Dawson

Dawson is a ghost town in Colfax County, northern New Mexico, situated in mountainous terrain at about 6,000 feet elevation and built around coal mining operations. Only ruins and a cemetery with white crosses remain from the once-thriving settlement that housed over 9,000 residents, preserving the memory of miners and their families.

The town was founded in the late 1860s when John Barkley Dawson purchased land and began coal mining operations that drove settlement growth. After being purchased by the Phelps Dodge Corporation in 1906, the town expanded rapidly but was devastated by two major mine explosions in 1913 and 1923 before all operations ceased in 1950.

The town drew workers from Italy, Greece, and Mexico who built a diverse community around coal mining. The cemetery with white iron crosses marks the graves of miners and their families, serving as a physical reminder of the lives and struggles of those who once inhabited this place.

The site is accessible via a dirt road from Cimarron by taking NM-64 east and then turning onto Route A38, with a quiet and solitary atmosphere throughout the area. Daytime visits work best since only the cemetery and scattered ruins are visible, allowing visitors to walk through the quiet landscape at their own pace.

Dolores Huerta, a renowned labor rights activist, was born in Dawson in 1930 and her family worked in the mines. Her life demonstrates how this remote mountain settlement produced someone who would later fight for workers' rights and social justice.