Springer

A stroll under the shady oaks of Springer's main street is a journey into the past; if it weren't for the modern-day cars driving by, you might think Harry Truman was still president. Indeed, there's not a lot to see and do in this small, sleepy town in which more than a few locals still seem a bit rankled about losing the title of county seat to Raton—in 1897. The main industry of this town of about 1,300 is the Springer Correctional Center, a minimum-security prison. Long ago a shipping center for cattle, sheep, and mining machinery, Springer was founded in 1870 when land baron Lucien Maxwell deeded 320 acres to his lawyer, Frank Springer, for handling the sale of the Maxwell Land Grant to the Dutch East India Company.