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Johnson Mesa is about 14 miles (23 km) long, running east to west, and 2 miles (3.2 km) to 6 miles (9.7 km) wide, north to south. The lava-topped tableland slopes downward from 8,650 feet (2,637 m) to 7,600 feet (2,316 m) from west to east. Steep-sided cliffs from 500 feet (152 m) to
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The community of Bell and
Johnson Mesa peaked in population about 1900 with 487 residents. Bell had a Methodist church and a cemetery, five schools were scattered around the mesa, and the residents of the mesa held annual celebrations on July 4 and August 14, the date the church was dedicated. The
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The long, cold winters defeated many farmers and by 1910 the population had dropped to 335. By 1920 after an influenza epidemic it was only 215 and by 1950 it had fallen to 56. The Post Office at Bell was closed in 1933. In the early 21st century, nobody lived on
Johnson Mesa year round although
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is on the Mesa, but, before the coming of settlers, the only water sources were depressions in which water collected after rains. Several shallow lakes and ponds, including Berry and
Bellisle lakes, have been created as watering holes for cattle. Below the south rim of Johnson Mesa is Johnson
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far below. New Mexico
Highway 72 traverses the mesa east to west, part of the Dry Cimarron State Scenic & Historic Byway. Several volcanic cones, including Red Mountain, Towndrow Peak, and Dale Mountain rise about 400 feet (122 m) above the mostly flat and treeless terrain. The cliffs
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principal crops raised in the fertile volcanic soils of the Mesa were oats, potatoes, vegetables, and hay. Many of the men worked at both farming and coal mining. Carrier pigeons were dispatched from the mines to the top of the Mesa when workers were needed.
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the Mesa. The settlers congregated around the home of Lon Bell and the post office of Bell was established here. Soon the entire mesa was full of homesteads, each with their 160 acres (65 ha) of free land.
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The first white settler was Elijah (Lige) Johnson who established a ranch in
Johnson Park about 1882 and pastured cattle on the mesa. Grazing on top of mesas was a traditional practice throughout
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The high altitude moderates summer temperatures, but winters are very cold and windy. The Mesa receives about 18 inches (457 mm) of precipitation annually as does nearby Raton.
126:. About 1887, Marion Bell, a railway construction worker, led a group of dissatisfied and unemployed railroad workers and coal miners from Blossberg (near Raton) and began
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Park, about 3 miles (5 km) by 2 miles (3 km), at an elevation of 6,800 feet (2,073 m). The earliest access to the Mesa was through the Park.
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There is no archaeological evidence that
American Indians inhabited the mesa although just below the eastern rim of the Mesa at the
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St. John's
Methodist Episcopal Church is one of the few remnants of the previous settlement on Johnson Mesa.
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some ranchers passed the summer there tending their cattle. Surviving at Bell is a cemetery and
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Atop
Johnson Mesa, looking east, July 2006. Dale Mountain on left; Red Mountain on right.
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Johnson Mesa is a high plateau with a top-of-the-world atmosphere looking out over the
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one of the earliest traces of early man in the
Americas was discovered.
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244:. Washington: Work Projects Administration. p. 269.
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87:, but the top is grassland. The source of the Dry
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230:. The Weather Channel. Retrieved 2014-02-13.
122:, where some mesas to this day are known as
207:. Raton, NM: Coda Publications. p. 5.
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23:Johnson Mesa as seen from Raton, New Mexico
275:Reports, 13th, 14th, 15th, and 16th census
242:New Mexico: A Guide to the Colorful State
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63:1,900 feet (579 m) high ring the Mesa.
16:Mesa in Colfax County, New Mexico, U.S.
323:Landforms of Colfax County, New Mexico
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149:St. John's Methodist Episcopal Church
71:surrounding the mesa are wooded with
50:is on the west and the community of
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240:Federal Writers Project (1941).
167:New Mexico Atlas & Gazetteer
169:, DeLorme, 5th ed., 2009, p.18
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228:Monthly Averages for Raton, NM
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191:Dry Cimarron Scenic Byway
299:36.912019°N 104.195023°W
193:. Retrieved 2014-02-13.
304:36.912019; -104.195023
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46:border. The city of
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203:Stanley, F. (2006).
151:, dating from 1897.
328:Mesas of New Mexico
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120:northern New Mexico
205:Colfax Communities
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42:just south of the
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263:Stanley pp. 61–62
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38:in northeastern
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254:Stanley, p. 58
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214:978-0910390088
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89:Cimarron River
85:ponderosa pine
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54:on the east.
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36:Colfax County
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128:homesteading
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68:Great Plains
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28:Johnson Mesa
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290:104°11′42″W
273:U.S. Census
113:Folsom site
58:Description
317:Categories
287:36°54′43″N
175:0899333176
155:References
81:Gambel oak
40:New Mexico
124:potreros
44:Colorado
99:History
77:juniper
211:
173:
73:pinyon
52:Folsom
48:Raton
209:ISBN
171:ISBN
83:and
32:mesa
34:in
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181:^
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