The first Immaculate Conception Church in Cimarron, New Mexico was built as a gift from Lucien and Luz Maxwell in memory of their deceased children, Verenisa and Julian. Dedicated by Jean Baptiste Lamy, the first Bishop of Santa Fe, the church was initially a mission attached to the parish of La Junta in Watrous. Over the next century the church would alternately be a mission under other parishes, or, at times, a parish responsible for other missions.