Editing Cimarron, New Mexico (section)

==History==
[[Image:Brooks Mercantile Building 1909 Cimarron, NM.JPG|thumb|left|Brooks Mercantile Building, c. 1909.]]
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, New Mexico|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, New Mexico|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, New Mexico|Raton]] to [[Ute Park, New Mexico|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 (AO-22)|USS ''Cimarron's'']] key artifacts were donated to Cimarron, since it is the closest village to the [[Cimarron River (Canadian River)|Cimarron River]] Basin's Headwaters.  The [[ship's bell]] now stands in front of the village's high school, Cimarron High School.