This chapel was erected in 1968 by Dr. Victor Westphall in memory of his son David Westphall and all U.S. personnel killed in the fighting in Vietnam. It was first dedicated as the Vietnam Veterans Peace and Brotherhood Chapel, and on May 30, 1983, . . . — — Map (db m45749) HM
Side A:
Black Jack’s Hideout
In Turkey Creek Canyon near here, the outlaw gang of Thomas “Black Jack” Ketchum had one of its hideouts. After a train robbery in July 1899, a posse surprised the gang at the hideout. The . . . — — Map (db m45784) HM
You are now at the Great Plains-Rocky Mountain boundary. The Cimarron Range, one of the eastern-most ranges of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains in this part of New Mexico. Elevation 6,800 feet. — — Map (db m45764) HM
This high mountain park is part of a state wildlife area and is managed by the New Mexico State Park Division in cooperation with the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish. Trout fishing is excellent in the Cimarron River, and the park offers fine . . . — — Map (db m45755) HM
These spectacular cliffs are cut by the Cimarron River through igneous rock known as a sill and composed of the rock type monzonite which was emplaced some 40 million years ago as these Southern Rocky Mountains were being uplifted. Elevation 8,000 . . . — — Map (db m45753) HM
Side A:
The difficulty of bringing caravans over rocky and mountainous Raton Pass kept most wagon traffic on the Cimarron Cutoff of the Santa Fe Trail until the 1840's. Afterwards, the Mountain Branch, which here approaches Raton Pass, . . . — — Map (db m45821) HM
The Saint James Hotel
Has been placed on the
National Register
Of Historic Places
By the United States
Department of the Interior
1872 — — Map (db m45779) HM
Eagle Nest was a place where members of several Indian tribes were said to have come to collect ceremonial feathers. Before 1919, Charles Springer acquired the land and built a dam for irrigation. It now has a capacity of 78,000 acre feet and . . . — — Map (db m45752) HM
The discovery of gold on Baldy Mountain in 1866 brought such a rush of fortune-seekers to the Moreno Valley that “E-town” became a roaring mining camp almost overnight. Because of water and transportation problems, and a decline in ore . . . — — Map (db m45751) HM
Across Moreno Valley stands Wheeler Peak, 13,161 feet, highest peak in New Mexico. Rocks of Wheeler Peak and the Taos Range are highly resistant granites and gneisses of Precambrian age. Moreno Valley is underlain by soft sandstones and shales which . . . — — Map (db m45750) HM
Three-quarters of a mile west of here at the Canadian River crossing was the popular overnight stage stop on the Old Santa Fe Trail. Clifton House Site was built in 1867 by rancher Tom Stockton, with materials brought overland from Dodge City. For . . . — — Map (db m107281) HM
Robert L. Dodson bought a steam-powered Locomobile in Denver with plans to drive it to Albuquerque. Accompanied by a Locomobile representative, on November 30, 1900, the pair became the first motorists to traverse treacherous Raton Pass into New . . . — — Map (db m77850) HM
Built in 1896 by the Smith brothers, Scottish immigrant coal miners, the Palace Hotel became the crowning jewel of the many holdings acquired by the frugal Smiths. Nearly lost by fire in 1932, the Palace was purchased and restored by the Tinnie . . . — — Map (db m196359) HM
Once the Willow Springs freight stop on the Santa Fe Trail, the town of Raton developed from A.T. & S.F. repair shops established when the railroad crossed Raton Pass in 1879. Valuable coal deposits attracted early settlers. Nearby Clifton House was . . . — — Map (db m77849) HM
Opened by William Becknell in 1812, the Santa Fe Trail became the major trade route to Santa Fe from Missouri River towns. The two main branches, the Cimarron Cutoff and the Mountain Branch, joined at Watrous. Travel over the Trail ceased with . . . — — Map (db m202790) HM
To the north is Raton Pass, a treacherous connection through the rough mountain terrain between Colorado and New Mexico. Wagon trains traveling on the Santa Fe Trail camped here, at a trail stop called Willow Springs, to either prepare for or . . . — — Map (db m77851) HM
Women of the Santa Fe Trail
The Women of the Santa Fe Trail endured untold hardships traveling across the Great Plains. In 1829, six Hispanic women were the first known female travelers going east on the trail. In 1832, Mary Donoho . . . — — Map (db m107280) HM
Built in 1879 at a cost of $9,800, this building served as the Colfax County Courthouse from 1882 through 1897, when the county seat was moved to Raton. This building housed the New Mexico reform school for boys from 1910 to 1917 and has been a . . . — — Map (db m55206) HM
Point of Rocks
Point of Rocks was a major landmark along the Santa Fe Trail. Located in Jicarilla Apache country, it was near here that the party of Santa Fe merchant J.W. White was attacked in 1849. Kit Carson was a member of the military . . . — — Map (db m55207) HM
Located in the old Maxwell Land Grant and near the Cimarron Cutoff of the Santa Fe Trail, Springer served as Colfax County seat from 1882 to 1897. Several men were killed here in one of the late flare-ups of the Colfax County War, a dispute between . . . — — Map (db m45823) HM
Point of Rocks was a convenient camping spot for Santa Fe Trail travelers going in both directions. When the caravans camped here going west they knew they were two weeks from the end of their 900-mile journey. Here they would have their first . . . — — Map (db m156696) HM
Traveling on the Santa Fe Trail, the commercial road which ran 900 miles between Franklin, Missouri, and Santa Fe, New Mexico, could be long, hard, and dangerous. Obtaining water was sometimes a problem and, along with breakdowns and bad weather, . . . — — Map (db m156697) HM
Reaching altitudes more than 13,000 feet, well watered, and forested, the Rocky Mountains are host to numerous recreational activities including skiing, fishing, hunting, and camping. To the north can be seen numerous volcanic peaks that lie . . . — — Map (db m55208) HM
