Located in northeast New Mexico, San Miguel was one of the seven partidos established during Mexican rule. The division of counties in New Mexico can be traced back to this time. The first subdivison of the New Mexico Territory was made in 1837 when two partidos — districts — were created. In 1844, New Mexico was re-divided into three districts. Eventually these districts were further subdivided into areas that include similar boundaries to New Mexico’s first counties. San Miguel was named for San Miguel del Bado (Saint Michael of the ford), one of the areas oldest communities and the county seat until it was moved to Las Vegas in 1864.
San Miguel County was created in 1852 as one of the original nine counties. Las Vegas is the county seat.
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Courtesy of the University of New Mexico School of Law and the New Mexico Supreme Court Law Library. Original copyright J. J. Bowden, 1969.
Descripiton of San Miguel County: The Place Names of New Mexico, revised Edition by Robert Julyan, University of New Mexico Press, 1998.