Santa Fe Railway completes line through Raton Pass into New Mexico

Geographic Context. Raton Pass is a mountain pass on the Colorado–New Mexico border, located on the eastern side of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains between Trinidad, Colorado, and Raton, New Mexico. It crosses volcanic mesas extending east from the mountains, providing the most direct land route between the Arkansas River valley to the north and the upper Canadian River valley, which leads toward Santa Fe to the south.

Railroad Competition. In the late 19th century, Raton Pass was the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway's primary route through the mountains. Along with Royal Gorge in Colorado, the pass was one of the focal points for the 1878–79 Railroad Wars between the AT&SF and the smaller Denver and Rio Grande Railroad. Federal intervention later prompted an out-of-court settlement in 1880.

Territorial Status. The New Mexico Territory was an organized incorporated territory of the United States from 1850 until 1912. It existed with varying boundaries, including portions of present-day Colorado and Nevada, until admitted to the Union as the 47th state in 1912. The territory's boundaries remained identical to the eventual state for a half-century prior to admission.