Springer is a town in Colfax County, New Mexico, United States. The population was 1,285 at the 2000 census. It was the Colfax County county seat from 1882—1897. Springer was part of the Lucien B. Maxwell land grant. It is near the Cimarron Cutoff of the Santa Fe Trail. There was a range war in Springer in 1881, when Maxwell sold his land grant to a group of investors. The former Colfax County Courthouse in Springer is now a visitor center and museum. It was built for $9,800 in the early 1880s. It has had multiple uses over the years, including the site of the Raton Reform School for Boys (1910–1917). It has also been a library, the Springer town hall, and a jail. Outside the courthouse museum is a tall monument to the Ten Commandments. There is also a marker honoring Lance Corporal Chad Robert Hildebrandt (October 12, 1983—October 17, 2005), the first casualty in the Iraq War from Springer.