Folsom, New Mexico

Driving along the Dry Cimmaron Scenic Byway, it’s easy to miss the small town of Folsom, New Mexico. Founded in the late 1800s as a ranching and railroad community, Folsom once served as an important stop along the region’s transportation routes. And like many small towns out West, its fortunes rose and fell with changes in the mining and railroad industries. Now nearly abandoned, with fewer than 100 residents, Folsom offers few activities or amenities. But if you linger long enough, you’ll discover a handful of historic buildings, a quaint museum, and one of North America’s most important archaeological sites.

The Folsom Museum, which still operates daily, is the town’s “main attraction.” Stepping inside is akin to stepping into the past. You can sift through dusty ledgers and antique artifacts and learn almost everything you need to know about the beginning of human history in North America.  

Folsom’s significance comes from its connection to one of North America’s most important archaeological discoveries.  In 1908, a devastating flood swept through the area, exposing ancient bones buried beneath the landscape. A lone cowboy discovered bison bones and what are now called “Folsom Points” spears. Years later, archaeologists confirmed the evidence of prehistoric hunters alongside the remains of an extinct bison species. The discovery became known as the Folsom Man Archaeological Site and was instrumental in proving that humans lived in North America during the first Ice Age, nearly 5,000 years earlier than scientists previously believed. 

Folsom may be small, but its impact on history is anything but, making this northeastern New Mexico town well worth a stop.