The Geronimo Trail Scenic Byway encompasses centuries of history in the Southwest.

The geologic formations of the area began in the Precambrian era more than 1.6 billion years ago. Fossils of dinosaurs, mastodons and mammoths have been discovered in the Rio Grande valley.

The earliest people known to inhabit what is now Sierra County were hunters and gatherers of more than 12,000 years ago. Early pit house and pueblo dwelling sites have been identified and date from 400 AD to 1450 AD. Many of these sites are being studied. The most well-known ancient Native American remnants are the Gila Cliff Dwellings, but many others are scattered throughout the area.

The prehistoric inhabitants had disappeared from the area prior to the time the Apaches arrived during the early 1400s. Although the area of the Geronimo Trail is the central and most historic home of the Apache, they ranged over a much larger area; the four individual tribes were constantly following wild game and food.

While the Chihenne, also known as Warm Springs or Red Paint People, remained in the Ojo Caliente area, over time the Bedonkohe and Chokonan moved further west in the mountains and valleys, and the Nedni migrated south into the mountains of northern Mexico.

Cultural differences and territorial disputes erupted after the arrival of the Spaniards in the latter part of the 1500s. While leaders such as Mangas Coloradas and Victorio tried to live peacefully with the Spaniards, early attempts failed due to mistrust and lack of understanding.

The first permanent non-Indian settlements in the area of the Geronimo Trail were small farming communities settled by Hispanics beginning in the 1850s, including Cuchillo, Monticello, and Las Palomas. Many of these early settlements traded with the Apaches and lived in near-harmony with them as neighbors.

However, the coming of the Europeans in the 1880s brought additional conflicts in culture and territorial rights. With the discovery of gold and silver in the Black Range, the influx of easterners was overwhelming. Many communities - such as Hillsboro, Kingston, Lake Valley, Chloride and Winston - sprang up and flourished during the brief mining era. Because so much of the land was good grazing, cattle were brought in and ranches started. Ranching communities sprang up, such as Engle, which soon became a railroad stop and shipping point for cattle.

A small handful of Apaches held off the army for years during the Apache Wars. The last warriors of the Chihenne and Bedonkohe finally surrendered in 1886 in an attempt to be reunited with their families. Contrary to the terms negotiated for their surrender, they were all shipped away as Prisoners Of War. They remained prisoners for 28 years, and were never able to return to their homeland. They still feel deep roots for the land and culture of their ancestors. (You can read A Brief History of the American Indian Inhabitants of the area of the Geronimo Trail Scenic Byway for additional details; also see the section on Geronimo.)

Because the area of the Geronimo Trail Scenic Byway has remained rural and wild, the towns along it retain the character and flavor of the period of early development.

Some places along the Geronimo Trail Scenic Byway to learn more about the early history of the area:

»   Geronimo Springs Museum, the highly recommended and official starting point of the Geronimo Trail Scenic Byway in Truth or Consequences, displays early Mimbres-Mogollon pottery, Apache artifacts and culture, Hispanic heritage, ranching, mining, military, history of the town and county, fossils, rocks, area geology, an entire log cabin, art displays, a Ralph Edwards room, and memorabilia.

»   The Black Range Museum in Hillsboro displays the paraphernalia of early mining days in Sierra County, especially the early days of the Hillsboro and Kingston area.

»   The Hillsboro Historic District offers a self-guided walking tour with a map of the old town, including ruins of the courthouse and jail, businesses located in historic buildings, and the cemetery on a nearby hill.

»   The Kingston Historic District features a few interesting old buildings remaining from its 1860s to 1890s heyday, as well as the town bell cast from silver from local mines. The old cemetery outside of town is still in use. The Percha Bank Museum, in an old bank building in Kingston, is open by appointment only.

»   The Winston Historic District in that old mining town has buildings dating to 1880s.

»   The boom-and-bust town of Chloride offers a Historic District with the "Hanging Tree" still growing in the center of the main street. The Chloride Museum is in a restored mercantile that once supplied miners and early residents with goods.

»   The Cuchillo Store and Bar in Cuchillo is the original general-store / bar / stagecoach-station, and is now a mini-museum of antiques, memorabilia, and early mining artifacts.

»   There are cliff dwellings on northeast side of Wall Lake dating from early prehistoric culture.

»   Elephant Butte State Park has a museum that displays fossils and geologic exhibits of area, as well as the history of the area that now lies under water.

»   Lake Valley offers a self-guided walking tour of this former mining and ranching community. The old schoolhouse is open to visitors.

»   The Gila Cliff Dwellings are the well preserved ruins of a small dwelling of prehistoric people in a canyon near the Gila River. The Visitor's Center displays artifacts from the dwellings and the area.

»   Ojo Caliente is the site of an army camp, Warm Springs Apache Reservation, and the location of the capture of Geronimo in 1877. The site is visible from the road, but is located on private property. Do not trespass.

»   Monticello is a typical New Mexico Hispanic village with a plaza in center of town flanked by the community Church on the north side and other businesses surrounding the central area.

»   In Engle, only three buildings remain to mark the old cattle ranching town of late 1800s which was once a large shipping center for cattle driven in from the Tularosa Basin as well as ranches on the Jornada del Muerto ("Journey of The Dead"). This area of El Camino Real, the early Spanish trail from Mexico City to Santa Fe, earned that name from the many lives lost in crossing this parched and Apache-defended section.