Union County, New Mexico, Place Names

AIROLO. Post Office 1905-1909; mail to Pasamonte.

ALPS. Station or passing track on C&amp;S RR, 5 miles NE of Folsom and 6 miles south of the Colorado border. Named in 1887, when railroad was built, because of terrain similar to the Swiss Alps.

AMBOY. On C&amp;S RR, 3 miles NW of Des Moines.

AIROLO Post Office, 1905-09; mail to Pasamonte.

ALPS Station or passing track on C&amp;S RR, 5 miles NE of Folsom and 6 miles S of Colorado border. Named in 1887, when railroad was built, because of terrain similar to Swiss Alps.

AMBOY On C&amp;S RR, 3 miles NW of Des Moines.

AMISTAD Spanish for "friendship". Near Texas line, E of NM 18. Founded in 1906 by the Rev. H. S. Wannamaker, a Congregational minister, who named it as a token of his hope for enterprise. A number of the early settlers were clergymen from the East. Post Office, 1907.

ARCHULETA CREEK

ATENCIO 7 miles from the Texas line, 24 miles north of Clayton. Name of Spanish family, the earliest of whom, Jose de Atienza de Alcala y Escobar, arrived in NM in 1693. Post Office, 1910-1914.

BACA Post Office 1884-1898; mail to Bueyeros. First postmaster, Louis A.C. de Baca.

BARNEY Former settlement on Pinabete Creek, 24 miles SW of Clayton. Post Office, 1896-1930.

BEENHAM Former ranch settlement on a branch of Tramperos Creek, 9 miles southeast of Pasamonte. Owned and named about 1880 by Charles John de Haviland (Uncle Charley) Bushnell, a sea captain from Beenham, England. He served as first postmaster. Post Office, 1890-1924.

BIBLE TOP HILL 3 miles W of rabbit Ears Mountain and N of US 87. A deep depression runs E and W across the top of the hill, which thus appears like an open book; hence the name Bible Top. This hill was used as a lookout point by Indians, and numerous flint arroe points have been found here.

BIG SPRING See Rabbit Ear Creek

BLACKSMITH CANYON 2.5 miles N of dry Cimarron River on N side of Black Mesa. Heads in NM and opens out into North Carriso Canyon in Colorado. In the early 1860's a band of outlaws,led by the notorious outlaw Coe, did their blacksmithing in this canyon, where later settlers found a part of the anvil block. it was made from a piece of fine, hard wood, very rare in this part of the country; hence the name.

BRIGGS CANYON 12 miles NE of Folsom; heads a few miles north of Des MOines and opens into Cimarron Canyon. Named for a family who located here in 1866. It is a spot abounding in wildlife.

BRYANTINE 25 miles SE of Mosquero. First postmaster, Sarah P. Bryant. Post Office 1903-1920.

CAPULIN Mexican Spanish for "wild cherry". ON US 64 and 87., 27 miles SE of Raton and 8 miles west of Des Moines. First named DEDMAN in honor of E.J.Dedman, superintendent of AT&amp;SF RR in 1909. In 1914, when Mr. Dedman died, the name was changed to Capulin because of the proximity to Mt. Capulin. Post Office, 1879 -.

CAPULIN MOUNTAIN 20 miles South of Colorado line and 4 miles NE of Capulin. Named because of the wild cherries (chokeberries) which grew inside the volcanic cone. It is one of the most symmetrical volcanic cones in North America. The high elevation affords a view into 5 states.

CARRIZO CREEK Empties into Dry Cimarron Creek.

CARRUMPA CREEK See CORRUMPA

CENTERVILLE 8 miles south of Amistad and 13 miles north of Nara Visa. Established by hometraders in December 1907. Post Office 1907-1944.

CENTRAL CITY See HAYDEN

CERNADA Spanish for "cinder", with probable reference to volcanic ashes. Near Mt. Dora, 18 miles west of Clayton.

CIENAGA CREEK Cienega in Spanish means "marsh, marshy place". See RABBIT EAR CREEK.

CIENAGA DEL BURRO See RABBIT EAR CREEK.

CIENEGUILLA CREEK "Cieneguilla" in spanish is small marshy place. Formed by several tributaries 3 miles north of the settlement of Mt. Dora; flows east into Oklahoma. Formerly called CIENEGUILLA DEL BURRO.

CIMARRON PASS See EMORY GAP.

CLAPHAM 22 miles southwest of Clayton on NM 57. Named for Tom Clapham who, in 1888, filed with Jim Davis on adjoining claims. They built a long, two room house on the section line, so that one room was on Clapham's claim and the other on Davis's claim. Post Office, 1888 to 1954.

CLAYTON - A railroad shipping center and county seat, 10 miles west of the Texas state line. Founded in 187 by John C Hill, range manager of the Stephen Dorsey Ranch and named for Clayton C. Dorsey, son of Senator Stephen W Dorsey of Arkansas. The latter was involved in a famous mail fraud case. Bob Ingersoll was his lawywer at the trial and Dorsey was freed. Then he and Ingersoll established the Triangle Dot Ranch in Union and Colfax Counties. Post Office 1888 to present day.

CLAYTON MOUNTAIN -

CORRUMPA - A Native American word meaning "wild or isolated". Former settlement on the headwaters of Corrumpa Creek where FDW Ranch was founded by Frederick D. W. Wright. Now headquarters for Ferol Smith Ranch. Post Office 1905 to 1919.

CORRUMPA CREEK - 10 miles east of Des Moines, at headwaters of North Canadian. First named MCNEES Creek by the traders on the Santa Fe Trail, in memory of a young man who was murdered there by Comanche Indians in 1828. Later the name was changed to Corrumpa. Captain William Becknell crossed the creek in 1822. It is also called CURRUMPAW CREEK.

CRAMER CREEK - 1.5 miles south of Centerville.

CUATES - Trading point 10 miles north of Clayton. Borrows the spanish term "cuate" meaning "twin or close friend" as a place name. Post Office from 1903 to 1938.

DEAD MAN - Post Office 1909 to 1912; Chnanged to Capulin.

DEAD MAN'S ARROYO - A few miles east of Sierra Grande Mountains, where Seneca Creek heads. Received its name from the last Indian raid in Union County (then a part of Colfax County) on July 4 1874. Ute indians came through the country on the warpath, killing several Spanish Americans and two Anglos. The Anglos were killed at Corrumpa Creek and the Spanish in this arroyo.

DEDMAN - Post Office 1909 to 1923. See Capulin.

DES MOINES - On US 87 and C&amp;S RR, 38 miles southeast of Raton. Post Officve 1906 to present day.

DEVOY PEAK - 2.5 miles from the Colorado state line, 10 miles northeast of Folsom. Named for Michael Devoy, early pioneer.

DOLORES - On Ute Creek at the Union and Harding County line. Post Office 1913 to 1914.

DON CARLOS CREEK - Runs along the Colfax and Union county line and flows south to join the Holkeo Creek. Name probably is associated with a landowner in the area.

DON CARLOS HILLS - In the southeast corner of Uniopn county, 6 miles northeast of Gladstone.

DRIPPING SPRINGS - Located in a cave in Peacock Canyon. Gets its name from the way the water drips from stalactites.

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.