The Colfax County War, a brutal and prolonged conflict, unfolded in northeastern New Mexico from 1873 to 1888, stemming from an intense dispute over property ownership. This violent period centered on the vast Maxwell Land Grant, once the largest land grant ever made in the United States, and dramatically shaped the history of the American West. The events of the Colfax County War are a testament to the volatile intersection of ambition, lawlessness, and the fight for land in post-Civil War America.
Initially granted to Charles H. Beaubien and Guadalupe Miranda by the Spanish Government in 1841, the Maxwell Land Grant encompassed massive portions of Colfax County, New Mexico, and Las Animas County, Colorado. Lucien Maxwell, who married Beaubien’s daughter, eventually bought out the other owners, expanding the grant to an astonishing 1,714,764.93 acres—twice the size of Rhode Island. Under Maxwell’s stewardship, the area flourished, attracting settlers, prospectors, and travelers along the Santa Fe Trail, all drawn to its rich lands and promising resources, including towns like Cimarron, Springer, and Elizabethtown.
The Shifting Ownership of the Maxwell Land Grant
In 1870, Lucien Maxwell sold the immense property to Senator Chafee of Colorado and two associates for $650,000, along with his other assets for an additional $100,000, before relocating to Fort Sumner. This sale marked a critical turning point. Chafee and his partners quickly resold the grant to an English syndicate for $1,350,000, which, just six months later in 1872, transferred ownership to a Dutch firm. The new foreign owners immediately embarked on an aggressive campaign to exploit the grant’s resources and collect rents from existing settlers. However, faltering gold production and fears of Native American attacks deterred new buyers, while the swift and demanding approach of the Dutch company alienated those who had already established homes and businesses on the land.
The primary objective of the new grant owners was the removal of what they deemed ‘squatters’—farmers and miners who had settled on the land over the previous three decades. These settlers, having invested their lives and fortunes, held a grudging respect for Lucien Maxwell but felt no loyalty to absentee foreign proprietors. They contested the grant’s title, arguing that Maxwell’s conveyance was legally shaky, and adamantly refused to leave. This inherent conflict between the settlers’ claims and the new owners’ legal rights laid the groundwork for the impending violence.
The Santa Fe Ring and Escalating Tensions
To facilitate the removal of settlers, grant officials allied themselves with the powerful and corrupt ‘Santa Fe Ring’—a cabal of influential lawyers, politicians, and businessmen. This ring utilized its political and financial clout to manipulate local affairs. Key figures in Cimarron, such as attorney Melvin Mills and Dr. Robert H. Longwell, openly supported the Ring, securing prominent local positions in the controversial 1875 elections. The Ring’s orchestrators, attorney Thomas Benton Catron and his law partner Steven Benton Elkins, strategically recruited members based on their talents and influence.
Cimarron, already notorious for its lawlessness, quickly became a focal point of the conflict. The Land Grant company’s hired gunslingers, attempting to evict the settlers, encountered fierce resistance, rapidly escalating tensions into what became known as the Colfax County War. The settlers, unfortunately, were often outmatched in terms of numbers and firepower from the outset.
The Murder of Reverend Tolby and its Aftermath
A pivotal moment in the Colfax County War was the murder of Reverend Franklin J. Tolby. A staunch advocate for the settlers, Tolby vociferously criticized the Santa Fe Ring, exposing their corrupt practices through letters to the New York Sun and public speeches. On September 14, 1875, Tolby was shot and killed in Cimarron Canyon. The untouched state of his belongings clearly indicated that robbery was not the motive. It was widely believed that agents of the Land Grant company had silenced him, igniting further outrage among the settlers. The Daily New Mexican of Santa Fe reported suspicions of a hired assassin.
Far from quelling the opposition, Tolby’s murder galvanized the settlers, intensifying their efforts to challenge the land grant’s approval. The ‘Colfax County Ring,’ as the settlers collectively termed themselves, retaliated fiercely. Reverend Oscar Patrick McMains, Tolby’s close friend, took up the cause, publicly urging
