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Dawson

Ghost town · Colfax County, New Mexico

Cimarron quadrangle, USGS topographic map (1955, 1:62,500)
Cimarron quadrangle, USGS topographic map (1955, 1:62,500) · U.S. Geological Survey, Historical Topographic Map Collection · Public domain

Dawson is a ghost town in Colfax County, New Mexico. It is one of 12 former communities in Colfax County on the federal names register. That ranks the county 4th among the 31 New Mexico counties with a vanished settlement on record.

The U.S. Geological Survey lists Dawson as a historical populated place on the Dawson topographic quadrangle: the name is no longer in official use for a community, whether the settlement was abandoned, absorbed into a neighbouring town or renamed. The recorded location is 36.6642° N, 104.7747° W.

Key facts

USGS quadrangleDawson
Elevation6,338 ft
Nearest living townCimarron, NM
Distance to it13.1 miles
GNIS feature ID902230
Coordinates36.66420, -104.77472

Open the location on a map

What's there now

Dawson is no longer a community in its own right. The nearest living town is Cimarron, NM (population 717), about 13.1 miles away in a straight line, and the site sits at roughly 6,338 feet above sea level. Much of the land around former townsites is private; check access before you visit.

Images

Main Street of Dawson, New Mexico. Taken in 1916, now a ghost town.
Main Street of Dawson, New Mexico. Taken in 1916, now a ghost town. · Legends of America Archives / Wikimedia Commons · public-domain

Nearby places

Questions

Where is Dawson?

Dawson is in Colfax County, New Mexico, at 36.6642, -104.7747.

How many ghost towns are in Colfax County?

Colfax County, New Mexico has 12 ghost towns on record at Wayfarrow.

Sources and licences

Facts marked "approximately" carry an uncertain date in the source. Text on this page is generated from the sources above; no encyclopedia prose is copied. Last updated 2026-11-05.