Colfax County, New Mexico Genealogy

United States &gt; New Mexico &gt; Colfax County

Address
230 North 3rd Street

Raton, New Mexico 87740

Mailing Address:

County Clerk

P.O. Box 159

Raton, New Mexico 87740

Telephone
County Clerk: 575 - 445 - 5551

Web page or Email
County Clerk's Office

Hours
Monday - Friday

8:00 AM to 5:00 PM

Closed on Holidays

History
The courthouse, built in 1936, is a five-story blond, brick building with a hipped tile roof on the top story and flat roofs on the lower portions. The building has glazed tile cornices and bas relief metal panels. The larger bas reliefs have scenes of farming, mining, and cattle ranching, which were the main industries in Colfax County. Some of the smaller motifs show the cattle brands from Colfax County. Some of the other architectural features include terrazzo floors, tile wainscoating, chipped-tile roof on the top story roof and flat roofs on lower areas.

The Colfax County Courthouse building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Birth Certificates
Birth Certificates are NOT issued at the Colfax County Clerk's Office.

They may be obtained from one of the following locations:

Local Office: New Mexico Public Health Office                                     226 East 4th Street                                      Raton, NM 87740                                      Phone: (575) 445-3601

State Office: Office of NM Vital Records and Health Statistics                                     1105 S. St. Francis Drive                                      P.O. Box 26110                                      Santa Fe, NM 87502-6110

Phone: (505) 827-0121

Credit Card Orders: 877-284-0963

For online birth records, refer to Vital Records below.

Death Certificates
Death Certificates are NOT issued at the Colfax County Clerk's Office. They CANNOT copy death certificates under any circumstances.

Local Office: New Mexico Public Health Office                                       226 East 4th Street                                        Raton, NM 87740                                        Phone: (575) 445-3601

State Office: Office of NM Vital Records and Health Statistics                                      1105 S. St. Francis Drive                                       P.O. Box 26110                                       Santa Fe, NM 87502-6110

Phone: (505) 827-0121

Credit Card Orders: 877-284-0963

Divorce Records
Colfax County clerk's office does NOT record divorce records.

Divorce records are kept at the DISTRICT COURT in the county where the divorce was filed.

Colfax County District Court

(575) 445-5584

Helpful Links:
Colfax County Clerk's Office

Other Court and Public Record offices of Colfax County

History
The Santa Fe Trail's Raton Pass offshoot brought settlers from the Eastern United States to join the existing Mexican and Native American populations. Colfax County was named for Schuyler Colfax (1823-1885), the seventeenth Vice President of the United States. Detailed Historic and Cultural Overview. History and Historic Trail Maps (Dept. Interior).

The Colfax County War - 1875.

Parent County
'''Taos County. ''' Taos County was one of the original nine counties created by the New Mexico Territory in 1852.

Boundary Changes
Human occupation of this New Mexico area has existed by Native Americans since Folsom Man 8200 BC. The Native Americans who inhabited the land (c.1400) for hundreds of years before Europeans arrived, were called "Jicarilla Apaches" by the Europeans. The Jicarilla Apaches marked their boundaries by 4 rivers (renamed by subsequent populations): The Arkansas River to the north, The Canadian River to the east, The Rio Grande River to the south and the Chama River to the west. They were farmers, hunters and gatherers who had flat roofed houses and settled along the rivers ie. The Ponil, The Cimarron, The Vermejo, The Purgatory. They actively traded with their neighbors who lived in the Pueblos in the west and on the Plains in the east. Their land use was usufructuary and co-existed with the Spanish and the French. They did not have the European tradition of written deeds and could not prove their ownership in the US court system up to the US Supreme Court. This population lost their land, and was physically removed by US troops in 1876. pp.1-289

During the Colonial Era this area was Territory of Spain 1598-1824. In July, 1706, General Juan de Ulibarri, Seargeant Major for the Spanish Territory, mapped, renamed the area geography, and found evidences of French fur trappers. By 1714, the Jicarilla Apaches were employed, by the Spanish, as an auxillary army on their northern border. Mexico gained Independence from Spain and this area became a Territory of Mexico 1824-1848. The Republic of Texas claimed it as part of their territory to the Rio Grande, on the west and south, 1836-1845, and invaded New Mexico in 1841; The Mexican-American War broke out in 1846.

Spanish/Mexican occupation of the land was also defined by usufructuary practices before and after and within the Land Grant borders. Before 1841, the people living in Taos and Rio Arriba counties grazed their cattle and sheep on this land. The Carlos Beaubien/Guadalupe Miranda Land Grant was authorized in 1841 to expedite sending settlers to this area inhabited by the Jicarilla Apaches. The Beaubien/Miranda/Maxwell Land Grant borders were roughly defined: on the west, by the eastern slope of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains; on the north, by the Purgatory River; on the east, by the Canadian River; and on the south, roughly by a line from about Black Lake and Hall's Peak to Colmor, between Ocate and Rayado. Lucien Maxwell became owner of the land through marriage, and buying out the heirs. He became the largest private landowner in the history of the United States. Settlers' property lines within the land grant were affirmed by Lucien Maxwell's personal word and handshake. These boundaries, were not accepted by the US court system including the US Supreme Court. The US Congress passed the Homestead Act of 1862. The land redistribution was only slightly interrumpted by the Civil War. In 1870, Maxwell sold his interests to Dutch and English financiers backed by US federal and US Territorial government officials. After decades of boundary conflicts and the resulting Colfax County War,1875-1878, the Spanish/Mexican settlers, and others, lost their land, were forced to repurchase their own land or were removed. pp. 1-289

Other dates, important to the establishment of borders are as follows: The US formed a provisional Territorial Government 1846-1850; Treaty with Mexico was signed in 1848. New Mexico was a Territory of the US from 1850 to 1912, when it became a State. The border with Colorado was designated by the US Congress in the creation of the Territory of Colorado in 1860, even though there was contiguously owned property by New Mexicans. After the Stonewall Revolt in 1888 and the litigation between the US Government and Lucien Maxwell. p.89-287, New Mexicans also lost ownership of that land.

Colfax County was created in January 25,1869 from Mora County which was created from Taos County in 1860. Colfax County originally covered the entire Northeast corner of the state to the Texas border. In 1893 the eastern portion of Colfax County was taken to create Union County. A southern portion of Colfax County was divided in 1921 to create Harding County. p.289

The original county seat, 1869, was the gold mining town of Elizabethtown. In 1872 the county seat was moved to Cimarron a stage coach stop along the Mountain Branch of the Santa Fe Trail and home of the Maxwell Land Grant. In 1881, it was moved from Cimarron to Springer, a railroad town on the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad. In 1897, after a bitter legislative fight the county seat was moved to Raton, an important coal mining town and railroad center.

Geography
According to the US Census Bureau, Colfax County has a total area of 3,768 square miles. Is the size of the states of Rhode Island and Delaware combined. The boudaries from east to west extend 69 miles, and north to south, 54 miles. . Of which only 11 square miles of it is water. There are 84 lakes in the county. A large portion of the County lies in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, Southern Rockies. The geography ranges from alpine meadows, foothills with their mining regions, aspen, pine and pinon forests, to the semi arid prairies and cattle lands of the plains. List of Valleys, Summitts, Ridges, Streams, Lakes, Dams, Springs and Creeks. Interactive Map.

Towns and villages
  County Seat:     Raton          

      County Population:  2 008 estimate is 12,962;     2008 Census Quickfacts ; 2004 estimate is 13,183;

2000 Census - 14,189                                 1940 Census - 18,718

1990 Census - 12,925                                 1930 Census - 19,157

1980 Census - 13,667                                 1920 Census - 21,550

1970 Census - 12,170                                 1910 Census - 16,460

1960 Census - 13,806                                 1900 Census - 10,150

1950 Census - 16,761

Populated Places
Abbott, Angel Fire, Banning Place, Black Lake, Black Lake Resorts, Capitan Hill, Carlsbrook, Casa Grande, Chico, Cimarron, Colmor, Dillon, Eagle Nest, Farley, French, Hebron, Idlewild, Keota, Lakeview Pines, Maxwell, McCrystal Place, McDaniel Cimarron Place, Miami, Raton, Schomberg, Shuree, Six Mile Gate, Springer, Sugarite, Sunny Side, Tinaja, Toril, Troyburg, Urraca Place, Ute Park, Val Verde Ski Area, Valdez Place. List of all locales. Interactive map.

List of Colfax County Place names A-E, F-M, N-Z.

Historic or Ghost towns
Abreu, Agua Fria, Alma, Aurora, Baldy, Bell, Blossburg, Brackett, Brilliant, Catskill, Chico, Cimarron, Clifton, Colfax, Colmor, Cottonwood, Dawson, Deep Tunnel, Dorsey, Dover, Elizabethtown, England, Farley, Gardiner, Gato, Heck, Hematite, Johnson Mesa, Kiowa, Koehler, Ladd, Loretta, Lynn, Meloche, Moreno, Osha, Otero, Palo Blanco, Perryville, Pina, Pittsburg, Ponil Park, Rael, Rayado, Robinson, Slagle, Sugarite, Southside, Stocktons, Swastika, Sweetwater, Tafoya, Taylor Springs, Therma, Trinchera, Troy, Unico, Van Houten, Vernon, Virginia City, Willow, Yankee, [http://www.histopolis.com/Place/US/NM/Colfax_County/ Interactive Map. ]

Interactive Map, Town Details,

Historic Post Offices ; All Post Offices

List of Place names A-E, F-M, N-Z; List of Historic Places of Colfax County, National Register

Towns or Places with Name Changes
The Older name will be listed first and generally followed by the more current name.

1. Ahogadera = San Francisco Mesa;  2. Chicarica Mesa = Barela Mesa;  3. Chicorico = Sugarite;  4. Chicorico Canyon = Sugarite Canyon;  5. Chico Springs = Chico;  6.Cimilorio = Vermejo Peak;   7.Coleman = Elkins;   8. Dover = Gato;  9. Eagle Park = Ute Park;  10. Elizabeth Peak = Baldy Mountain;  11. Jacetas Creek = Jarita Creek;  12. Kimball = Springhill;  13.Kiowa Camp = Cunico = Kiowa;   14. Maxwell = Dorsey = Springer  15.Mountview = Dawson;    16. Osha = Black Lake;  17.Philturn=Philmont;   18.Ryado=Rayado;   19.Santa Fe Forks = Hoxie;   20. Sauz = Abbott = New Abbott (The Forks);  21.Semerone= Cimarron;   22. Squaw Peak = Kit Carson Peak;  23.Swastika = Brilliant; 24. Taylor = Taylor Springs;  25.Therma = Eagle Nest;   26. Troy = Troyburgh = Parton;  27. Vermejo = Cimilorio = Vermejo = Vermejo Park;  28. Virginia = Virginia City = E Town = Elizabethtown;  29.Willow = Van Houten;   30. Willow Arroyo = Willow Creek = Raton Creek;

Neighboring Counties

 * Costilla County, Colorado
 * Harding
 * Las Animas County, Colorado
 * Mora
 * Taos
 * Union County

Archives and Repositories
Local:

Seton Memorial Library
See details

State:

Rio Grande Historical Collections
See Details

Search by Cemetery Name
Click on Cemetery Name to see details.

Abbott Cemetery, Abreu Cemetery, Agua Dulce Cemetery, Black Lake Cemetery,

Caliente Canyon Cemetery, Catholic Cemetery, Catskill Cemetery, Cimarron Canyon Cemetery,

Cimarron Cemetery, Cimarron Mountain View Cemetery, Clifton Cemetery p.206, Colmor Cemetery,

Dawson Cemetery, Eagle Nest Cemetery, Elizabethtown Cemetery, Espinoza Cemetery, Fairmont Cemetery,

Fairview Presbyterian Cemetery, Gallagher Cemetery, Hecht Family Cemetery, Herrera Cemetery,

Hollenbeck Cemetery, J.B. Dawson Family Cemetery, Jackson Cemetery, Johnson Cemetery,

Johnson Mesa Cemetery, Kaplan Cemetery, Kelleher Cemetery, Livingston Cemetery, Maxwell Cemetery,

Maxwell Family Cemetery, Miami Cemetery, Mountain View Angel Fire Cemetery,

Mountain View Cimarron Cemetery, Mountain View Kiowa Cemetery, Mountainview Kiowa Cemetery,

Mount Calvary Cemetery, North Abbott Cemetery, Otero Cemetery, Palo Blanco Mountain Cemetery,

Pine Buttes Cemetery, Point of Rocks Mesa Cemetery, Ponil Park Cemetery, Rayado Cemetery,

Ring Place Cemetery, Saint John's Methodist Church Cemetery, Pacheco Cemetery, San Antonio Cemetery,

St. Anthony Church Cemetery, Saus Creek Cemetery, Seeley Cemetery, Soldier Hill p.207, Springer Cemetery,

Sweet Water Cemetery, Tinaja Cemetery, Touch Me Not Mountain Cemetery,

United Church of Angel Fire Cemetery, Valdez Cemetery, Vermejo Cemetery, Wilson Cemetery,

Search by Cemetery Location
Click on Cemetery location to see details

Abbott, Angel Fire, Agua Dulce, Black Lake, Caliente Canyon, Cimarron, Colmor, Dawson, Eagle Nest,

Elizabethtown, Johnson Mesa, Kiowa, Loco Arroyo, Maxwell, Miami, North Abbott, Otero, Palo Blanco Mountain,

Pine Buttes, Point of Rocks Mesa, Ponil Park, Raton, Rayado, Ring Place, Sauz Creek, Seeley, Springer,

Sweet Water, Tinaja, Touch Me Not Mountain, Trinchera Pass, Ute Park.

Colfax County
1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1900, 1920 Free Census Search

1870 US Census, Colfax County: (A-Free), (Fren-Midd), (Mila-Truj), (Truj-Z), Index, transcription and index,

1880 US Census Free Search

1912 - Business Directory:

County Officials, Baldy, Bell, Black Lake, Blossburg, Bonito, Brackett, Brilliant, Capulin, Carlsbrook, Cerrososo. Chico, Chicorica, Cimarron, Clifton House, Colfax, Colmor, Cunningham, Dawson, Dean, Dillon, Dorsey, Elizabeth, French, Gardiner, Gato, Harlan, Hebron, Hunt, Keota, Koehler, Koehler Junction, Lloyd, Lynn, Maxwell, Meloche, Metcalf, Miami, Nash, Otero.

1930 - Federal Census Index: A-C, C-G, G-L, L-P, P-S, S-Z.

Kiowa
1920 - Partial Federal Census Record

Raton
1910 and 1920 Partial Federal Census Records

Other
New Mexico Death Records1889-1945 Search

New Mexico Death RecordsUS GenWeb Index Project

Social Security Death Index Search

Guide to 1788 and 1790Census of El Paso del Norte

Colfax County Residents (60) who received Patents:

Go to Google Search Patents. Type in "New Mexico" "county of Colfax" OR "Colfax County"

Bureau of Land Management
General Land Office Records Search

Mining
Colfax County was, historically, a mining area. Most of the mines have closed. See, List of Mines.

Angel Fire Community Library
See Details

Eagle Nest Public Library
See Details

Arthur Johnson Memorial Library
See Details

Springer - Fred Macaron Library
See Details

Family History Library
See Details

Seton Memorial Library
See Details

Lists of Settlers, 1860
1. Rayado

2. Rio Colorado

Lists of Settlers, 1880
1. Upper and Lower Dry Cimarron

Pioneers, Settlers, and Others
Published Online Information

Listed by surname

Local Histories
1. Translating Property: the Maxwell Land Grant and the conflict over Land in the American West, 1840-1890               Maria E Montoya. University of California press, 2002.

2. The Leading Facts of New Mexican History. Ralph Emerson Twitchell. Volume 3. Colfax County, pp. 63-133

3. History of New Mexico: Its Resources and People. George B. Anderson. Volume 2. Colfax County, pp. 666-

4. The Grant that Maxwell Bought. F. Stanley.

5. A Brief History of Springer. Lorrena A Keenan, Michael E Taylor.

6. Haunted Tales of Cimarron, New Mexico. examiner.com

7. Ghosts of the St. James Hotel. Jill Sweatman.

8. Ghost Towns and Mining Camps. James E Sherman, Barbara Sherman.

Maps
1895 Colfax County Map, 1895 new Mexico State Map

1895 Map of Taos, Mora, and Colfax Counties

USGS Quad Topographic Maps of Features in Colfax County

US Census Bureau mapping engine, Tiger Map

Colfax County Interactive Map of Minerals and Mines

Marriage Records
Marriage Index 1871-1900 (Grooms name Ab to Lo), (Grooms name Lo to Zw)

Marriages 1889-1893, and 1897-1901 - Justice of the Peace Records, Precinct #20 - NMGS

Pre - Statehood (6 Jan 1912)
Muster Roll - Coronado Expedition - 1540

Soldier List - Onate Expedition 1598-1608

Partial List of New Mexico Settlers - 1600

Civil War Pension Index Card Search

List of Pensioners 1883

Post - Statehood
WWI Civilian Draft Registrations - free online

Vietnam War - Angel Fire Memorial

Mining
The mountains of Colfax County were rich in gold, silver, copper, iron, and coal. page 64; p.90-107;

30 miles to the west of Lucien Maxwell's ranch, Elizabethtown and Virginia City were established in the Moreno Valley close to the extensive placers and mines. Resulting in 5 million dollars of gold output between 1867 and 1872. Near these mines, "one of the richest copper mines of the world" had been established before the discovery of gold in 1867. page 65.

The existence of coal deposits were first officially noticed by Wislezenus, Tour of Northern New Mexico in 1848. p.63, and by Lt. Colonel Emory, Notes of Military Reconnoissance of 1848, page 19. Although, travellers of The Santa Fe Trail, knew of its existence, many years prior. In 1865, Prof. Richard Dale Owen, noted that a five foot coal bed was clearly visible from Lucien Maxwell's hacienda and was close to the stage road. The survey estimated coal deposits to measure 870, 000 acres with contents of 30 billion, 805 million tons. Coal was mined in large scale.1907, the year of greatest production, output of 1,844,550 tons was reached.

Early coal mining operations. page 64.

Early placers prospected for gold page 67.

List of Mining Claimsfor Colfax County.

Eagles Nest
Elizabethtown Museum

Cimarron
Kit Carson Museum of Rayado

Philmont Museum

Villa Philmonte

Raton
Raton Museum

Springer
Dorsey Mansion history, Dorsey Mansion Ranch

Santa Fe Trail Interpretative Center and Museum

Newspapers
Current local newspaper addresses and phones: See Details

Historic Periodicals and Newspapers, See List

Digital Collectionsfor Colfax County Newspapers

Search Historic Newspapers, Library of Congress

Probate
See Details

Santa Fe Trail
Santa Fe Trail went through Colfax County in two places.

1. The Mountain Route went south from Trinidad, Colorado, through Raton Pass, down the slope toward the town of

Cimarron. There was a stop on the Canadian River at the Clifton House. About nine miles to the southwest the

trail splits, one going to the town of rayado and the other to Cimarron. The Road travels on to Springer.

2. The Santa Fe Trail crosses Colfax County from the eastern border of the Kiowa Grasslands near Clayton, New

           Mexico, and travels through the Gaine's Cattle Ranch, then beneath the Point of Rocks Mesa, and then travels

  through the Gillespie Ranch, east of Springer.

Santa Fe National Historic Trail

Santa Fe Trail Family History Project

Santa Fe Trail Scenic Byway

Schools
Cimarron Public Schools

Superintendent's Office, 125 N Collison Ave., Cimarron, NM 87714; phone 575-376-2007 or 2445

Eagle Nest Public Schools

Eagle Nest, NM 87718 - phone: 575-377-6991

Maxwell Public Schools

Maxwell, NM 87728: phone - 575-375-2371

Raton School District

Administration Offices - 1550 Tiger Cir., Raton, NM 87740; phone - 575-445-9111

Springer School District

Superintendent's Office - 1401 8, Springer, NM 87747; phone - 575-483-2482

Vital Records
List of Colfax County Birth Records 1893-1895, A-W.

Genealogy Club of Angel Fire
PO Box 503, Angel Fire, NM 87710

State:
Genealogy Trails History Group

Hispanic Genealogical Research Center of New Mexico

Historical Society of New Mexico

Los Alamos Historical Society

New Mexico Civil War Ladies League

New Mexico Daughters of the American Revolution

New Mexico Genealogical Society

New Mexico Jewish Historical Society

New Mexico State Historian

Route 66 Association of New Mexico

Southern New Mexico Genealogy Society

State Historian

Taos County Historical Society

Websites

 * NM GenWeb, Colfax County page.
 * Family History Library Catalog
 * New Mexico Random Acts of Kindness
 * Linkpendium for Colfax County
 * Worldcat, Library Booksregarding Colfax County
 * Colfax County Online Genealogy Message Boards: Cousin Connect, GenForum, Rootsweb,
 * Colfax County Newspaper Abstracts
 * New Mexico Pedigree Project, Index of Surnames