfax county line, 19 miles SE of Springer. Established when Southern Pacific railRoad built its lline through the area in the later 1870's. Two brothers, Horace and Jerome Abbott, owned a big sheep ranch here.

ALAMO CREEK. "alamo" spanish for "cottonwood". See Ute Creek.

ALBERT. At the junction of Tequesquite and Carriso Creeks, 13 miles NE of Mosquero. Named for Albert Mitcchell, one of the early and prominent ranchers of the state. His son Albert K. Mitchell, was a candidate for governor in 1938. The Mitchell ranch is near Albert and uses the town as headquarters. Post office, 1890.

ALICIA SIDING. On SP RR, 5 miles SE of Abbott Station.

ARROYO DEL CEJITA Named for Cejita Creek. Also known as Ridge Creek. ARROYO DEL MUERTO Spanish arroyo of the deadman". Possibly for the tragedy to people trapped by the sudden rush of water in a stream bed usually dry.

BUENA VISTA Spasnish for "beautiful view". 28 miles SE of Mosquero on NM 39.

BUEYEROS Spanish for "ox team drivers". On Bueyeros Creek and NM 57, 8 miles south of Union County line. Settled in 1878. So named because teams of oxen were used for the work done here. Post Office 1898-.

BURRO ARROYO Flows down Burro Canyon 6 miles SE of Roy, coming into San Miguel County.

CARROS CREEK 12 miles west of Pleasant Valley.

CEJITA CREEK

CEJITA DE LOS COMANCHEROS Spanish for "little mountainsummit of the Comanche hunters or traders". A little west of Union County line in the NE corner of Harding County. Name is descriptive of the warfare before the US occupation. The Comancheros were licensed by the United Dtates. They bartered with the Indians for buffalo hides, horses and cattle. and sometimes fought. After the US occupation, there were Anglo Comancheros, sometimes accused of disguising as Indians and raiding American wagon trains.

CONE - Former settlement 9 miles west of Hayden; then moved 8 miles northwest of Rosebud. Named for William W Cone, first postmaster, Mystice Cone. Post Office 1908 to 1935.

DAVID - 10 miles east of Mosquero at foot of David Hill. Center of a sheep raising district. Post Office 1915 to 1922.

DEHAVEN - Sometimes written DE HAVEN. 3 miles from the Harding and Union County line, in the north central part of Harding County. First postmaster George W De Haven. Post Office 1895 to 1920.

DEL MUERTO CREEK - See Arroyo del Muerto.

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.