Watrous (La Junta)

Last updated

Watrous
Watrous House, Watrous vicinity (Mora County, New Mexico).jpg
Watrous House in 1940
USA New Mexico location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Usa edcp location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location US 85, Watrous, New Mexico
Coordinates 35°48′3″N105°0′5″W / 35.80083°N 105.00139°W / 35.80083; -105.00139
Area3,580 acres (14.5 km2)
Built1879 (1879)
Architectural style Territorial Style
NRHP reference No. 66000480 [1]
NMSRCP No. 33
Significant dates
Added to NRHPOctober 15, 1966
Designated NHLDMay 23, 1963 [2]
Designated NMSRCPDecember 20, 1968

Watrous, also named La Junta, is a National Historic Landmark District near Watrous, New Mexico. It encompasses the historic junction point of the two major branches of the Santa Fe Trail, a major 19th-century frontier settlement route between St. Louis, Missouri and Santa Fe, New Mexico. La Junta, marked this junction point, as well as the first major indications of civilization before westbound travelers reached Santa Fe. The district includes a large area west of the modern community of Watrous, encompassing the confluence of the Mora and Sapello Rivers. Surviving buildings include the houses of early ranchers, as well as a stagecoach mailstop and inn. The district was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1963. [2] [3]

Contents

Description and history

The Santa Fe Trail was one of the major routes by which the American West was settled. It had two major branches: the Mountain Branch, which skirted north of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains and crossed southward at Raton Pass, and the Cimarron Cutoff, which ran a more direct route south of mountains but across desert that was also populated by hostile Native Americans. These two routes came together to the west of the confluence of the Mora and Sapello Rivers, which is just north of present-day Watrous. The Santa Fe Trail remained in use until the 1870s, when it was supplanted by Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway, whose route roughly follows the Cimarron Cutoff route. The railroad established the present-day community of Watrous east of the trail junction, after which the small community there was largely abandoned. [3]

The community at the trail junction was known as La Junta ("the junction" in Spanish), Tiptonville, or Watrous, the latter two based on the names of two early ranchers in the area, Samuel Watrous and William Tipton. There are 21 surviving structures or foundational remains in the district, most of which were built before 1870. Important surviving structures include the ranch house and store of Samuel Watrous (now on the Watrous Valley Ranch), a similar building belonging to William Tipton, and the rancho house of William Koenig. The Koenig House, built in the 1860s on what is now known as the Phoenix Ranch, is one of the state's finest examples of Territorial architecture. There are also three small cemeteries, and the remains of three structures associated with a horse corral managed by Fort Union. [3]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cimarron, New Mexico</span> Village in New Mexico, United States

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clayton, New Mexico</span> Town in New Mexico, United States

Clayton is a town in and the county seat of Union County, New Mexico, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 2,980.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Santa Fe Trail</span> 19th-century route through central North America between Franklin, MO, and Santa Fe, NM

The Santa Fe Trail was a 19th-century route through central North America that connected Franklin, Missouri, with Santa Fe, New Mexico. Pioneered in 1821 by William Becknell, who departed from the Boonslick region along the Missouri River, the trail served as a vital commercial highway until 1880, when the railroad arrived in Santa Fe. Santa Fe was near the end of El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro which carried trade from Mexico City. The trail was later incorporated into parts of the National Old Trails Road and U.S. Route 66.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fort Union National Monument</span> National monument in the United States

Fort Union National Monument is a unit of the United States National Park Service located 7.7 miles north of Watrous in Mora County, New Mexico.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Raton Pass</span> Interstate mountain pass in the United States

Ratón Pass is a 7,834 ft (2,388 m) elevation mountain pass on the Colorado–New Mexico border in the western United States. It is located on the eastern side of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains between Trinidad, Colorado and Raton, New Mexico, approximately 180 miles (290 km) northeast of Santa Fe. Ratón is Spanish for "mouse". The pass crosses the line of volcanic mesas that extends east from the Sangre de Cristo Mountains along the state line, and furnishes the most direct land route between the valley of the Arkansas River to the north and the upper valley of the Canadian River, leading toward Santa Fe, to the south. The pass now carries Interstate 25 and railroad tracks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pecos National Historical Park</span> National Historical Park of the United States

Pecos National Historical Park is a United States National Historical Park in San Miguel County, New Mexico. The park, operated by the National Park Service, encompasses thousands of acres of landscape infused with historical elements from prehistoric archaeological ruins to 19th-century ranches, to a battlefield of the American Civil War. Its largest single feature is Pecos Pueblo also known as Cicuye Pueblo, a Native American community abandoned in historic times. First a state monument in 1935, it was made Pecos National Monument in 1965, and greatly enlarged and renamed in 1990. Two sites within the park, the pueblo and the Glorieta Pass Battlefield, are National Historic Landmarks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cimarron National Grassland</span> American national grassland in Kansas

Cimarron National Grassland is a National Grassland located in Morton County, Kansas, United States, with a very small part extending eastward into Stevens County. Cimarron National Grassland is located near Comanche National Grassland which is across the border in Colorado. The grassland is administered by the Forest Service together with the Pike and San Isabel National Forests and the Comanche National Grassland, from common headquarters located in Pueblo, Colorado. There are local ranger district offices in Elkhart, Kansas. The grassland is the largest area of public land in the state of Kansas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wagon Bed Spring</span> United States historic place

Wagon Bed Spring, also known historically as the Lower Spring or Lower Cimarron Spring, is a historic former spring in Grant County, Kansas, United States. It is located about 12 miles (19 km) south of Ulysses, on the west side of United States Route 270. In the 19th century it was an important watering spot on the Cimarron Cutoff of the Santa Fe Trail, where migrants on the trail often camped. The spring is now dry, primarily due to irrigation lowering the water table in the area. It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1961.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Point of Rocks (Kansas)</span> United States historic place

Point of Rocks is a cliff in Morton County, Kansas which was one of three landmarks by the same name on the Santa Fe Trail. This one was on the Cimarron Cutoff. It is now part of Cimarron National Grassland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Comanche National Grassland</span> Protected area in southeast Colorado

Comanche National Grassland is a National Grassland located in southeastern Colorado, United States. It is the sister grassland of Cimarron National Grassland and contains both prairie grasslands and canyons. It is separated into two sections, each operated by a local ranger district, one of which is in Springfield and the other of which is in La Junta. The grassland is administered by the Forest Service together with the Pike and San Isabel National Forests, and the Cimarron National Grassland, from common headquarters located in Pueblo, Colorado.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">U.S. Route 66 in New Mexico</span> Historic highway in the United States

The historic U.S. Route 66 (US 66) ran east–west across the central part of the state of New Mexico, along the path now taken by Interstate 40 (I-40). However, until 1937, it took a longer route via Los Lunas, Albuquerque, and Santa Fe, now roughly New Mexico State Road 6 (NM 6), I-25, and US 84. Large portions of the old road parallel to I-40 have been designated NM 117, NM 118, NM 122, NM 124, NM 333, three separate loops of I-40 Business, and state-maintained frontage roads.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ribera, New Mexico</span> CDP in New Mexico, United States

Ribera is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in San Miguel County, New Mexico. Located in the northern part of the state, it is at the foot of Rowe Mesa and along the Pecos River, 50 miles (80 km) southeast of Santa Fe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Camp Nichols</span> United States historic place

Camp Nichols, also known as Fort Nichols or Camp Nichols Ranch, was a short-lived historic fortification located in present-day Cimarron County, Oklahoma, about 3 miles (4.8 km) northwest of the community of Wheeless, Oklahoma. It was built by New Mexico and California volunteers under the command of Col. Kit Carson to protect travelers on the most dangerous part of the Cimarron Cut-off of the Santa Fe Trail from raids by the Kiowa and Comanche Indians. Established in May 1865 and abandoned in September 1865, it was the only human-made structure along the Cimarron Cut-off while it was an active route. It is believed to have been named for Captain Charles P. Nichols of the First California Cavalry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ocate Peak</span> Volcanic peak in New Mexico, US

Ocate Peak or the older name Ocate Crater is a volcano in Mora County, northeastern New Mexico. It was a landmark on the old Santa Fe Trail before the development of the Cimarron Cutoff.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rayado, New Mexico</span> Place in New Mexico, United States

Rayado was the first permanent settlement in Colfax County, New Mexico, United States and an important stop on the Santa Fe Trail. The name Rayado derives from the Spanish term for "streaked", perhaps in reference to the lot lines marked out by Lucien Maxwell.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barrio de Analco Historic District</span> Historic district in New Mexico, United States

The Barrio de Analco Historic District is a National Historic Landmark District centered at the junction of East De Vargas Street and Old Santa Fe Trail in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The seven buildings of the district represent one of the oldest clusters of what were basically working-class or lower-class residences in North America, and are in a cross-section of pre-statehood architectural styles. It includes two of the oldest colonial-era buildings in the southwest, the San Miguel Mission church (1710), and the "Oldest House", built in 1620 and now a museum. The district was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1968.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rabbit Ears (Clayton, New Mexico)</span> United States historic place

The Rabbit Ears are a pair of mountain peaks in northeastern New Mexico, United States, 8 kilometres north of the city of Clayton. The two peaks were a distinctive landmark along the Cimarron Cutoff of the Santa Fe Trail, a major route for westbound settlers in the 19th century. The formation was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1963. The name is that of a Native American chief who was killed here in a battle with the Spanish in 1717.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wagon Mound National Historic Landmark</span> United States historic place

The Wagon Mound is a butte that was a major landmark for pioneers along the Cimarron Cutoff of the Old Santa Fe Trail, a well-known settlement route connecting St. Louis, Missouri and Santa Fe, New Mexico. It is located just east of Wagon Mound, New Mexico, a village named after the butte. The butte is a designated National Historic Landmark, along with Santa Clara Canyon, a site just northwest of the village where travelers on the trail frequently camped and took on water.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Enchanted Circle Scenic Byway</span>

The Enchanted Circle Scenic Byway is a New Mexico Scenic Byway and National Forest Scenic Byway located in Northern New Mexico. It begins and ends in Taos, New Mexico.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">La Cueva Historic District</span> Historic district in New Mexico, United States

La Cueva Historic District, in Mora County, New Mexico near Mora, New Mexico, is a historic district which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973. The listing included five contributing buildings on 47 acres (19 ha).

References

  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. 1 2 "Watrous (La Junta)". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. Retrieved June 14, 2008.
  3. 1 2 3 Richard Greenwood, with updates by state and national staff (December 18, 1984). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: Watrous (La Junta) / La Junta" (pdf). National Park Service.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help) and Accompanying 11 photos, from 1962, 1974, and 1982  (32 KB)