Maxwell, New Mexico
11 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1915 and the latest in 1981. It stands in the Springer census division. It lies in ZIP code area 87728. It stands on Spring Arroyo. The Survey maps it on the Maxwell quadrangle. 224 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 5,925 feet above sea level.
Population over time
2 figuresMaxwell fell from 254 to 224 between 2010 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.
| Year | People | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 254 | |
| 2020 | 224 | -30 (-12%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
6 surveys from 11 printed sheetsMatched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.
- 1915 USGS Koehler quadrangle1:62500
- 1917 USGS Koehler quadrangle1:62500, 2 printings
- 1954 USGS Raton quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1958 USGS Raton quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1971 USGS Maxwell quadrangle1:24000
- 1981 USGS Raton quadrangle1:100000
Fires near this place
27 since 1993Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 27 fires within 5 miles of Maxwell between 1993 and 2020, burning about 1,044 acres in total. 4 started naturally. None was recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Reported cause | Fires |
|---|---|
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 11 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 8 |
| Natural | 4 |
| Smoking | 3 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 1 |
The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.
| Date | Cause | Size | Reported by | Name on the report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 29 September 2015 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | New Mexico State Forestry Division | MM 425 |
| 7 July 2014 | Natural | under an acre | New Mexico State Forestry Division | HELLS CANYON |
| 22 July 2016 | Natural | 14 acres | Cimarron District | FM HILL |
| 22 July 2016 | Natural | 2.0 acres | Cimarron District | TANK |
| 13 July 2020 | Natural | 385 acres | Cimarron District | CIMARRON SOLAR |
| 9 June 1998 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2.0 acres | New Mexico State Forestry Division | MAXWELL |
| 27 June 2013 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | New Mexico State Forestry Division | I-25 II |
| 26 June 2013 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | New Mexico State Forestry Division | I-25 |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
7 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 7 workings within 5 miles of Maxwell: 7 unknowns. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Where | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Materals Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Unknown | ||
| Materials Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Unknown | ||
| Materials Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Unknown | ||
| Materials Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Unknown | ||
| Materials Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Unknown | ||
| Materials Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Unknown | ||
| Materials Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Unknown |
Storms near this place
44 since 1993Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Maxwell in 44 storm reports between 1993 and 2025: 35 hail, 4 tornado, 2 funnel cloud, 2 thunderstorm wind. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 2015 | Thunderstorm Wind | Maxwell | $25,000 | Four 35 ft power poles and one 60 ft pole blown down from wet microburst along State Road 505. |
| June 2014 | Hail | Maxwell | $10,000 | Large hail resulted in broken windows and car damage. Report received via Twitter. |
| August 2025 | Hail | Maxwell | - | A trained spotter in Maxwell, NM relayed reports from Facebook of half-dollar size hail from a severe thunderstorm just north of Maxwell passing over I-25. |
| July 2023 | Hail | Maxwell | - | Dime to quarter size hail fell near the Maxwell National Wildlife Refuge. |
| June 2023 | Hail | Maxwell | - | A trained spotter reported penny size hail along with minor flooding in their yard below their chicken coop from two inches of rainfall. No damage was reported. |
| June 2023 | Hail | Maxwell | - | Half dollar sized hail fell in Maxwell as a cell moved northeast. |
| May 2021 | Tornado (EF0) | Maxwell | - | A severe thunderstorm near Maxwell produced twin tornadoes. One tornado was a mesocyclonic tornado while the second tornado was a landspout. No damage was reported. |
| August 2021 | Hail | Maxwell | - | A trained spotter near Maxwell reported quarter size hail from a brief severe thunderstorm that tracked southeast through the area. |
| July 2021 | Hail | Maxwell | - | One inch hail was reported from a severe thunderstorm near Maxwell. |
| May 2021 | Tornado (EF0) | Maxwell | - | A severe thunderstorm near Maxwell produced twin tornadoes. One tornado was a mesocyclonic tornado while the second tornado was a landspout. No damage was reported. |
| May 2020 | Hail | Maxwell | - | Nickel size hail reported with a slow-moving thunderstorm along I-25 near Maxwell. |
| May 2020 | Hail | Maxwell | - | Quarter size hail reported with a slow-moving thunderstorm near I-25 south of Maxwell. |
| May 2020 | Hail | Maxwell | - | Quarter size hail reported with a slow-moving thunderstorm along I-25 south of Maxwell. |
| June 2019 | Hail | Maxwell | - | Nickel size hail in Maxwell. |
| August 2018 | Hail | Maxwell | - | Hail up to the size of golf balls covering the ground northwest of Maxwell. |
| August 2018 | Hail | Maxwell | - | Hail up to the size of pennies partially covering the ground northwest of Maxwell. |
| June 2015 | Hail | Maxwell | - | NSSL SHAVE passed along report of quarter size hail near Maxwell. |
| June 2015 | Hail | Maxwell | - | New Mexico Department of Transportation reported 1 inch of quarter size hail fell along interstate 25 between Maxwell and Raton. Snow trucks were brought out to plow hail off the road. |
| June 2015 | Hail | Maxwell | - | Penny size hail. |
| June 2015 | Hail | Maxwell | - | COOP Observer reported quarter size hail fell with heavy rain during the early afternoon. |
| August 2015 | Hail | Maxwell | - | Pea to quarter size hail fell in Maxwell while lightning knocked out power. |
| June 2014 | Hail | Maxwell | - | Maxwell. |
| June 2014 | Funnel Cloud | Maxwell | - | Funnel cloud reported between Springer and Maxwell. |
| June 2014 | Tornado (EF0) | Maxwell | - | Motorists along Interstate 25 near Maxwell reported to the Raton police dispatch that a brief tornado touched down near the highway. No damage reported. |
| July 2013 | Flood | Maxwell | - | A trained spotter in association with KRTN Radio in Raton reported and showed photos of flooding near Maxwell, NM. Over 3 was reported to have fallen in parts of town with drainages running full. Irrigation ponds north of town were also filled with up to 12 of standing water in nearby agricultural fields. No flooding issues were reported on major roadways, but local unpaved roads were turned into creeks along with the fields as water collected in low spots. An initial isolated cell developed over the location around 12:30pm and after that training cells went over the location for the next couple hours. By 5:00pm, flooding had occurred throughout the area. |
| May 2013 | Hail | Maxwell | - | Nickel size reported with rain 11 miles west southwest of Maxwell. |
| May 2012 | Hail | Maxwell | - | Hail accumulated along a 10-mile stretch of Interstate 25 with biggest hail stones up to 1.50 inches in diameter. |
| August 2009 | Thunderstorm Wind | Maxwell | - | Several customers at the Texaco truck stop and a county sheriff estimated wind gusts around 60 mph. |
| July 2006 | Hail | Maxwell | - | A severe thunderstorm produced a swath of copious hail along Interstate 25 near Maxwell. Hail as large as pennies covered the highway 5 to 6 inches deep which required a call out of road plows. |
| June 1999 | Hail | Maxwell | - | State Police report zero visibility in pounding nickel size hail at I-25 Rest Stop north of Maxwell. |
| June 1997 | Hail | Maxwell | - | State Police reported 1 inch hail in Maxwell. |
| October 1997 | Tornado (F0) | Maxwell | - | A small tornado was observed near Maxwell. |
| August 1993 | Hail | Maxwell | - | Thunderstorms produced quarter-size hail in Raton at 1415 MST and dime-size hail in Maxwell at 1450 MST. Thunderstorms redeveloped in Colfax County later, producing a hail storm that lasted about 40 minutes in the Springer area. Baseball-size hail damaged about 55 state vehicles at the New Mexico Boys School just northwest of Springer. Eleven building sustained roofing, window or ventilation damage, including the Trades center, in which all 22 overhead skylights were broken. The storm caused many branches and limbs to break away from trees, littering the campus. School officials estimate the total damage to exceed $500,000. |
| June 2014 | Hail | Maxwell | - | no account filed |
| August 2009 | Hail | Maxwell | - | no account filed |
| May 2005 | Hail | Maxwell | - | no account filed |
| June 2004 | Hail | Maxwell | - | no account filed |
| June 2004 | Hail | Maxwell | - | no account filed |
| June 2004 | Hail | Maxwell | - | no account filed |
| August 2004 | Hail | Maxwell | - | no account filed |
| June 2003 | Hail | Maxwell | - | no account filed |
| June 2002 | Hail | Maxwell | - | no account filed |
| June 2002 | Funnel Cloud | Maxwell | - | no account filed |
| May 1996 | Hail | Maxwell | - | no account filed |
Nearest settlements
The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.
Elsewhere
Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.
| Wikipedia article on Maxwell | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q2480876 | The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0). |
Provenance
This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 891692. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.





