Clayton

Population 2,968 ~ Elevation 4,969

Trade caravans and homesteaders traveling the Cimarron Cutoff of the Santa Fe Trail passed near here. Clayton was founded in 1887 and named for the son of cattleman and ex-Senator Stephen W. Dorsey, one of its ...

Point of Rocks / The Dorsey Mansion

This is a two sided marker

Side A:

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 ...

Old Colfax County Courthouse

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 ...

In Memory of Col. John Coffee Hays

1-28-1817 • 4-21-1883

Born near Little Cedar Lick, Wilson County, Tennessee. Lived in Mississippi, where he learned surveying. Joined Republic of Texas Army in May, 1836, and served 3 years in ranger/spy companies. Gained fame as an Indian fighter while surveyor ...

Juan A. Avila 1921-2008

"The Greatest Generation"

This young infantryman of the 102d Division stands “on guard” in the rubble of a defeated Germany in 1945 as a conquering hero. When he returned to his hometown after the war he got a job helping with ...

Watrous

The Mountain Branch and the Cimarron Cutoff of the Santa Fe Trail meet at Watrous. This important spot on the Trail was first known at La Junta, "junction" in Spanish. In 1879, with the coming of the railroad, it was ...

Fort Union National Monument

1851-1891

Once the largest post in the Southwest, Fort Union was established to control the Jicarilla Apaches and Utes, to protect the Santa Fe Trail, and to serve as a supply depot for other New Mexico forts. The arrival of the ...

Hogbacks

Interstate 25 cuts through dipping strata that form hogback ridges between the Great Plains and the south end of the Rocky Mountains. The Santa Fe Trail from here to Santa Fe, followed a natural valley eroded in less resistant strata ...

Under the Oaks

On July 6, 1854, a state convention of anti-slavery men was held in Jackson to found a new political party. Uncle Tom's Cabin had been published two years earlier, causing increased resentment against slavery, and the Kansas-Nebraska Act of May, ...

Hurray for Hollywood

Historic Cannery Row

Ever since Thomas Edison’s movie camera captured those first quick, flickering moments of time, Hollywood has been coming to Monterey. More than 60 feature films have been shot in Monterey, and Cannery Row has been one of Hollywood’s ...