Johnson Mesa in northeastern New Mexico is a broad lava-capped plateau whose steep cliffs, flat grassland top, volcanic cones, and sparse water made it a striking but demanding high-plains landscape. Although there is no evidence of Indigenous settlement on the mesa itself, the nearby Folsom site yielded some of the earliest traces of human presence in the Americas. Elijah “Lige” Johnson established a ranch there around 1882, and homesteaders soon spread across the mesa. By around 1900, the Bell and Johnson Mesa community reached 487 residents, supported by farming, grazing, and coal mining, before harsh winters, disease, and decline left only seasonal ranching and a few surviving landmarks.