Colfax County, New Mexico, Place Names

Colfax County

ABBOTT. Also Called New Abbott. On NM 58, 19 miles east of Springer, near Abbott Lake. named for Horace C Abbott, who became the first postmaster. Post Office 1881-1963. In 1936 a number of the settlers moved to a location called "The Forks", at the junction of NM 58 and 39. Abbott formerly called Sauz.

ABREU. Former settlement on the Rayado River, 20 miles west of Springer. Named for a promient family, owners of a large ranch in the old Maxwelll Land Grant.

ADAMS LAKE. A small lake covering about 2 acres of land near Cassel Rock and Ash Mountain. Named for a prominent family of the vicinity.

AGUA FRIA. "agua fria" Spanish for "cold water". A small community between Taos and Eagle Nest. Post Office 1924-1934.

AGUA FRIA PEAK. Altitude 11,000 feet. near the village of Agua Fria. The Agua Fria Rito rises near Agua Fria Mountain and forms Cieneguilla Creek to empty into Eagle Nest Lake.

AHOGADERA. See san francisco Mesa.

Harding County

ABBOTT LAKE. Artificial lake 10 miles SW of Abbott (Colfax County).

ABBOTT STATION. 2 miles south of the Colfax county line, 19 miles SE of Springer. Established when Southern Pacific railRoad built its lline through the area in the later 1870's. Two brothers, Horace and Jerome Abbott, owned a big sheep ranch here.

ALAMO CREEK. "alamo" spanish for "cottonwood". See Ute Creek.

Mora County

ABBOTT. A post office listed in Mora in1905.

ABUELO. Spanishh word for "grandfather". A little town on the Cebolla valley, 1 1/2 miles from Mora. Its provincial pronunciation as "aguelo" is evident among the earliest documents. This is an oldNew Mexico expression for "bogeyman", an ugly old man to scare children.

AGUA AZUL CREEK. "agua azul" is spanish for "blue water".

AGUA NEGRA. "agua negra" is spanish for "black water". A town on the Mora River, once on the Maxwell Land Grant. Post Office 1884-1892.

AGUA PIEDRA CREEK. "agua piedra" is spanish for "stone water".

Quay County

ADBERG. On CRI&amp;P RR, 5 miles NE of Tucumcari. Family name of first settler.

Union County

AHMEGO. Post Office 1908-1913. Changed to LOCKNEY.

Union County

AIROLO. Post Office 1905-1909; mail to Pasamonte.

Source: New Mexico Place Names, A Geographical Dictionary. T.M. Pearce, Ina Sizer Cassidy, Helen S pearce; The University of New Mexico Press, 1965. LCCC No. 64-17808.