Springer in the 1870s became a ranching operation on the Cimarron River and Santa Fe Trail. After the Santa Fe Railroad came to Springer in 1879 the Maxwell Land Grant Company and District Attorney Melvin Mills moved the Colfax County Courthouse in 1882 to its present site now the Santa Fe Trail Museum. Many of the territory buildings downtown can be used for a midwestern movie set while the surrounding rolling hills of long grass prairies meet the Rocky Mountain Front Range. One hundred forty miles from Santa Fe and 250 miles from Denver while located adjacent to I-25 and the Amtrak Railroad.

Brown Hotel and Restaurant (1900), Colfax County Courthouse, 1882 (now the Santa Fe Trail Museum), Springer Hotel (1879), Livery Stable and Antique Museum (1880), Luna Community College (1930), Melvin Mills Mansion (1877) pictured, Dorsey Mansion (1880).

Kiowa National Grasslands, Philmont Ranch ("Lonesome Dove" location), Maxwell National Wildlife Refuge, Scenic Byways.

Hotels and Motels: 2; Bed and Breakfasts:1; Total Number of Rooms: 30

Springer Chamber of Commerce:

575-483-2998

E-mail: springercofc@railnet-isp.com