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The Old Aztec Mill Museum is an important historic site in Cimarron, New Mexico. It describes itself as the most unusual museum in the state.
History
The Aztec Grist Mill was built between 1860 and 1864 by Lucien B. Maxwell (1818-1875) at a cost of US$48,000. It provided corn and wheat flour for the Maxwell Ranch, local Utes and Jicarilla Apaches, local residents, and travelers on the Santa Fe Trail. The mill was capable of producing 44 barrels of flour daily.
Visiting
The Old Aztec Mill Museum is open daily except Sundays from Memorial Day through Labor Day. Admission is free but donations are appreciated (as of August 2023). The museum is staffed by volunteers, so it may be closed on some days due to volunteer unavailability.
Second Floor
We started our visit to the Old Aztec Mill Museum on the second floor, where there’s a mishmash of historic items and memorabilia.
A few of the items that caught my eye were a two-headed calf found on the WS Ranch in 1937; a poker table from the old Plaza Hotel in Las Vegas, New Mexico; a Thanksgiving Day Festival program from November 28, 1901, in Cimarron; and a chuckwagon full of historic food product packages and utensils.
Third Floor
On the third floor were more antiques and a few Native American artifacts. They included several pieces of office equipment such as typewriters, adding machines, and telephones.
One of the more important items on display was the saddle of Kit Carson (1809-1868). It was donated by Fred Federici Jr. of Woodbridge, Virginia.
Another interesting item was the wedding dress worn by Virginia Maxwell (1850-1915) for her wedding to Captain Alexander Keyes (1846-1909) on March 30, 1870, on the third floor of the Aztec Grist Mill. Virginia was the eldest daughter of Lucien Maxwell. Knowing her father would never allow her to marry a military officer, she and Keyes hid in the mill and waited for a preacher to come from Taos to marry them in secret. The dress was donated by Mrs. Dale Siebert, of Pittsford, New York, the great-granddaughter of Virginia Maxwell.
Ground Floor
On the first floor is where some of the largest items in the museum are on display. They include the doors dating back to 1864 from the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Cimarron; a coach driven from St. Paul, Minnesota, to Raton, New Mexico; the mirror from the St. James Hotel; a barber’s chair; and various farming and mechanical equipment. On the wall heading downstairs were a bunch of rusty old New Mexico license plates.
Also on the ground floor was the waterwheel of the mill. It was placed indoors allowing the mill to operate year-round.
