Historical Marker
Folsom Archaeological Site
Historical marker location:
NM Highway 72, Folsom vicinity, New Mexico
( 10 miles west of Folsom)
Near here an African-American cowboy, George McJunkin, discovered a spear point between the ribs of an extinct species of bison (Bison antiquus). This find established human presence in North America about 10,000 years ago, prior to the extinction of large mammals at the end of the last Ice Age.
New Mexico was one of the last territories to become a state, gaining statehood in 1912. Before that, it had been part of the Spanish Empire, Mexico, and the United States Territory of New Mexico.