Human settlement in the Catron County region dates to some of the earliest in the Americas.

In the 16th century, Spanish explorers and colonists came to the region, declaring it in 1598 to be part of Santa Fé de Nuevo México, a province of New Spain in the Americas.

In 1849, President Zachary Taylor proposed that New Mexico, including this region, immediately be admitted as a state in order to sidestep political conflict over the expansion of slavery in the territories.

European-American settlers from the southern and eastern states began to arrive here, including some with enslaved African Americans.

In 1880, Sergeant James C. Cooney was the first person to find silver and gold ore in the mountains of Catron County.

He was reportedly killed by Chiricahua Apache led by Victorio that year, in what the European Americans called the "Alma Massacre".

The foothills and canyons provided many hiding places for Apache warriors as they continued to resist American encroachment.

Four years later, self-appointed sheriff Elfego Baca was the hero of the so-called Frisco shootout in San Francisco Plaza.

In 1927, the State Legislature attempted to abolish both Socorro and Catron in order to create a new Rio Grande County.

[4][5] The Lightning Field, an art installation on the open earth, brought national attention to Quemado in this county in the late 1970s.

Bordering Arizona, Catron County affords the shortest route between Albuquerque and Phoenix or Tucson.

Reserve can also be reached by following U.S. Route 180 north from Silver City and New Mexico State Road 12 east for a total of 99 miles (159 km).

In Catron County there is a volcanic area that until recently contained sufficient heat to cause steam to rise after a slight rain.

[7] The county is home to the Red Hill Volcanic Field as well as the Plains of San Agustin.

[17] Catron County is overwhelmingly Republican, last voting for a Democratic presidential candidate in 1964.