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". 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 XOUNTY- 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.

Colfax County end 

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.

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.

Harding County end 

 

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".

AGUA NEGRA. "agua negra" is spanish for "black water". A town on the Mora River, once on the Maxwell Land Grant. Post Office 1884-1892.

AGUA PIEDRA CREEK. "agua piedra" is spanish for "stone water".

ARROYO DE LA JARA. On the border of San Miguel County, W of Watrous.

AURORA Point 6 miles N of Ocate. Post Office, 1902-1921.

BARCLAY'S FORT See Fort Barclay

BEAR CREEK Tributary of Mora fork of Pecos River.

BEATTY 7 miles north of Cowles.

BEATTY'S CREEK See Rito del Padre.

BUENA VISTA 20 miles N of Las Vegas. Name emphasizes natural advantages., "good view" in Spanish.

CALLEY'S LAKE 8 miles south of Wagon Mound.

CANADIAN HILLS Extended east from Wagon Mound across east end of Mora county.

CANONCITO Spanish for "lttle canyon".

CARMEN 12 miles S of Mora near Cebolla River. Possibly a reference to Nuestra Senora del Carmen "Our Lady of Carmen".

CEBOLLA Spanish for "onion". This was applied to streams and locations because of wild flowers of the onion family were found in the area. Valley in the west part of Mora County, 3 miles SE of Mora.

CEBOLLA RIVER In the Mora Grant; crosses NM 3 SE of Mora and enters the Mora River.

CHACON "Chaco" is a regional spanish term for "desert". The name was derived from a Navajo for an arroyo and a valley.

A settlement in the upper end of the Mora Valley, 7 miles north of Holman. Named for members of the Chacon family. Albino, Damasco, and Pedro Chacon are listed among the first settlers of San Antonio de Mora (now Cleveland). Diego A. Chacon, was the first postmaaster. Post Office 1894 to present.

CHARETTE LAKE 7 miles west of Nolan

CHERRY VALLEY LAKE - 2 miles southeast of Shoemaker, NM.

CIRUELA CREEK - Spanish name for plum, the wild red plums that grw in the area.

CLEVELAND - 2 miles northwest of Mora on the Rio de la Casa. Settled in 1835 and originally known as SAN ANTONIO. Named in honor of Grover Cleveland, president of the United States 1885-1889 and 1893-1897. Post office 1892 to present day.

Mora County end

Quay County

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

AHMEGO. Post Office 1908-1913. Changed to LOCKNEY.

ALAMOGORDO CREEK. "alamogordo" spanish for "large cottonwood". tributary of the Pecos River called ALAMOQUADO CREEK from its head in west Quay County to the settlement of ALAMO.

ALAMOSA CREEK Rises S of Ima; flows SE to Curryy County line, turns and flows SW to enter Taiban Creek just W of the De Baca County line.

ALLEN. Post Office 1906-1916.

APACHE CANYON On NM 88, 6 miles N of its junction with NM 18. Some say that the last Apache Indian killed by cattlemen was slain near the mouth of the canyon on a small hill. Others say the canyon is so named because it was the Apache's favorite spot for attack on wagon trains, as this was the only trail leading from the caprock to the valley.

APACHE CITY Former settlement, 30 miles S of Tucumcari. Townsite and sale of lots about 1907.

ARD Post Office 1907-1914

ATARQUE Spanish for "diversion dam". Founded in 1884. First settlers were Juan Garcia and hismother, Senora Cecelia Garcia, who built a dam on the natural lake, developing a water tank for stock. Name may be related to "atarquinar" which means " to fill up with mud". The word was used for an earthen dam, and was extended later to mean any dam across a small stream.

BARANCOS Spanish for "gorge". Post Office 1906-1912.

BARD Farming and ranching community 28 miles E of Tucumcari, near US 66 and CRI&amp;P RR First named Bard City when townsite was laid out in 1906. Walter R Haynes recalls that this was a transfer name from a small watermelon loading place in Texas which his father had named Baard because of a group of wandering music makers who held dances here. Post Office, 1908.

BARRANCA CREEK

BLANCO CREEK Rises in Quay County and flows east through Curry County; named for the canyon through which it flows.

BLUE HOLE 5 miles north of Tucumcari. Blue pools on pioneer trail to Las Vegas.

BRAKES Post Office 1907-1909; mail to Norton.

CAMERON On NM 39, near Curry County line, 6 miles north of Grady. Arthur H. Cameron, first postmaster. Post Office, 1908 -. Formerly called Wheatland.

CANODE Former community on CRI&amp;P RR, 5 miles NE of Logan. Post Office, 1908-1914. Now only a railroad siding.

CAPROCK See RAGLAND.

CASTLEBERRY First postmaster, Ritta Castleberry. Post Office 1910-1915. Changes to LESBIA.

CHICAL CREEK Named for burnt charcoal from Native American camps along the creek.

CIRCLE S MESA 15 miles south of Tucumcari and about 12 miles west of NM 18. Once the headquarters of the Circle S Ranch, one of the famed brands of pioneer ranches of the region. The Circle S Ranch has long since passed into oblivion, but the mesa is still a monument to its name.

COLLINSVILLE - First postmaster, Absalom G Collins, Post Office 1908 to 1912; mail to Ima.

COMANCHE TRAIL - An oldNative American tail north from Clovis to San Jon, used by Comanches to hunt buffalo. In pioneer days, US immigrants followed it despite the raids.

Quay County end

Union County

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 -

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.