Feeling presidential: Several New Mexico counties take their names from past commanders in chief

Editor’s note: The Journal continues “What’s in a Name?,” a once a month column in which Elaine Briseño will give a short history of how places in New Mexico got their names.

Tuesday is a big day in America.

Citizens have their final chance to pick the country’s 47th president following weeks of early voting. This month’s column explores the counties in New Mexico named for past presidents.

Feeling presidential: Several New Mexico counties take their names from past commanders in chief

New Mexico doesn’t pack a wallop when it comes to the electoral college with our five electoral votes, but that doesn’t mean it’s gone unnoticed by past commanders in chief. Some visited while in office, others later in life.

Teddy Roosevelt played a big role in convincing Americans to preserve the country’s natural wonders, advocating for their protection, including in New Mexico. But it was his visit to the state in October 1916, well after his 1909 departure from office, that saw a crowd descend on Downtown Albuquerque. Roosevelt was in town to campaign for fellow Republican Charles Hughes, who was running for president.

It’s clear that Roosevelt and others on this list served as inspirations to enough New Mexicans to find themselves forever etched on our state maps.

Grant County

This county was created in 1868 and named for Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, according to Robert Julyan in his book “The Place Names of New Mexico.” But it wasn’t Grant’s presidency that earned him the honor. It was his role in the Civil War leading the Union to victory that made him popular, according to Julyan.

A March 31, 1868, story in the Weekly New Mexican, boasted about the state’s newest county, which it said was destined to have a flourishing population.

“It is already putting on California airs,” the story said. “Indeed, it is very doubtful if California contains a county within its border which can produce or show as much and as great a variety of the precious and useful ores as are found in Grant County, New Mexico.”

Grant ascended to the presidency in 1869. America was still reeling from the Civil War and citizens had high hopes for his presidency given his popularity as a general, according to the White House’s official presidential page.

“When he was elected, the American people hoped for an end to turmoil,” the biography said. “Grant provided neither vigor nor reform. Looking to Congress for direction, he seemed bewildered.”

Harding County

Harding County sits in the northeast corner of the state and was created from part of Union and Mora counties in March 1921. It paid homage to Republican President Warren G. Harding, who had just been sworn in as the 29th U.S. president.

There was quite a fight before the county was created, according to stories in the Albuquerque Journal in early 1921.

Some state senators argued there was no good reason for creating a new county, according to a Feb. 26, 1921, story in the Journal. And at least one senator suggested changing the name to McDonald County when the issue came up for a vote in the chamber, but his motion was tabled.

In the end, nine republican and three democratic senators voted in favor of its formation, with five republicans and three democrats voting “no.” The house passed the bill 39-6 on March 2, 1921, and the governor signed the bill a few days later, making it official.

Harding’s death from a heart attack while visiting San Francisco in 1923 would cut his term short.

Lincoln County

The New Mexico territorial legislature created Lincoln County in 1869 and named it for the president who helped end slavery in the United States. Abraham Lincoln was elected the 16th president of the United States in 1861, and on Jan. 1, 1863, would sign the Emancipation Proclamation that made all slaves within the United States free persons.

When it was established, Lincoln County was the largest county landwise in the United States. Chaves, Eddy and Otero counties were eventually carved out of it, reducing its size. The U.S. Census Bureau estimates its current population at just over 20,000. Within its boundaries are Ruidoso and the Lincoln Historic Site that includes more than a dozen structures from the 1870s and 1880s representing New Mexico’s history.

It’s also known for the Lincoln County War, in which none other than Billy the Kid was a gunfighter. The clash featured two different factions fighting over profits from dry goods and cattle from 1878 to 1881.

Lincoln National Forest, which was created in 1902 and spans 1.1 million acres of southeastern New Mexico according to the U.S. Forest Service, was named for the county. Smokey Bear was found in the forest in 1950 and would go on to become a symbol of forest fire prevention.

McKinley County

This county on the western border of the state was created in February 1899 and named for 25th President William McKinley, according to legislative notes in the Santa Fe New Mexican. He oversaw the country during its victory in the Spanish American War but would be assassinated in 1901.

The county has a population of approximately 75,000 people and is home to large communities of Native American people, according to nmcounties.org. Julyan claims in his book that those who advocated the ten years prior to the county’s creation had intended to name it Summit County, but McKinley’s popularity won out in the end.

Roosevelt County

Roosevelt County was carved out from Chaves and Guadalupe counties in 1903 and borders Texas to the east, and honors Teddy Roosevelt.

Roosevelt, who was vice president, stepped into the presidency in 1901 after McKinley’s assassination.

He embarked on his “Great Loop Tour” of the western United States in 1903, traveling 14,000 miles. One of those stops was in Santa Fe where he gave a 20-minute speech to 10,000 people noting he was fond of people in New Mexico, many of whom served with him as Rough Riders, according to a May 6, 1903, story in The Sioux City Journal. Santa Fe resident George Washington Armijo, who had just welcomed his firstborn son, was one of those riders.

He asked Roosevelt to stand in as godfather at the boy’s baptism at San Miguel church during his visit and the president agreed. The newborn was christened Theodore Roosevelt Armjio, according to The Sioux City Journal story.

Roosevelt would go on to proclaim El Morro in Cibola County a national monument on Dec. 8, 1906.