Colfax County, New Mexico, Place Names

Colfax County

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".

Harding County

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.

Mora County

ABBOTT. A post office listed in Mora in1905.

ABUELO. Spanishh word for "grandfather". A little town on the Cebolla valley, 1 1/2 miles from Mora. Its provincial pronunciation as "aguelo" is evident among the earliest documents. This is an oldNew Mexico expression for "bogeyman", an ugly old man to scare children.

AGUA AZUL CREEK. "agua azul" is spanish for "blue water".

Quay County

ADBERG. On CRI&amp;P RR, 5 miles NE of Tucumcari. Family name of first settler.

Union County

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.