Editing Catron County, New Mexico (section)

==History==
Human settlement in the Catron County region dates to some of the earliest in the Americas. During the [[Clovis culture|Clovis]] period, between 10999 BC and 8000 BC, and [[Folsom tradition|Folsom]] period, between 7999 BC and 5999 BC, the [[Ake Site]] was occupied near [[Datil, New Mexico|Datil]].<ref name="nationalregisterofhistoricplaces.com">(nd) [http://www.nationalregisterofhistoricplaces.com/NM/Catron/state.html National Register of Historic Places - Catron County, New Mexico]. Retrieved June 13, 2007.</ref> [[Bat Cave (Horse Springs, New Mexico)|Bat Cave]], near [[Horse Springs, New Mexico|Horse Springs]], was occupied around 3,500 BC.

The [[Mimbres culture]] was expressed by the [[Mogollon culture|Mogollon]] people. They lived throughout the Catron County area from AD 1000 to 1130. Their art is renowned for its beauty.

In the 16th century, Spanish explorers and colonists came to the region, declaring it in 1598 to be part of [[Santa Fé de Nuevo México]], a province of [[New Spain]] in the Americas. The province remained in Spanish control until [[Plan of Iguala|Mexico gained independence]] in 1821. Under the [[1824 Constitution of Mexico]], this became the federally administered Territory of New Mexico.

Mexico ceded the region to the U.S. in the [[Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo]] in 1848 after being defeated in the [[Mexican–American War]]. In 1849, President [[Zachary Taylor]] proposed that New Mexico, including this region, immediately be admitted as a state in order to sidestep political conflict over the expansion of slavery in the territories. That did not happen. European-American settlers from the southern and eastern states began to arrive here, including some with enslaved African Americans. The territory did not become a state until 1912, long after the Civil War and abolition of slavery.

In 1880, Sergeant [[James C. Cooney]] was the first person to find [[silver]] and [[gold]] ore in the mountains of Catron County. He was reportedly killed by [[Chiricahua]] [[Apache]] led by [[Victorio]] that year, in what the European Americans called the "[[Alma Massacre]]". His remains are buried at [[Cooney's Tomb]].

The foothills and canyons provided many hiding places for Apache warriors as they continued to resist American encroachment. During this time [[Cochise]] was another well-known [[Chiricahua]] leader. Noted war chief [[Goyaałé|Goyaałé (Geronimo)]] had several hideouts in the county. Later in 1880, [[Buffalo Soldiers]] led by Sergeant [[George Jordan (Medal of Honor)|George Jordan]] defeated [[Chiricahua]] [[Apache]] warriors led by [[Victorio]] in the [[Battle of Fort Tularosa]]. Four years later, self-appointed sheriff [[Elfego Baca]] was the hero of the so-called [[Frisco shootout]] in [[San Francisco Plaza, New Mexico|San Francisco Plaza]].<!-- participants? -->

The country also attracted European-American outlaws. In the mid-1880s [[Butch Cassidy]] and his [[Wild Bunch]] gang holed up at a ranch near [[Alma, New Mexico|Alma]]. Notorious outlaw [[Tom Ketchum]] also lived in Catron County around this time.

[[Socorro County, New Mexico|Socorro County]] included all of Catron County's territory from the creation of Santa Fé de Nuevo México until 1921. At that time, Catron County was organized and named for [[Thomas B. Catron]], a leading figure in New Mexico statehood and its first US senator. In 1927, the State Legislature attempted to abolish both Socorro and Catron in order to create a new Rio Grande County. A court suit voided this act, and the two counties retained their independence.<ref>[http://www.socorro-nm.com/History.htm "History of Socorro County"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120211142747/http://www.socorro-nm.com/History.htm |date=February 11, 2012}}, Socorro Chamber of Commerce. Retrieved December 21, 2011.</ref><ref>{{cite court|litigants=State ex rel. Dow v. Graham|vol=270|reporter=P.|opinion=897|court=N.M.|year=1928|url=https://nmonesource.com/nmos/nmsc/en/item/380746/index.do}}</ref>

[[The Lightning Field]], an art installation on the open earth, brought national attention to [[Quemado, New Mexico|Quemado]] in this county in the late 1970s.