Cimarron, New Mexico
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2024}}
{{Infobox settlement
|official_name = Cimarron, New Mexico
|settlement_type = Village
|nickname =
|motto =
|image_skyline = Cimarron Art Gallery Cimarron, NM.JPG
|imagesize = 300px
|image_caption = Downtown Cimarron
|image_flag =
|image_seal =
|image_map = Colfax_County_New_Mexico_Incorporated_and_Unincorporated_areas_Cimarron_Highlighted.svg
|mapsize = 250px
|map_caption = Location of Cimarron, New Mexico
|image_map1 = Cimarron-nm-map.png
|mapsize1 = 250px
|map_caption1 = U.S. Census map
|pushpin_map = USA
|pushpin_map_caption = Location in the United States
|subdivision_type = Country
|subdivision_name = United States
|subdivision_type1 = State
|subdivision_name1 = New Mexico
|subdivision_type2 = County
|subdivision_name2 = Colfax
|government_footnotes =
|government_type =
|leader_title =
|leader_name =
|leader_title1 =
|leader_name1 =
|established_title =
|established_date =
|unit_pref = Imperial
|area_total_km2 = 5.48
|area_land_km2 = 5.48
|area_water_km2 = 0.00
|area_total_sq_mi = 2.12
|area_land_sq_mi = 2.12
|area_water_sq_mi = 0.00
|population_as_of = 2020
|population_total = 792
|population_density_km2 = 144.42
|population_density_sq_mi = 374.11
|timezone = Mountain (MST)
|utc_offset = -7
|timezone_DST = MDT
|utc_offset_DST = -6
|elevation_ft = 6421
|coordinates = {{coord|36|30|14|N|104|53|56|W|region:US_type:city|display=inline,title}}
|postal_code_type = ZIP code
|postal_code = 87714
|area_code = 575
|blank_name = FIPS code
|blank_info = 35-15440
|blank1_name = GNIS feature ID
|blank1_info = 2413540{{GNIS|2413540}}
|website = {{URL|villageofcimarron.net}}
|footnotes =
}}
Cimarron is a village in Colfax County, New Mexico, United States, which sits on the eastern slopes of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. The population was 792 at the 2020 census, making it the fourth most populous municipality in Colfax County.{{cite web| url=http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/DEC/10_DP/G001/1600000US3515440| archive-url=https://archive.today/20200212193114/http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/DEC/10_DP/G001/1600000US3515440| url-status=dead| archive-date=February 12, 2020| title=Geographic Identifiers: 2010 Demographic Profile Data (G001): Cimarron village, New Mexico| publisher=U.S. Census Bureau, American Factfinder| access-date=October 22, 2014}}
Cimarron sits on the Cimarron River, a tributary of the 900 mile-long Canadian River, whose headwaters are at the Eagle Nest Dam, with the main part of town lying along U.S. Route 64. The village is surrounded on all sides by numerous ranches, including Philmont Scout Ranch,[http://www.scouting.org/philmont/ Philmont Scout Ranch] an extensive "high-adventure base" operated by Scouting America. Philmont is located just four miles south of Cimarron. Other ranches also include the Chase Ranch (famous for its heart-shaped brand and allegedly the Marlboro Man's place of origin), Ted Turner's Vermejo Park Ranch,[http://www.vermejoparkranch.com/ VPR invite] the CS Ranch,[http://www.cscattle.com/ CS Cattle Co. - Welcome!] the Express UU Bar Ranch[http://www.expressuubar.com/ Express UU Bar Ranches] (formerly the property of Waite Phillips), and the Clearview Ranch of the western singer/songwriter R.W. Hampton, as well as numerous other small ranches. The Elliott Barker State Wildlife Area, the Valle Vidal unit of the Carson National Forest, and Cimarron Canyon State Park,[http://www.vallevidal.org/ Coalition for the Valle Vidal - New Mexico - an Endangered American Treasure] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080627192910/http://www.vallevidal.org/ |date=June 27, 2008 }}[http://www.fs.fed.us/r3/carson/ Carson National Forest - Welcome] are also located within the Cimarron area. 17 miles and 28 miles to the northeast is Dawson, New Mexico, a ghost town with a population of over 9,000 near the early 20th century, and the Raton Municipal Airport, respectively.
The village is a pioneer of the four-day school week (Monday{{endash}}Thursday), which it originally implemented in the early 1970s, during a time of rising fuel and utility prices.[https://www.reuters.com/article/lifestyleMolt/idUSN2439039120080724?feedType=RSS&feedName=lifestyleMolt&rpc=22&sp=truee Schools eye four-day week to cut fuel costs | Lifestyle | Living | Reuters] Cimarron is home to the 1979 New Mexico High School Boys Basketball State Championship team.{{Cite web|url=http://www.chuckferrissports.com/1979-boys-bracket.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180409233721/http://www.chuckferrissports.com/1979-boys-bracket.html|url-status=usurped|archive-date=April 9, 2018|title=1979 Boys Bracket|website=New Mexico Prep Basketball (Historical)|access-date=May 23, 2017}}
History
Image:Brooks Mercantile Building 1909 Cimarron, NM.JPG
Cimarron is located on the land of what became known as the {{cvt|1700000|acre|sqkm}} Maxwell Land Grant. In 1842, Lucien B. Maxwell, a fur trapper, came to the Beaubien-Miranda Ranch in northern New Mexico and courted and married Luz Beaubien, one of the owner's six daughters. He eventually inherited the ranch and built a mansion in 1858 on the future town site.
Maxwell built the Aztec Mill in 1864. It is preserved as the Old Mill Museum, operated by the Cimarron Historical Society. The museum's collection includes working mill parts; Native American tools, weapons and pottery; Maxwell Land Grant paperwork and documents; and other materials.
Cimarron was officially chartered in 1859 and was named for the Spanish word used to describe a mustang, meaning "wild" or "unbroken". Cimarron was the county seat of Colfax County beginning in 1872, when it replaced Elizabethtown. At that time, Cimarron was a stage stop on the Mountain Branch of the Santa Fe Trail. In 1881, the county seat was moved to Springer, a town on the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway. It was during this time that Lucien Maxwell, due to rising tensions, sold the Maxwell Land Grant to a group of investors, with the resultant Colfax County War in which more than two hundred people were killed.
In 1905, the St. Louis, Rocky Mountain, and Pacific Railway Co. laid tracks from Raton to Ute Park, with the intent to haul coal between Raton and Cimarron. Passengers used the daily train service, as well as ranchers who moved agricultural animals. During World War II, the tracks were removed, with the steel to be recycled to help with the shortage during the war effort.
Soon after the tracks were laid through town, tracks were also laid 22 miles up Ponil Canyon by the Cimarron and Northwestern Railway Company, to haul timber from the surrounding mountains, which were loaded with douglas fir and ponderosa pine. The railroad company delivered its timber to the Continental Tie and Lumber Company, located in Cimarron, NM, who made railroad ties and timber supports for nearby coal mines.
Cimarron continues to thrive, in part due to its proximity to Philmont Scout Ranch, as well as summer tourism.
As a tribute to many dedicated crew members, the USS Cimarron's key artifacts were donated to Cimarron, since it is the closest village to the Cimarron River Basin's Headwaters. The ship's bell now stands in front of the village's high school, Cimarron High School.
Geography
Cimarron is located in west-central Colfax County on the north bank of the Cimarron River, where it emerges from the Cimarron Range of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. U.S. Route 64 passes through the village, leading west up the Cimarron Canyon {{convert|23|mi}} to Eagle Nest and northeast {{convert|40|mi}} to Raton, the Colfax County seat. New Mexico State Road 58 leads east from Cimarron {{convert|19|mi}} to Interstate 25, north of Springer.
West of Cimarron is the Palisades Sill, with high cliffs surrounding the Cimarron River.
Climate
Cimarron has a borderline cool semi-arid climate (Köppen BSk) closely bordering on a subtropical highland climate, with summers featuring cool nights and warm days with frequent thunderstorms, and cold winters with occasional heavy snowfall. The lowest temperature recorded in the town was {{convert|−35|F}}.{{Cite web|url=https://wrcc.dri.edu/cgi-bin/cliMAIN.pl?nm1813|title = CIMARRON 4 SW, NEW MEXICO - Climate Summary}}
{{Weather box
|location = CIMARRON 4 SW, NM (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1904–present)
|single line = Y
| Jan high F = 47.6
| Feb high F = 50.4
| Mar high F = 58.2
| Apr high F = 65.0
| May high F = 73.2
| Jun high F = 82.5
| Jul high F = 84.3
| Aug high F = 81.8
| Sep high F = 77.2
| Oct high F = 68.1
| Nov high F = 56.3
| Dec high F = 47.6
|year high F = 66.0
| Jan low F = 18.1
| Feb low F = 19.5
| Mar low F = 25.8
| Apr low F = 31.8
| May low F = 40.3
| Jun low F = 48.6
| Jul low F = 52.8
| Aug low F = 51.7
| Sep low F = 44.7
| Oct low F = 34.4
| Nov low F = 24.3
| Dec low F = 17.4
|year low F = 34.1
|Jan record high F = 81
|Feb record high F = 76
|Mar record high F = 81
|Apr record high F = 84
|May record high F = 92
|Jun record high F = 98
|Jul record high F = 101
|Aug record high F = 100
|Sep record high F = 98
|Oct record high F = 88
|Nov record high F = 81
|Dec record high F = 75
|year record high F =
|Jan record low F = -32
|Feb record low F = -24
|Mar record low F = -17
|Apr record low F = -2
|May record low F = 17
|Jun record low F = 25
|Jul record low F = 40
|Aug record low F = 36
|Sep record low F = 16
|Oct record low F = -5
|Nov record low F = -18
|Dec record low F = -17
|year record low F =
|precipitation colour = green
| Jan precipitation inch = 0.66
| Feb precipitation inch = 0.57
| Mar precipitation inch = 0.95
| Apr precipitation inch = 1.51
| May precipitation inch = 1.70
| Jun precipitation inch = 1.74
| Jul precipitation inch = 3.03
| Aug precipitation inch = 3.11
| Sep precipitation inch = 1.75
| Oct precipitation inch = 1.22
| Nov precipitation inch = 0.57
| Dec precipitation inch = 0.43
|year precipitation inch = 17.24
| unit precipitation days = 0.01 in
| Jan precipitation days = 2.8
| Feb precipitation days = 3.2
| Mar precipitation days = 4.4
| Apr precipitation days = 4.5
| May precipitation days = 6.1
| Jun precipitation days = 6.9
| Jul precipitation days = 11.0
| Aug precipitation days = 11.5
| Sep precipitation days = 6.8
| Oct precipitation days = 4.1
| Nov precipitation days = 2.4
| Dec precipitation days = 2.5
| year precipitation days = 66.2
|Jan snow inch = 7.0
|Feb snow inch = 7.1
|Mar snow inch = 7.0
|Apr snow inch = 5.0
|May snow inch = 0.5
|Jun snow inch = 0.0
|Jul snow inch = 0.0
|Aug snow inch = 0.0
|Sep snow inch = 0.0
|Oct snow inch = 2.1
|Nov snow inch = 5.1
|Dec snow inch = 6.2
|year snow inch = 40.0
|unit snow days = 0.1 in
|Jan snow days = 1.9
|Feb snow days = 2.6
|Mar snow days = 2.4
|Apr snow days = 1.3
|May snow days = 0.2
|Jun snow days = 0.0
|Jul snow days = 0.0
|Aug snow days = 0.0
|Sep snow days = 0.0
|Oct snow days = 0.4
|Nov snow days = 1.3
|Dec snow days = 1.8
|year snow days = 11.9
|source 1 = NOAA{{cite web
| url = https://www.weather.gov/wrh/climate?wfo=abq
| title = NOWData - NOAA Online Weather Data
| publisher = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
| accessdate = March 21, 2022
| url = https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/data/normals-monthly/1991-2020/access/USC00291813.csv
| title = Monthly Normals 1991-2020
| publisher = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
| accessdate = March 21, 2022
}} }}
Demographics
{{US Census population
|1880= 290
|1910= 791
|1920= 481
|1930= 698
|1940= 744
|1950= 855
|1960= 997
|1970= 927
|1980= 888
|1990= 774
|2000= 917
|2010= 1021
|2020= 792
|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html|title=Census of Population and Housing|publisher=Census.gov|access-date=June 4, 2015}}{{cite web|url=https://api.census.gov/data/2020/dec/pl?get=P1_001N,NAME&for=place:*&in=state:35&key=5ccd0821c15d9f4520e2dcc0f8d92b2ec9336108|title=Census Population API|publisher=United States Census Bureau|accessdate=October 12, 2022}}
}}
According to the United States Census Bureau, the village of Cimarron has a total area of {{convert|5.2|km2|order=flip}}, all land.
File:Old Aztec Museum in Cimarron, NM IMG 0537.JPG
As of the census{{cite web |url=https://www.census.gov |publisher=United States Census Bureau |access-date=January 31, 2008 |title=U.S. Census website }} of 2010, there were 1021 people, 382 households, and 255 families residing in the village. The population density was {{convert|479.5|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. There were 449 housing units at an average density of {{convert|234.8|/sqmi|/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. The racial makeup of the village was 77.54% White, 0.11% African American, 1.09% Native American, 0.11% Asian, 17.23% from other races, and 3.93% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 58.89% of the population.
There were 382 households, out of which 34.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.2% were married couples living together, 8.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.0% were non-families. 29.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.40 and the average family size was 2.89.
In the village, the population was spread out, with 27.0% under the age of 18, 7.6% from 18 to 24, 25.1% from 25 to 44, 24.1% from 45 to 64, and 16.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 106.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 102.7 males.
The median income for a household in the village was $27,875, and the median income for a family was $30,677. Males had a median income of $26,125 versus $19,792 for females. The per capita income for the village was $14,248. About 9.1% of families and 12.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 16.1% of those under age 18 and 8.6% of those age 65 or over.
Education
Tourism
- Philmont Scout Ranch
- Old Mill Museum
- Cimarron Historic District and Old Town
- St. James Hotel
- U.S. Route 64 Median Self History Tour
- NRA Whittington Center
- Dawson Cemetery
- Cimarron Canyon State Park
- Casa del Gavilan Historic Inn
Notable people
- Pete Burleson, (1848–1925), cattle rancher, lawman
See also
- Casa del Gavilan Historic Inn (Cimarron, New Mexico)
- Cimarron Historic District
- Ernest Thompson Seton, story-teller
- Maxwell Land Grant
- St. James Hotel (Cimarron, New Mexico)
- Ute Park Fire
- Villa Philmonte, built in 1926 by oil magnate Waite Phillips
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [http://www.villageofcimarron.net/ Village of Cimarron official website]
- [http://www.cimarronnm.com/ Cimarron Chamber of Commerce]
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20081021052507/http://www.legendsofamerica.com/HC-Cimarron6.html Cimarron visitors information]
{{Commons category}}
{{Colfax County, New Mexico}}
{{Philmont Scout Ranch}}
{{authority control}}
Category:Villages in Colfax County, New Mexico