Ghost Town

Elizabethtown

Colfax County, NM

Coordinate verified

New Mexico’s first incorporated town and first Colfax County seat, born of an 1866–69 gold rush on the Moreno Valley. At peak it may have held several thousand residents before fires, mine decline, and relocation of the county seat hollowed it out. Today visitors see cemetery rows, a ruined stone boarding-house wall, and scattered ranch fabric along NM 38 between Eagle Nest and Red River.

Field facts

RegionColfax County, NM
Coordinates36.6192, -105.2845
ARPAArtifacts & structures are protected by federal law (ARPA) — take only photos, leave every relic in place.
Era1866 gold rush; county seat 1870–72
Also known asE-Town
AccessNM 38 roadside / cemetery
Peak eraLate 1860s placer and hard-rock boom

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Public recreation data — BLM & Recreation.gov (RIDB). Verify current access, fees, and seasonal closures before traveling.

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Plan ahead. Leave no trace. Verify current access before traveling.