San Miguel County, New Mexico: History
San Miguel County was created in 1846 by the conquering United States' army in the Mexican-American War. New Mexico became part of the United States in the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo of 1848. The boundaries of the county often changed until 1923 when its current boundaries were established.
In 1835, prior to the American conquest, the Mexican government granted land to individuals and communities in what became San Miguel County. The largest grant was the Las Vegas Grant of 431,654 acres (174,684 ha) (674 sqmi). Most of the grant land was designated as common land to be used by all the grantees and their descendants. The grant lands quickly attracted settlers, initially Hispanics, to the frontier of New Mexico in a region still menaced by Native American (Indian) raids. The Santa Fe Trail, first travelled in 1821, passed through the county, linking New Mexico to the United States.
The establishment of Fort Union nearby in 1851 increased the security of the region and provided employment for residents and a market for Las Vegas products. The coming of the railroad in 1879 expanded a market for ranch land and stimulated the livestock industry, especially of sheep for wool. The railroad company also harvested much of the timber in the country to make railroad ties. Anglo cattle ranchers moved into the area from Texas. By 1890, a few, mostly Anglo, ranchers controlled one-half of the grazing lands in San Miguel County. Homesteaders also moved into San Miguel County, claiming 160 acres (65 ha) of land as allowed by the 1862 Homestead Act. Both large ranchers and small homesteaders built homes, barns, and fenced grant land with barbed-wire, ignoring the claims by Hispanic residents of their rights to use the common land for crops, grazing, and timber harvest.
With Hispanic residents losing land and access to irrigation water to speculators, ranchers, and homesteaders, the secretive Gorras Blancas, "White Hats," burst on the scene in San Miguel County in 1889. The night riding Gorras Blancas destroyed fences and burned barns and other buildings. The Gorras Blancas were successful in gaining public support, eliminating many fences, and preserving access to common lands, but the movement faded in the early 1890s and the march toward converting common lands into private ownership soon resumed. By 2004, of the original land of the Las Vegas grant, only 10,340 acres (4,180 ha) remained in common ownership.