San Miguel County is named after the town of San Miguel de Bado ( St. Michael of the Ford ), a forbidding place on the Pecos River along the Old Santa Fe Trail.
Surrounding County Courthouses:
N – Mora County and Harding County
E – Harding County and Quay County
S – Guadalupe County and Torrance County
W – Santa Fe County
Created: January 9, 1852
County Seat:
Las Vegas 1852 – present
County Courthouse – Las Vegas
Location: 500 West National Street / New Mexico Avenue
Built: 1940 – 1942
Style: Spanish Pueblo
Architect: Kruger & Clark
Contractor: Lembke Construction Company of Albuquerque
Description: The building faces south and is a three story cream colored stucco structure. The south front has recessed floor levels with the first floor extending from the building. The entrance is recessed with four thin columns framing the recessed portico. The roof line is flat. The building was a Works Progress Administration project. The building was renovated in 2009. The architect was Solell West and the contractor was Franken Construction of Las Vegas. On the west side is an addition constructed in 2003. The architect was Solell West and the contractor was Franken Construction of Las Vegas. To the northeast of the building is the two story reddish colored stone District Court Annex Building.
To the northeast of the building is the two story reddish colored stone Fourth Judicial District Court.
County District Court Annex Building – Las Vegas
Location: 496 West National Street / Morrison Street
Built: 2004 – 2006
Style: Modern
Architect: NCA-Architects
Contractor: Jim Sena Construction Company, Inc.
Description: The building faces south and is a two story red colored concrete structure. The building is located on the east side of the courthouse. The south front has a slightly projecting center section. The first story entrance is along the east section. The windows are small and the roof line is flat. The building houses the Fourth Judicial Court for Guadalupe County, Mora County and San Miguel County.
See: The 4th Judicial District includes Guadalupe County and Mora County.
Note: The county was one of the nine original counties established January 8. 1852.
History: The county was created in 1852 and Las Vegas was selected as the county seat. The court may have met at Fort Union which was established in 1851. The previous courthouse was designed by Wallace Hesselden and constructed in 1885. The present courthouse was constructed in 1940 to 1942. The County District Court Annex Building was constructed in 2004 to 2006.
County Courthouse – Las Vegas
Former Courtroom
County District Court Annex Building – Las Vegas
Photos taken 2007 and 2016
Images 19