Just outside of downtown Cimarron, the Philmont Museum features a rotating exhibit, collection of historic artifacts, gift shop, and the Seton Memorial Library. Located at Philmont Scout Ranch, the Boy Scouts of America’s premier High Adventure™ base totaling over 200 square miles, this site has hosted more than one million Boy Scouts for camping, training and work programs since opening in 1939.
Also on Philmont’s property is Villa Philmonte, formerly the summer home of oil tycoons, Waite and Genevieve Phillips. Perched on what was once a thriving ranch with polo ponies, work horses, and other livestock, this pair is responsible for the name that lives on today at Philmont: “Phil” for Phillips; “mont” for monte, the Spanish term for “mountain.” This Spanish Mediterranean villa is an impressive 28,400 square feet large and can be toured throughout most of the year.
Last stop on the Philmont Scout Ranch museum circuit is the Kit Carson Museum at Rayado. This educational facility was built in 1950 by the Boy Scouts of America and outfitted with reproduction furniture and objects typical of New Mexico in the 1850s. Expect an immersive experience, complete with period clothing and demonstrations of frontier skills and crafts like blacksmithing, shooting and farming. Snag souvenir books, reproduction tools, and housewares in the Rayado Trading Company gift shop.
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