| Santa Fe Trail Site
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Description
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| Ocate Crossing
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The Ocate crossing is north of New Mexico Highway
120, 14.5 miles west of Wagon Mound and 1 mile north on a ranch road.
This was a watering point and a campsite; wagon ruts are still visible
on both sides of the crossing. This route was heavily used during and after
the Civil War and it is often mentioned by Trail travelers. Kearny's Army
of the West crossed here in 1846 and camped nearby.
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Aztec Mill
23K
 |
Aztec Mill is in the southwest corner of Cimarron, New Mexico. It was built in
the 1860s to provide flour to the Maxwell Ranch and the Jicarilla Apache Indian
Reservation, as well as Santa Fe Trail travelers. Today it is operated as a
museum.
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| Swink's Gambling Hall (NRPH)
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Swink's Gambling Hall is at the south edge of Cimarron.
Built in the 1870s, it was a saloon and dancing hall during the later Trail
years. The building has been remodeled.
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St. James Hotel
23K
 |
The St. James Hotel is on the east side of New Mexico Highway 21 in
Cimarron. The hotel was built next to the Santa Fe Trail, in the later years of
the Trail, and was reportedly a hangout for outlaws. The building as been
restored.
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| Cimarron Plaza and Well
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The Cimarron Plaza and Well are one block east of
New Mexico Highway 21. The Santa Fe Trail wagons trains entered the plaza
from the east after crossing the Cimarron River.
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Lucien Maxwell House
62K
 |
The Lucien Maxwell House is on State Highway 21, approximately 12
miles south of Cimarron, on the Philmont Boy Scout Ranch. Lucien Maxwell and Kit
Carson established a settlement here in 1848. Several historic
structures, as well as an inaccurate reconstruction of Kit Carson's home, offer
a look at life on the Trail.
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