Frederick D. Nichols, Library of Congress, 1936

The county courthouse today serves as a Masonic Lodge, June, 2006, Kathy Weiser.

When gold was discovered on nearby Mt. Baldy in 1867, Cimarron and the Moreno Valley were flooded with prospectors. Soon, because of the large numbers of people and the distance to the county seat at Mora, New Mexico, the legislature organized a new county on January 25, 1869. named for Schuyler Colfax, Vice-President of the United States from 1869-1873, Elizabethtown became the first county seat. However, just three short years later, the gold was already beginning to play out and Elizabethtown was declining. In 1872, the county seat was moved to Cimarron, which was booming at the time. This building was built the same year, and reigned over Colfax County for a decade. However, by 1882, Cimarron was declining and the county seat moved to Springer. In 1897, it was moved for the final time to Raton. Over the years, the old courthouse served as a drafting office, a school, a residence and, currently serves as the Masonic Lodge.