New Mexico's electric chair.

New Mexico's Electric Chair

This museum actually doesn't have anything to do with the Santa Fe Trail; it's just another collection of dull local junk. "We named it the Sante Fe Trail Museum because the Trail runs close to Springer," explained Bertha Chavez, the museum's curator. However, the museum does have two displays of note: New Mexico's first and only electric chair (complete with a battered glamour mannequin about to be fried) and a "shoe of a giant" -- a brown wingtip that once belonged to Robert Wadlow, the world's tallest man. How did that get out here?

Also see: America's Excellent Electric Chairs

New Mexico's Electric Chair

Santa Fe Trail Museum

Address:: 614 Maxwell Ave., Springer, NM
Directions:: Santa Fe Trail Museum. East side of Maxwell Ave., two blocks north of the intersection of US Hwy 56/412, in the old Colfax County Courthouse.
Hours:: Summer daily 9-4. Closed Oct.-April. (Call to verify) Local health policies may affect hours and access.
Phone:: 575-483-5554
RA Rates:: Worth a Detour

Nearby Offbeat Places

Old Aztec Mill Museum, Cimarron, NM - 21 mi.

Lucien Maxwell Statue, Cimarron, NM - 21 mi.

RoboCop Miner Statue, Raton, NM - 36 mi.

In the region:

Ludlow Massacre - Birthplace of Public Relations, Ludlow, CO - 67 mi.

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