Cimarron New Mexico - Wild and Baudy Boomtown

Cimarron, New Mexico

The only monument to Lucien B Maxwell is a primitive concrete folk-art sculpture, where Maxwell sits facing the west, and looking restless with a rifle in hand. However, the current curator of the Aztec Mill, Buddy Morse, tells a story that the statue was actually built for Henry Springer, but when the artist presented it, Henry didn't like it and stated that statues were to be built for people who were dead, so between the two of them, it was decided that the statue would be of Maxwell instead.

Schwenk's Hall, once a gambling house and saloon in the 1870's is now a private residence and a gift shop. Within the residence is a plaque embedded in the wall that notes "It was here that Coal Oil Jimmy (a stagecoach robber from Elizabethtown) and Davy Crockett won $14,000 bucking Faro."

Cimarron Maxwell Statue Today,

June, 2006, Kathy Weiser.

While the owners were renovating the building they discovered a mysterious tunnel that runs from beneath the house to a point beneath the garage, which may have once been the saloon and gambling den. At the time of this writing, Schwenk's Hall is for sale.

One of the most interesting historical sites is the Cimarron Cemetery which continues to house many of historical figures of their time. In the Lambert Family plot, surrounded by an old wrought-iron fence, rests Henri Lambert, who died in 1913, marked by a flecked black tombstone. Lying next to him, with a matching marker, is Mary Elizabeth Lambert, who died on December 8, 1926. Sitting sadly in another plot away from Henri, is the crumbling white tombstone belonging to another Mary Lambert, Henri's first wife.

Davy Crockett is buried in the Cimarron cemetery and a "new" rough wooden marker has been placed, though probably not on the exact spot where his remains were buried. Originally, Crockett's grave had a rough, wooden marker made just after he was buried but later family members removed it with plans of replacing it with a more appropriate marker. Sadly, the new marker never arrived. In years before, there were a few old-timers who knew the whereabouts of Crockett's unmarked grave. But now, they too, are buried in the cemetery. When Fred Lambert, Henri's son, was still alive he said that the grave was halfway between Reverend Tolby's grave, marked by a handsome monument, and the Lambert family plot.

Reverend Tolby was shot near Clear Creek in 1875. His murder was one of the initial instigators of the Colfax County War. His tombstone has been replaced with a new one, but the original tombstone can be seen at the St. James Hotel.

Sitting about a half-mile west of the St. James Hotel, is an old grave which is said to possibly be that of Cruz Vega, who was killed by Clay Allison and a lynch mob on October 30, 1875.

Continued Next Page

Henry and Mary Lambert's graves, June, 2006, Kathy Weiser.

Reverend Tolby's Grave, June, 2006, Kathy Weiser.

Cimarron-UnknownGraves.Weiser.07-03.jpg (295x175 -- 8744 bytes)

The Cimarron Cemetery where time has wiped

away the identity of several grave markers.

July, 2003. Kathy Weiser

Allison_Possible_Vega_grave.jpg (299x179 -- 15898 bytes)

Possible Vega Grave, courtesy Albuquerque Tribune

Also See:

Cimarron Photo Gallery

Kit Carson - Legend of the Southwest

My Friend, Kit Carson by a Santa Fe Trail Driver

The Largest Land Grant in History

Lucien Maxwell by a Santa Fe Trail Driver

Santa Fe Trail - Highway to the Southwest

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