The History
Once inhabited by the Jicarilla Apache and Moache Ute Indians,
Philmont was the site of one of the first pioneer settlements in
northeastern New Mexico. The present ranch is part of the
original Beaubien and Miranda Land Grant which was granted to
Carlos Beaubien and Guadalupe Miranda by the Mexican
government in 1841. Beaubien's son-in-law, mountain man
Lucien Maxwell, led the first settlers to the grant in 1848. With the
help of his friend Kit Carson, Maxwell's settlement on the Rayado
River prospered, despite frequent Indian raids and harsh
wilderness conditions.
Waite Phillips
Maxwell moved his ranch north to the Cimarron River in
1857, the site of present day Cimarron. There it became a
famous stop on the Santa Fe Trail, bringing American trade
goods into New Mexico. Ten years after Maxwell moved to  
the Cimarron, gold was discovered on his ranch near Baldy
Mountain. For years afterward, the mountains and streams
of Maxwell's Ranch swarmed with prospectors and miners.

In 1870, Maxwell sold his ranch to an English land company
known as the Maxwell Land Grant and Railroad Company.
After several years the land was again sold to a
Dutch-based company who attempted several development
schemes, but eventually sold the land in tracts for farms
and ranches.
Oklahoma oilman, Waite Phillips, became interested in developing a ranch out of the old
land grant in 1922. He eventually amassed over 300,000 acres of mountains, and plains in a
ranch he named Philmont (derived from his name and the Spanish word for mountain,
monte).

The Philmont Ranch became a showplace. Immense herds of Hereford cows and
Corriedale sheep grazed its pastures. Phillips built a large Spanish Mediterranean home for
his family at the Headquarters, naming it the Villa Philmonte. He developed horse and hiking
trails throughout the scenic backcountry along with elaborate fishing and hunting cabins for
his family and friends.

Waite Phillips believed in sharing his wealth with people outside his family. In this spirit, he
offered 35,857 acres of his ranch to the Boy Scouts of America in 1938 to serve as a
national wilderness camping area. The area was named Philturn Rocky Mountain Scout
Camp (after Phillips name and the BSA slogan, Do a Good Turn Daily). After observing the
enthusiastic response of the first Scout campers, Phillips augmented his original gift in
1941, with an addition including his best camping land, the Villa Philmonte, and the
headquarters farming and ranching operation. The second gift was made so that many,
rather than a few could enjoy his rich and beautiful land. The property, now totaling
127,395 acres was renamed Philmont Scout Ranch.

Phillips realized that the cost for maintenance and development of the property could not
and should not be derived entirely from camper fees. As an endowment he included in the
gift his 23-story Philtower Building in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
In 1963, through the generosity of Norton Clapp, vice-president of the National Council of
the Boy Scouts of America, another piece of the Maxwell Land Grant was purchased and
added to Philmont. This was the Baldy Mountain mining area consisting of 10, 098 acres.

Since the first camping season in 1939, more than 750,000 Scouts, Venturers and their
leaders have enjoyed trekking through the 137,493 acres of the rugged, majestic Sangre de
Cristo mountains of Philmont. Fascinating backcountry programs and 330 miles of
challenging  trails inspire both youth and adults who backpack this remote and historic
area.