This day in New Mexico history - January 25, 1869 - Happy Birthday Colfax County, New Mexico! It was originally part of
Taos County, one of the original nine counties created by the
New Mexico Territory in 1852. In 1859, the eastern part of Taos County, including all of the territory of Colfax County, was split off to form
Mora County. Colfax County was established on January 25, 1869 from the northern part of Mora County. The original county seat was the gold mining town of
Elizabethtown. By 1872, when the gold rush in Elizabethtown had died down, the county seat was moved to
Cimarron which was on the stage coach route along the Mountain Branch of the
Santa Fe Trail, and was the headquarters of the
Maxwell Land Grant. In 1881, the county seat was moved from Cimarron to
Springer, located on the former
Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroad, The
Colfax County Courthouse in Springer was the site of one of the last important shoot-outs in the
Colfax County War, but that story is for another day. This former courthouse, which is on the
National Register of Historic Places is now the home of a
museum devoted to the
Santa Fe Trail. The eastern portions of Colfax,
Mora, and
San Miguel counties were severed to form
Union County in 1893. After a referendum and a bitter legislative fight, the county seat moved from Springer to
Raton in 1897. Raton was an important coal-mining town, and was also a railroad center. The citizens of Raton raised $8000 to pay one third of the costs of a new courthouse. That courthouse was replaced in 1932 by the current Colfax County Courthouse, an
art-deco WPA structure that also is on the
National Register of Historic Places. To read more about
Colfax County New Mexico click here
This day in New Mexico history - January 25, 1869 - Happy Birthday Colfax County, New Mexico! It was originally part of Taos County, one of the original nine counties created by the New Mexico Territory in 1852. In 1859, the eastern part of Taos County, including all of the territory of Colfax County, was split off to form Mora County. Colfax County was established on January 25, 1869 from the northern part of Mora County. The original county seat was the gold mining town of Elizabethtown. By 1872, when the gold rush in Elizabethtown had died down, the county seat was moved to Cimarron which was on the stage coach route along the Mountain Branch of the Santa Fe Trail, and was the headquarters of the Maxwell Land Grant. In 1881, the county seat was moved from Cimarron to Springer, located on the former Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroad, The Colfax County Courthouse in Springer was the site of one of the last important shoot-outs in the Colfax County War, but that story is for another day. This former courthouse, which is on the National Register of Historic Places is now the home of a 
museum devoted to the Santa Fe Trail. The eastern portions of Colfax, Mora, and San Miguel counties were severed to form Union County in 1893. After a referendum and a bitter legislative fight, the county seat moved from Springer to Raton in 1897. Raton was an important coal-mining town, and was also a railroad center. The citizens of Raton raised $8000 to pay one third of the costs of a new courthouse. That courthouse was replaced in 1932 by the current Colfax County Courthouse, an art-deco WPA structure that also is on the National Register of Historic Places. To read more about Colfax County New Mexico click here
Posts
0 comments:
Post a Comment