[2][3] The Coe family began settling in the area around 1880 after moving south from Las Vegas, Nevada and working the Santa Fe Trail throughout the 1870s.

[4] After the Lincoln County War ended in 1881, the family members temporarily left the area as the side they had backed had lost, though they would return to settle promptly.

The chapel was named after the mother of the wife of Frank Coe, and its architecture is attributed to John Gaw Meem, also a close personal friend of Reverend Howden.

[5] After the Ruidoso Downs Race Track was built in 1952, families in the area stopped focusing on farming to work at the racetrack instead, though many still kept some cows.

[8] After her death in 1985 in Roswell, New Mexico, her remains were cremated and buried at her family's private cemetery in Glencoe.

[5] By 1950, however, the Washington state apple industry outcompeted the area producers, and many families switched to ranches and pastures instead.

As U.S. Route 70 was realigned in the next few decades, smaller produce stands were no longer located on the main highway, driving yet more families to ranching instead.

[5] After cars became widely used, the area received tourists who wanted to experience the Wild West, and local ranches accommodated guests with horse rides and resources for overnight stops.

[5] Until a 1941 flood, members of Glencoe and nearby communities held dances on the ranches for entertainment and as social events, with local musicians playing regardless of age.

[11] The community is also near the location of Fox Cave, a former hideout for Billy the Kid which has at various times hosted a museum, gift shop, and other retailers.