Historical Marker
Santa Fe Trail
Raton, Colfax County · New Mexico
The panel's 1812 is Becknell's 1821 with two digits swapped, and it lands on a real year. In 1812 Robert McKnight, James Baird, Samuel Chambers and their companions reached Santa Fe from Missouri and were arrested for entering Spanish territory without passports; they spent about nine years in prison at Chihuahua. Only Mexican independence in 1821 opened the trade, and Becknell, arriving that November, was welcomed. Baird and Chambers set out again late in 1822 and cached their goods on the Arkansas.
What the plaque says
Official Scenic Historic Marker Santa Fe Trail Opened by William Becknell in 1812, the Santa Fe Trail became the major trade route to Santa Fe from Missouri River towns. The two main branches, the Cimarron Cutoff and the Mountain Branch, joined at Watrous. Travel over the Trail ceased with coming of the railroad in 1879.
Where it stands
36.81570, -104.44579 · Directions
Worth the stop nearby
- Fishers Peak State Park — 21 miThe flat-topped landmark over Trinidad and Raton Pass, a trophy-hunting ranch until 2019 and Colorado's second-largest state park since 2020, with a summit trail since 2023.
More markers nearby
- First Automobile in New Mexico — 4.8 mi
- Raton — 5.0 mi
- Women of the Santa Fe Trail — 12 mi
- Clifton House Site — 12 mi