Colfax County, New Mexico
| Colfax County, New Mexico | |
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Colfax County Courthouse in Raton
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 Location in the U.S. state of New Mexico |
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 New Mexico's location in the U.S. |
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| Founded | January 25, 1869 |
| Named for | Schuyler Colfax |
| Seat | Raton |
| Largest city | Raton |
| Area | |
| • Total | 3,768 sq mi (9,759 km2) |
| • Land | 3,758 sq mi (9,733 km2) |
| • Water | 10 sq mi (26 km2), 0.3% |
| Population (est.) | |
| • (2015) | 12,414 |
| • Density | 3.7/sq mi (1/km²) |
| Congressional district | 3rd |
| Time zone | Mountain: UTC-7/-6 |
| Website | www |
Colfax County is a county in the U.S. state of New Mexico. As of the 2010 census, the population was 13,750. Its county seat is Raton. It is south from the Colorado state line. This county was named for Schuyler Colfax (1823-1885), seventeenth Vice President of the United States under U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant.
Colfax County is the home of Philmont Scout Ranch.
Colfax County was originally part of Taos County, one of the original nine counties created by the New Mexico Territory in 1852. In 1859, the eastern part of Taos County, including all of the territory of Colfax County, was split off to form Mora County. Colfax County was established on January 25, 1869 from the northern part of Mora County. The original county seat was the gold mining town of Elizabethtown.
By 1872, when the gold rush in Elizabethtown had died down, the county seat was moved to Cimarron. Cimarron was on the stage coach route along the Mountain Branch of the Santa Fe Trail, and was the headquarters of the Maxwell Land Grant. The Colfax County Courthouse in Cimarron is a contributing structure in the Cimarron Historic District, and is still in use as a Masonic lodge.
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