Travel Guide Thoreau

Thoreau was born in 1881 as a siding for the Atlantic & Pacific Railroad. In 1886, a store and post office called Chavez was established. Several years later, in 1890, brothers William and Austi Mitchell established their lumber business here. The following year, the post office changed its name to Mitchell. The last name change occurred in 1899 when the Hyde Exploring Expedition (which conducted extensive excavations in Chaco Canyon, 60 miles north of Thoreau) established its headquarters in the town. The town then became Thoreau, a reference to the pronunciation of the residents at the time who called it "thuh-ROO" (for "through"). At the height of Route 66, Thoreau was home to several Trading Posts, a gas station, a garage and about 400 people. Roy T. Herman's Garage and Service Station, built in 1937 on Route 66, was very popular. The building still exists today (corner of NM-371 and Route 66) and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. In the 1960s, Interstate 40 bypassed the old Route 66 Although Thoreau is only a passing place on Route 66, the town is now home to nearly 2,000 people and is the turnoff to Crownpoint, about 24 miles north. From there, one can reach Chaco Culture National Historical Park, which is one of the key pre-Columbian cultural sites in the Four Corners region.