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Our Genealogy Helper

Introduction ...

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 Raton (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 Raton. 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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors were in the next county to the west. Almost all of the nearby churches and cemeteries were in the county to the north.

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 west contained birth and death records; the county to the north 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.

Raton is located in Colfax County and is the County Seat.

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 Raton. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Raton:

  • Colfax County     (The home county of Raton)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Raton, with the one closest to Raton listed first.
    • Brilliant ‑ Historic
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brilliant
      • Brilliant is located in Colfax County
    • Kiowa ‑ Historic
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kiowa have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kiowa
      • Kiowa is located in Colfax County
    • Dawson ‑ Historic
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dawson
      • Dawson is located in Colfax County
    • Lauretta ‑ Historic
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Lauretta. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lauretta
      • Lauretta is located in Colfax County
    • Maxwell
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Maxwell have been provided by the GNIS.<1> 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 <3>
  • Union County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Raton, with the one closest to Raton listed first.
    • Capulin
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Folsom
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Folsom have been provided by the GNIS.<1> 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 <3>
  • Las Animas County (CO)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Raton, with the one closest to Raton listed first.
    • San Miguel ‑ Historic
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for San Miguel have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for San Miguel
      • San Miguel is located in Las Animas County (CO)
    • Starkville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Engleville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Engleville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Engleville
      • Engleville is located in Las Animas County (CO)
    • Sopris ‑ Historic
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sopris have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sopris
      • Sopris is located in Las Animas County (CO)
    • Trinidad
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trinidad
      • Trinidad is located in Las Animas County (CO)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 8,127 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Trinidad <3>
    • Cokedale
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cokedale
      • Cokedale is located in Las Animas County (CO)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 121 people
    • Madrid ‑ Historic
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Madrid
      • Madrid is located in Las Animas County (CO)
    • Segundo
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Valdez
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valdez
      • Valdez is located in Las Animas County (CO)
    • El Moro
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for El Moro
      • El Moro is located in Las Animas County (CO)
    • Trinchera
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Boncarbo
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Boncarbo have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boncarbo
      • Boncarbo is located in Las Animas County (CO)
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Boncarbo <3>
    • Hoehne
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hoehne have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hoehne
      • Hoehne is located in Las Animas County (CO)
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hoehne <3>

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Raton ...

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 108 newspapers that have been published in the area around Raton.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Raton. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Raton and those printed in the larger area surrounding Raton.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<4> of Raton.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we like to start with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These websites 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 Raton:

Cemeteries Near Raton ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Raton.

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 Raton covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

  • Fairmont Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Fairmont Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Fairmont Cemetery
  • St. Johns Methodist Church Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Johns Methodist Church Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Johns Methodist Church Cemetery
  • Mt. Calvary Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mt. Calvary Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mt. Calvary Cemetery
  • Starkville Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Starkville Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Starkville Cemetery
  • Leyba Cemetery
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Leyba Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Leyba Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #57395 <5>
  • Lucero Cemetery
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lucero Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lucero Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #57406 <5>
  • Vigil Cemetery
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Vigil Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Vigil Cemetery
  • Tapia Cemetery
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Barela Cemetery
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Barela Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Barela Cemetery
  • Jansen Cemetery
    (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Jansen Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Jansen Cemetery
  • Carpios Cemetery
    (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Carpios Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Carpios Cemetery
  • Cordova Cemetery
    (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Cordova Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Cordova Cemetery
  • Continue List   (33 more) ...
    • Tijeras Cemetery
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Tijeras Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Tijeras Cemetery
    • Garcia Cemetery
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Garcia Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Garcia Cemetery
    • Catholic Cemetery
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)

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.<6>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Raton had a population of 1,255 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Raton had a population of 5,923 people.

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

  • Dillon
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dillon have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dillon
    • Dillon is located in Colfax County
  • Wootton
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wootton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wootton
    • Wootton is located in Las Animas County (CO)
  • Morley
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Morley have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morley
    • Morley is located in Las Animas County (CO)
  • Starkville
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
  • Sopris ‑ Historic
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sopris have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sopris
    • Sopris is located in Las Animas County (CO)
  • Barela
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Barela have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barela
    • Barela is located in Las Animas County (CO)
  • Engleville
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Engleville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Engleville
    • Engleville is located in Las Animas County (CO)
  • Trinidad
    (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trinidad
    • Trinidad is located in Las Animas County (CO)
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 8,127 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Trinidad <3>
  • Madrid ‑ Historic
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Madrid
    • Madrid is located in Las Animas County (CO)
  • El Moro
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for El Moro
    • El Moro is located in Las Animas County (CO)
  • Trinchera
    (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
  • Kiowa ‑ Historic
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kiowa have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kiowa
    • Kiowa is located in Colfax County
  • Continue List   (4 more) ...
    • Forbes ‑ Historic
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Forbes have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forbes
      • Forbes is located in Las Animas County (CO)
    • Maxwell
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Maxwell have been provided by the GNIS.<1> 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 <3>
    • Weston
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)

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

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Raton. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

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

Footnotes ...

<1>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.
<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>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<4>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Raton) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Raton. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 36.9023, Longitude: -104.4395    
<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>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 Raton, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024