09/22/2026
~Wagon Mound~
Looming on the fading blue horizon, Wagon Mound was the last landmark pointing travelers towards Glorieta Pass and the final stretch of the trail leading to Santa Fe.. The aptly named landmark bears a striking resemblance to the covered wagons that relied on it to navigate the treacherous route.
The lush, green meadows, and the waters abound near the base of the mound made it ideal camping spot along the trail. It appealed to some so much that they never left. These pioneers would name their settlement "Los Ojos de Santa Clara".
In the late 1870s the settlement was renamed Pinkerton however when news of a railroad line being built nearby the town of Pinkerton died overnight. its residents relocated and established Wagon Mound along the new railroad in 1878.
The valley between the two mounds was no longer an isolated or peaceful place. With easterners arriving eager to settle, the brooks and streams from the bountiful springs above in the canyon were diverted and harnessed to please the newcomers. Its abundance of water and prime location on the road to Santa Fe made it an important frontier town and with the arrival of the train a popular rest stop for travelers on their way to Las Vegas, the town known as the “Wildest of the Wild West." offering every convenience a traveler of the day could want. Near the train station were several hotels and restaurants to choose from just a short walk from the center of town, which made it very appealing to those aboard the train.
The influx of people arriving in Wagon Mound consisted of wealthy easterners, railroad executives, fortune hunters, opera singers, actors and actresses, philanthropists, outlaws. scientists, geologists, paleontologists and archaeologists looking for fossils, oil, gold or anything of value that could be wrestled from the virgin land which turned out to be pinto beans. So many beans that it would lead to annual celebration that would last over a century.
The historic event of Bean Day began in 1910 when Higinio Gonzalez and his crew cooked up a pot of beans in wash boilers behind the school house for what was then called the "Mora County Farmers Harvest Jubilee". The following year, the name "Bean Day" was born to honor the crop that was once staple of the local farming economy. In those days, Wagon Mound was a major center for the production of pinto beans.
Although few pinto beans are grown in the area these days, the tradition continues as an enjoyable family oriented celebration.
Presently, the event kicks off Friday
evening at the Wagon Mound Firehouse with a bean-cleaning party to remove rocks and dirt from the dried beans hauled down from Colorado. The 300 lbs. of beans and 800 lbs. of meat are cooked under the ground in a pit that has been dug at the rodeo grounds. The pit is filled with wood and charcoal and burned all afternoon.
At dusk, the beef and beans are placed in the pit, supports and metal are placed over the pit and covered with dirt. In the morning, the pit is uncovered, the temperature of the meat is checked, the feast unearthed and taken to the village park for a free giant outdoor meal of 1,500 or more meals.
