Remains of the schoolhouse/church
When one talks of ghost towns, they usually aren’t referring to a town that’s haunted, but rather an abandoned town somewhere in the West. A town whose glory and population peaked with the gold and silver rushes of the late 19th century, though there were many whose rise and fall had little to do with these precious metals. Colfax, New Mexico happens to be a town which actually fits both descriptions.
Colfax came to life under the developers of the St Louis, Rocky Mountain and Pacific Railroad right at the turn of the century. The town was advertised as a good area for farming near the much larger town
A post office opened in 1908, but lasted only until 1921; while other community businesses, a school, church, general store, gas station and hotel lasted until the town died out. The town’s downfall came with the Great Depression when gasoline prices skyrocketed, forcing people to stop driving. Most residents then moved to the larger nearby towns like Cimarron, Dawson, Raton or Springer. Though the town is officially dead by anyone’s standard’s, the railroad developers still own it and have made several attempts to sell it.
As previously mentioned, Colfax fits into that select category of being a ghost town in both senses of the word. The ghost of a young mother has been seen all around the town site, but mostly in the schoolhouse/church building. The young woman lost her son to an unknown illness in the late 1800s and died of grief only a few months later.
There have also been reports of glowing lights which can be seen on the full moon nights.
Dawson and Colfax, NM Ghost Towns
Colfax, New Mexico Ghost Town
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The Witching Hour 