Wagon Mound

Caravans camped not at the butte but at Santa Clara Spring, in a canyon about two miles northwest, and the village that grew up took the spring's name. When a post office came in 1881 Santa Clara was already taken, so it opened as Pinkerton and became Wagon Mound the next year. The spring is also where, in May 1850, ten mail carriers were found dead after a running fight with Jicarilla Apache and Ute warriors. The August before, men at Las Vegas had killed fourteen Jicarilla who came to talk peace and taken White Wolf's daughter.

What the plaque says

Official Scenic Historic Marker Wagon Mound This last great landmark on the Santa Fe Trail was named for its resemblance to the top of a covered wagon. At Wagon Mound, travelers could cross from the Cimarron Cutoff to Fort Union, which is located on the Mountain Branch of the Trail. The two branches joined south of here at Watrous.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Fort Union National Monument — 19 mi
  Three forts in one prairie valley where the two branches of the Santa Fe Trail met: a log post, a star-shaped earthwork, and an adobe supply town that fed the army's wars.

More markers nearby

• Fort Union National Monument / Santa Fe Trail — 13 mi
• Santa Fe Trail — 14 mi
• Fort Union Arsenal — 19 mi
• Canadian River Canyon — 20 mi