 
NM Route 66 Cities
Tucumcari
The meaning of the city's name lies in obscurity although many historians
identify it as a possible derivation of a Comanche word for lookout. The
community was originally named Douglas in 1901. In 1902 it changed the name
to correspond with the scenic Tucumcari Mountains behind the town. Tucumcari
is the seat of Quay county. Its major growth occurred after 1901 when the
Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad pushed through the community opening
it to the flow of westward migration. As a Railroad camp it was notorious
for its saloons, outlaws and rowdies earning it the nickname "Six-Shooter
Siding."Route 66 crosses the Texas border into Glenrio through San
Jon and into Tucumcari. heading westward it travels through the towns of
Montoya, close to Newkirk down through Cuervo and into Santa Rosa.
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