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Springer is a small town in northeastern New Mexico that once served as the seat of Colfax County. We stopped by for a quick look while driving between Cimarron and Fort Union National Monument.
History of Springer, New Mexico
The town originated in 1877, when William T. Thornton, representing the Maxwell Land Grant and Railway Company, commissioned Melvin Whitson Mills (1845-1925) to lay out a town site. Mills selected an area called Las Garzas, and he received the deed to the town on March 31, 1880. It was named for the Springer brothers. Charles was a rancher near Cimarron while Frank was a lawyer and official of the Maxwell Land Grant and Railway Company.
In anticipation of the arrival of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway, Springer became the seat of Colfax County in 1882, moving there from Cimarron. The railway never came to town but it remained the county seat until 1897 when it moved north to Raton, the current county seat. The loss of the county seat contributed to the town’s decline.
Today, Springer only has a total land area of just over two square miles. It’s home to one of New Mexico’s oldest correctional facilities.
Former Colfax County Courthouse
The former Colfax County Courthouse is the most important landmark in town. It was built in the Second Empire style in the early 1880s at a cost of US$9,800. After the county seat moved to Raton, the building has had several uses. They include the New Mexico Reform School (later the New Mexico Industrial School for Boys) from 1910 to 1917, municipal offices, and a public library.
Since 1965, the Colfax County Courthouse has hosted a visitor center and a museum dedicated to the Santa Fe Trail. It was unfortunately closed when we stopped by. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1987.
