Folsom Museum

08/07/2026

~2026 Folsom Site Tour~
There will be two tours to the Folsom Archeological Site on Saturday, August 15th, 2026.
The morning tour will depart from the Folsom Museum at 8AM and will be returning at 11AM. Following the first tour the museum will be serving lunch free of charge.
After lunch the second tour will depart at 1 PM and will return to Folsom around 4 PM.
To get to the site you will drive your own vehicle from the Folsom Museum following our lead. The drive is approximately 10 miles west of Folsom on Highway 72 then an additional 3 miles of gravel road. From there it's a 1/4 mile walk.
When you get to the site there will be a lecture by the archeologist from the NM State Land Office.
Remember to bring sunscreen and comfortable shoes.

The tour is free, however, you must preregister for the tour. You can make reservations @ Folsommuseum.org The Tours are limited to 30 people per tour and fill up fast so register ASAP to ensure a spot.

08/04/2026

JJ Ranch cowboys in the Cedars. (l to r) George Barrington and (?) Mock. F
Helen Barrington Johnson
Collection.

08/01/2026

~Sw****ka, New Mexico ~
At the end of World War I the Sw****ka Fuel Company, owned and operated by the St. Louis, Rocky Mountain and Pacific Company, was organized to open new coal deposits south of Bril-liant. Soon the camp of Sw****ka began to take shape with neatly laid out plots of brick and concrete homes. To the local townsfolk the good fortune of Sw****ka meant a regular pay check, warm comfortable company houses, education for the children, and company-sponsored events and activities for their entertainment. The local mine union donated thirty-six dollars for purple and gold basketball uniforms for the school. The children sponsored plays, recitals, and pantomimes for the P.T.A. benefit to raise funds for their i-brary. The camp consisted of families with strong Italian emigrant blood, with a great enthusiasm for soccer. When Sw****ka challenged opponents, generally two neighboring camps would join to gether to play the game against them.
As increased oil exploration stimulated Texas and Oklahoma, more coal was supplied from the camps of northeastern New Mexico for conversion into steam power to drive the rotary drills. This business aided Sw****ka, and its population reached five hundred residents in 1929
The old town of Brilliant, located about a mile north, had closed its doors, hence at the beginning of World War II, when the name Sw****ka was no longer appropriate, the name was logicaly changed to Brilliant.
The site of Sw****ka (New Brilliant) today, reduced to rows of concrete foundation outlines and black mine dumps extending about hall a mile along Dillon Canyon.

COUNTY: Colfax County, New Mexico
LOCATION: 6 mi. northwest of Raton
Post office was established in 1919 & discontinued in 1940.
Name changed to Brilliant in 1940 & was discontinued in 1954.

07/31/2026

07/29/2026

~Fred Harvey~
There is a difference between eating and dining. Fred Harvey brought dining to New Mexico accompanied by an appreciation for the land and culture of the West. He also brought Harvey Girls.
Originally, Harvey attempted to staff Harvey Houses with local, all-male employees. This led to many problems, not the least of which was an unwillingness or inability to meet the high Fred Harvey standards. A pivotal event in Raton, New Mexico, brought a change that proved to be extremely successful.
Following an incident at the Raton Harvey House that left the all-male stafi unable to work the next morning, an enraged Fred Harvey fired everyone and hired a new manager who suggested replacing the unruly men with attractive young women. Harvey agreed, and ads began to appear in the northeast and midwest similar to this:
“Wanted Young women, 18-30 years of age, of good character, attractive, and intelligent, as waitresses in Harvey Eating Houses on the Santa Fe Railroad in the West. Good wages, with room and meals furnished. Experience not necessary. Write Fred Harves, Union Depot, Kansas City Missoun.”
The two photos below are of New Mexico Harvey Girl Bertha Peterson (second from right) with unidentified Harvey Girls. The second photo is of the Santa Fe Depot and Harvey House in Raton, New Mexico.

07/28/2026

This photograph is of Jesse Gleason as he sits on the family’s freight wagon outside the Gleason Ranch near Folsom, New Mexico. This type of freight wagon played an important role in settling the American West. (photo courtesy of Folsom Museum)

07/26/2026

~Springtime at Philmont|~
Each spring after its Hereford cows had given birth to their calves, the cowboys on the Philmont Ranch, outside of Cimarron, NM would make the annual cattle drive moving cattle from the winter pastures to the summer range in high-country parks of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains on Theo southwest part of the ranch.
There, the calves were branded with Waite Phillips's U U Bar in La Grulla Park. Afterward. the cows and their calves were scattered throughout the meadows to graze on the rich summer grass. Photo branding at philmont (Philmont Scout Ranch.)

07/26/2026

By the late 1800s, overgrazing, the collapse of market prices, drought, and severe winters had forced most of the ranchers in northeastern New Mexico out of business and replaced by a new group cattlemen. This new group of business men were more focused on range management. along with installing windmills they began to practice rotational grazing of fenced pastures, supplemental feeding, and selective breeding. (New Mexico Farm and Ranch Heritage Museum.)