Editing Magdalena, New Mexico (section)

==History==
In 1884, the village of Magdalena was named after Magdalena Peak when its post office opened. Magdalena was incorporated as a town in 1913, during a mining boom.

Magdalena is known as the "Trails End" for the railroad spur line that was built in 1884 by the New Mexico Railroad company (A local subsidiary of the [[Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe]]) <ref>Myrick, David, ‘’New Mexico’s Railroads, A Historic Survey’’, University of New Mexico Press 1990. {{ISBN|0-8263-1185-7}}</ref> from Socorro to Magdalena to transport the cattle, sheep wool, timber and ore. Thousands of cattle and sheep were driven into town (cowboy style) from the west, using the historic "Magdalena Trail". This stockyard driveway was used annually, from 1885 through 1916, when the driveway was officially designated by law through the signing of the "Grazing Homestead Act". It remained continually in use through 1971. The original stockyards are still intact. AT&SF closed the railroad branch on November 20, 1970, and it was removed shortly thereafter.