Quay County, New Mexico, Place Names

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.

COWAN - Post Office 1908 to 1912.

CRAZY PEAK - 12 miles south of Tucumcari and about 8 miles west of NM 18. Named for an incident that happened in the early days. A pioneer and his wife came from the East and settled in the valley near the peak. The woman, unaccustomed to the vast country, with its overpowering silences and its extremes in weather, became demented. One day her husband missed her from their home, and after a long search finally found her body lying at the base of a high bluff on the north side of the peaked hill from which she had jumped. From that time the peak has been known as Crazy Peak.

CURRY - Post Office 1907 to 1921; mail to Lucille.

DODSON - 12 miles SW of Tucumcari, Post Office 1901 to 1916.

DORIS - Post Ocffice 1908 to 1913.