New Mexico Office of the State Historian : Catron County

Catron County

Catron County was created in 1921 from the western part of Socorro County. This county sits in west-central New Mexico on the Arizona County line. Catron is one of the state’s largest counties (with 6,898 square miles) but is sparsely populated and has one of the state’s smallest populations. This may be due to the fact that within the county’s borders are portions of the Apache, Gila, and Cibola National Forests, which house few residents. The county seat of Catron is Reserve, so-named for the many forest reserves in the area.

The country is named for Thomas B. Catron, an influential and controversial attorney and politician. Catron moved to New Mexico in 1866 from Missouri and emerged as the leader of a growing Republican Party. Catron acquired over 1.5 million acres in former Spanish land grants and the ethics of these acquisitions have remained controversial. Catron was an advocate for New Mexico statehood and was one the state’s first two U.S. Senators.