Piñon, New Mexico

Piñon[2] is an unincorporated ranching community in Otero County in southern New Mexico, in the southwestern United States. The town is in the pinon-juniper shrublands habitat with an altitude of 6,060 feet. It is located at the intersection of NM Route 24 and NM Route 506.[4] The postoffice in Piñon opened in 1907. In 2014, Piñon was ranked as the most politically conservative town in New Mexico.[5]

Piñon
Unincorporated community & Census-designated places
Piñon is located in New Mexico
Piñon
Piñon
Location within the state of New Mexico
Piñon is located in the United States
Piñon
Piñon
Piñon (the United States)
Coordinates: 32°37′05″N 105°23′40″W
CountryUnited States
StateNew Mexico
CountyOtero
Area
[1]
 • Total5.16 sq mi (13.38 km2)
 • Land5.16 sq mi (13.37 km2)
 • Water0.00 sq mi (0.01 km2)
Elevation
[2]
6,060 ft (1,850 m)
Population
 (2020)[3]
 • Total24
 • Density4.65/sq mi (1.80/km2)
Time zoneUTC-7 (Mountain (MST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC-6 (MDT)
ZIP codes
88344
Area code575
FIPS code35-57440
GNIS feature ID909714

The area is arid and subject to forest fires. In June 2011, the lightning-caused Gage Fire burned 1385 acres[6] just to the west of town.[7]

Demographics
Historical population
CensusPop.Note%±
202024—
U.S. Decennial Census[8][3]

History

The area was originally settled by the agricultural and hunter gatherer Jornada Mogollon people, circa 200 CE, whose suzerainty ended with the influx of the Apache and other plains raiders in approximately 1450.[9] The town was named in 1907 by the local school teacher John W. Nations after the piñon pine trees in the area.[10]

Economy

The last gas station in Piñon closed in 2004.[11]

Education

It is within Cloudcroft Municipal Schools.[12]

In 1958 the Piñon area joined the Alamogordo Public Schools school district instead of the Cloudcroft district. The Cloudcroft school board disliked the decision and in 1958 passed a motion stating that the district should not accept Pinon or Weed students even if their respective areas offered to pay tuition to Cloudcroft schools.[13] At the time area students went to elementary school in Piñon and high school in Weed. In 1959 the Alamogordo board decided to have a school in Piñon closed.[14] In August 1959, Piñon residents filed an injunction against board members to stop the closure.[15] The board upheld the closure in December 1959.[16]

In November 1992 the Cloudcroft district's board passed a resolution to annex portions of the Alamogordo district, including Piñon. In a separate motion the district drew new electoral boundaries with the annexed area effective the approval of said annexation. By then the Alamogordo district had closed both schools in Weed and sent students to Cloudcroft schools.[17]

Notes
  1. "ArcGIS REST Services Directory". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved October 12, 2022.
  2. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Piñon, New Mexico
  3. "Census Population API". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved October 12, 2022.
  4. Burdett, William H. (1998) The Roads of New Mexico Shearer Publishing, Fredericksburg, Texas, page 107, ISBN 0-940672-52-9
  5. Walker, Hunter; Kiersz, Andy (June 18, 2014). "Here Are The Most Liberal And Most Conservative Towns In Each State". Business Insider. Archived from the original on June 19, 2014. Retrieved June 18, 2014.
  6. Gage Fire 1385 acres (Map). New Mexico Fire Information (NMFireInfo). June 5, 2011. Archived from the original on March 15, 2016. Retrieved June 18, 2014.
  7. Myslivy, Jennifer (June 5, 2011). "Gage Fire Update June 5". New Mexico Fire Information (NMFireInfo). Archived from the original on June 9, 2011. Retrieved June 9, 2011.
  8. "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2016.
  9. Whalen, Michael E. (1994) Turquoise Ridge and late prehistoric residential mobility in the desert Mogollon region (Anthropological papers (Salt Lake City, Utah), no. 118) University of Utah Press, Salt Lake City, Utah, page 26, ISBN 0-87480-436-1
  10. Julyan, Robert (1998) "Piñon" The Place Names of New Mexico (revised edition) University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque, New Mexico, page 268, ISBN 0-8263-1689-1
  11. Shoup, Steve (June 9, 2008). "High Food and Gas Prices Force the Only Store in Weed To Close". Albuquerque Journal. Retrieved July 30, 2021. - Clipping of first and of second page from Newspapers.com (showing illustrations)
  12. "2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Otero County, NM" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved July 27, 2021.
  13. Thompson, Fritz (May 26, 1991). "Weed High's Long Goodbye". Albuquerque Journal. pp. F1, F3. - Clipping of first and of second page at Newspapers.com.
  14. "Schools At Pinon, Orogrande Closed". Alamogordo Daily News. Vol. 64, no. 174. Alamogordo, New Mexico. July 24, 1959. p. 1. - Clipping from Newspapers.com.
  15. "Pinon Folk Would Keep School Open". Carlsbad Current-Argus. Carlsbad, New Mexico. August 23, 1959. p. 8. - Clipping from Newspapers.com
  16. "Board's Pinon Stand Unchanged". Alamogordo Daily News. Alamogordo, New Mexico. December 9, 1959. p. 1. - Clipping from Newspapers.com.
  17. "Cloudcroft School Board Acts To Expand District". Albuquerque Journal. Albuquerque, New Mexico. Associated Press. November 20, 1992. p. D3. - Clipping from Newspapers.com.
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