New Mexico Office of the State Historian : Union County

Union County

Located in north eastern New Mexico, Union County was name either because the people living in the area were united in their desire to form a new local governmental unit or because of a more popular notion that the county was created by a union of portions of three existing New Mexico counties; Colfax, Mora, and San Miguel. Rabbit Ears Mountain, near the county seat of Clayton, was a landmark on the Santa Fe Trail and the Goodnight-Loving Cattle Drive Trail crossed the county on its way to Dodge City.