Maxwell Land Grant facts for kids
The Maxwell Land Grant, also known as the Beaubien-Miranda Land Grant, was a huge piece of land, about 1,714,765-acre (6,939.41 km2) in size. It was located in parts of Colfax County, New Mexico, and Las Animas County, Colorado. This land grant was given out in 1841 and was one of the biggest private landholdings ever in the United States. Many towns in New Mexico, like Cimarron, Raton, and Springer, are now located within what used to be the grant. Some other towns there are now ghost towns, meaning they are empty.
History of the Grant
How It Started
The land that became the Maxwell Land Grant originally belonged to the Jicarilla Apache Native American tribes. In 1885, a report showed that about 850 Jicarilla Apaches lived near Cimarron, on what was called "Maxwell's Grant."
Spain claimed this region of northern New Mexico in 1524, but not many people settled there. When Mexico became an independent country in 1821, its government continued Spain's idea of giving out land grants. This was to encourage people to settle and develop the land.
The First Owners
Carlos Beaubien was a trapper from Canada who became a Mexican citizen. His partner, Guadalupe Miranda, worked for the governor of New Mexico, Manuel Armijo. On January 8, 1841, Beaubien and Miranda asked Governor Armijo for a land grant. They promised to bring settlers and farm the land.
Just three days later, Armijo gave them the land. But he said they had to use it well. For the next two years, Beaubien and Miranda didn't do much with the land. So, in 1843, they asked a local official in Taos to officially confirm they owned the land. The official said he had marked the boundaries and that they were in full possession of the grant.
Lucien Maxwell Takes Over
Lucien Bonaparte Maxwell was an explorer and adventurer. He married Luz Beaubien, who was Carlos Beaubien's daughter. Carlos Beaubien hired Maxwell to manage his land interests. In 1849, Maxwell and his wife settled in Rayado, New Mexico. Later, in 1860, Maxwell built a large home in Cimarron. Cimarron was an important stop on the Santa Fe Trail, a famous trading route.
Lucien Maxwell was well-liked by both Native American tribes and settlers. When the United States went to war with Mexico, some fighting happened on his land. Maxwell's business partner, who was Mexican, gave his part of the land grant to Maxwell and left for Mexico. Maxwell's good business sense and his relationships with the tribes and settlers helped keep the Mexican-American War from causing too many problems in that area.
Maxwell was known for being kind. For example, he adopted an Apache girl named Delvina Maxwell. Legend says that some Ute people had captured Delvina and were treating her badly. When they traveled through Maxwell's ranch, he saw them hurting her. He offered to buy the young girl. He traded two bulls and a goat for her, and then he adopted her. Delvina Maxwell later helped care for several of Maxwell's own children and grandchildren.
In 1870, Lucien Maxwell decided to sell the huge land grant.
New Owners from England
A group of wealthy people from England bought the Maxwell Land Grant for about $1,350,000. After selling the land, Maxwell moved away and later passed away in 1875.
The new English owners created a company called the Maxwell Land Grant and Railway Company. They tried to remove people who were living on the land without permission, called squatters. Some squatters believed they had Maxwell's unspoken permission to be there. Many people left, but some stayed and fought for their homes. This fight between the new owners and the squatters became known as the Colfax County War.
Dutch Company Takes Over
The English company ran into financial trouble by 1874 and went bankrupt. In 1879, a new group of owners from the Netherlands took over. They formed the Maxwell Land Grant Company. In 1885, these new owners convinced the governor to use the National Guard to make the squatters leave.
The Dutch company also faced financial problems and went bankrupt in 1888. The United States government even sued the company. This was because the company claimed land in Colorado that the government said was public land. In 1887, this case went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. The court decided that the company did own the land. After this, most of the settlers and squatters realized they couldn't legally own the land, so they left.
Selling Off Parts of the Land
Even before the big sales, Lucien Maxwell had sold some parts of the grant. In 1867, he sold what he thought was 1,000 acres (400 ha) to J.B. Dawson. When Dawson had the land measured, it turned out to be 20,000 acres (8,100 ha) and had a lot of coal underground! Later, in 1906, a company called Phelps Dodge bought this land. They named the town Dawson, and it grew to have about 2,000 people.
More Land Sales and Disputes
Disagreements over the land grant continued, especially in the Colorado part. Many people had tried to claim land there under the Homestead Acts. In 1888, there was a violent event in Stonewall, Colorado, where several people died. The Maxwell Land Grant Company kept suing these homesteaders. In many cases, the homesteaders had to pay for their land a second time. In 1894, the U.S. Supreme Court again ruled in favor of the company, saying the homesteaders' claims were not valid.
Vermejo Park and Valle Vidal: Big Sales
Many other large parts of the grant were sold in the early 1900s.
In 1902, William Bartlett, a rich businessman from Chicago, bought 205,000 acres (830 km2) of the grant. This area was along the Vermejo River. Bartlett's part of the grant, called Vermejo Park, has had several owners over the years. In 1973, Pennzoil, an oil company, bought the Vermejo Park Ranch and made it even bigger. In 1982, Pennzoil gave 100,000 acres (400 km2) of the ranch, known as Valle Vidal, to the U.S. government. This area is now managed as a wilderness by the U.S. Forest Service.
In 1992, Ted Turner, a famous media owner, bought Vermejo Park Ranch (590,823 acres (2,390.98 km2)) from Pennzoil. He didn't buy the rights to the minerals underground, so another company still produces gas there. Ted Turner raises buffalo and runs a lodge for wildlife tours, fishing, and hunting. In 2016, he fixed up Casa Grande, a big mansion built by Bartlett, and now rents rooms there to guests.
Current Use of the Land
Philmont Scout Ranch
Starting in 1922, Waite Phillips, an oilman from Tulsa, Oklahoma, also bought a large section of the Maxwell Land Grant. Phillips bought over 300,000 acres (1,200 km2) and named his ranch Philmont. In two separate gifts in 1938 and 1941, Phillips gave 127,395 acres (515.55 km2) of this land to the Boy Scouts of America. It is used as a wilderness camping area for scouts.
In 1963, another part of the Maxwell Land Grant, about 10,098 acres (40.87 km2) of the Baldy Mountain mining area, was also given to Philmont.
Chase Ranch
In 1866, Manley M. Chase bought part of John B. Dawson's ranch, which was also part of the Maxwell Land Grant. This was along the Vermejo River. Chase raised both sheep and cattle. In 1871, Chase bought another 2,000 acres (810 ha) of the original Maxwell grant. This land was along Poñil Creek and included the old home of Kit Carson, a famous American frontiersman. The two-story adobe house Chase built is still the ranch headquarters and family home today.
Other Important Areas Today
Cimarron Canyon State Park stretches along Cimarron Canyon. It goes from Eagle Nest Lake to Ute Park. This park is part of the Colin Neblett State Wildlife Area, which is 33,116 acres (134.02 km2) of former grant land. The state of New Mexico bought this area in the early 1950s.
The Whittington Center, started in 1973, is a very large shooting and hunting complex. It is owned by the National Rifle Association and covers 33,000 acres (130 km2) of the Maxwell Land Grant.
