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Our Genealogy Helper

Introduction ...

So far, we found very little information about Chico. The little that we've found leads us believe that the community is historic.<1>

We've added Chico to our Gazetteer with the hope that we can develop more information. If you can help us with Chico, please Contact Us.

We have a couple of goals for our Gazetteer:

  • That it be a tool which helps us with planning our trips.
  • We're trying to shape our Gazetteer as a tool to help us understand the community in which our ancestors lived, the community that was part of their daily lives.
  • On our trips, we try to visit those places where our ancestors left their footprints.

By learning about Chico (and the surrounding area) during the time that our ancestors lived, we hope to have a better understanding of both their community and its relationship to their lifes. We hope that this tool helps to give us an insight into their world.

As we add data and organize our Gazetteer to help with our family research, we will be adding to this our Genealogical Helper for Chico. While we don't have information that is specific to any given person or family, we intend to expand our understanding about where and how people lived.

Neighboring Counties ...

When searching for family records, we have frequently made the mistake of not checking the neighboring counties.

For example, we have great-grandparents who lived in the southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors were in the next county to the east. Almost all of the nearby churches and cemeteries were in the county to the south.

So when searching for records, we had our best success by looking in neighboring counties instead of the county in which they lived:  their home county contained property and probate records; the county to the east contained birth and death records; the county to the south contained their burial records. If we hadn't included the neighboring counties, we would have missed many valuable sources of information.

If you're in a similar situation, we hope that the following information helps.

Although our information shows that the community of Chico is historic, it would have been located within present day Colfax County.

To see how the shape of New Mexico's counties have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Colfax County: Costilla (CO), Las Animas (CO), Harding, Mora, Taos & Union.

Below are the counties that are near Chico. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Chico:

  • Colfax County     (The home county of Chico)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Chico, with the one closest to Chico listed first.
    • Kiowa ‑ Historic
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Kiowa. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kiowa
      • Kiowa is located in Colfax County
    • Maxwell
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Maxwell have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maxwell
      • Maxwell is located in Colfax County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 213 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Maxwell <4>
    • Springer
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Springer have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springer
      • Springer is located in Colfax County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 910 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Springer <4>
  • Harding County
  • Union County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Chico, with the one closest to Chico listed first.
    • Gladstone
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Capulin
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Des Moines
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Des Moines have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Des Moines
      • Des Moines is located in Union County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 121 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Des Moines <4>
    • Folsom
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Folsom have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Folsom
      • Folsom is located in Union County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 53 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Folsom <4>

For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Chico, see our County-by-County Page for Chico.

Cemeteries Near Chico ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Chico.

This is a new section and is likely to have errors. If you find an error, such as a missing cemetery or we have the wrong name, please let us know. If you know of them, we would also appreciate learning about previous or alternate names.

If you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our selection of Genealogy Websites (see below).

If not found below, our Cemetery List for Chico covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Chico, with the one closest to Chico listed first.

  • Hollenbeck Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hollenbeck Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hollenbeck Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Wilson Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Wilson Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Wilson Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Herrera Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Herrera Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Herrera Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Mountainview Cemetery
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Chico Creek Cemetery
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Johnson Cemetery
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Johnson Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Johnson Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Johnson Cemetery
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
  • Gladstone Cemetery
    (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Gladstone Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Gladstone Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Sofia Cemetery
    (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sofia Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sofia Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Mofax Cemetery
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
  • Maxwell Cemetery
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Maxwell Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Maxwell Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the south of Maxwell.
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1962553 <5>
  • Martinez Cemetery
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Martinez Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Martinez Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (7 more) ...
    • Johnson Park Cemetery
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Johnson Park Cemetery
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for the Johnson Park Cemetery. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • To give a relative sense of its location, the Johnson Park Cemetery is located 12 miles [19.3 km]<6> to the west of Raton.
      • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2237532 <5>
    • Mestenito Cemetery
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • Mills Cemetery
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)

Nearby Communities in 1895 ...

We've built the following list with information that came from an Atlas published by Rand McNally in 1895. The Atlas had details such as the population of the community (which appears to have come from the 1890 Census) and whether there was a post office and/or railroad service available. We also indicate if the community no longer exists and is now historic.

While we didn't find Chico in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Chico.

These communities are listed based on their distance from Chico, with the one closest to Chico listed first.

  • Kiowa ‑ Historic
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Kiowa. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kiowa
    • Kiowa is located in Colfax County
  • Maxwell
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Maxwell have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maxwell
    • Maxwell is located in Colfax County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 213 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Maxwell <4>
  • Springer
    (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Springer have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springer
    • Springer is located in Colfax County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 910 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Springer <4>
  • Dillon
    (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dillon have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dillon
    • Dillon is located in Colfax County

We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Chico. See our List of 1890's Communities around Chico.

Newspapers Published in Chico ...

An ongoing effort between the Library of Congress and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) has resulted in the National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP).

To share their results, the partnership has created the Chronicling America website. The goal of this partnership is to assemble a database about the current and historic newspapers of the United States. This includes a growing collection of scanned images from selected papers. All of it available to the public on their website.

Using information that we've taken from the Chronicling America website, we've identified 17 newspapers that have been published in the area around Chico.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Chico, there are papers which were published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<6>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Chico.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These websites either offer the information directly or else point to where you can find it. Their information is open to everyone.

To help you get started, the following links will take you to the pages that are relevant to Chico:

The official website for State of New Mexico: https://www.nm.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>We use the term 'Historic' broadly and it generally means that the community no longer exists. However, it can also mean that the community might still exist, but was significantly larger or had a more 'official' existence in the past than it does now. Unfortunately our sources of data have proven to be unreliable. If you can provide us with more specific information about Chico, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<2>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<3>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<4>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<5>The Find-a-Grave website is an excellent research tool with information about a cemetery's location and interments. They also offer a forum for their members which can provide additional help. More information about Find-a-Grave can be found on their website: findagrave.com.
<6>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Chico) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Chico. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 36.4867, Longitude: -104.1928       In this case, the coordinates for Chico have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025