Piñon, New Mexico

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Piñon
Unincorporated community & Census-designated places
Piñon is located in New Mexico
Piñon
Piñon
Location within the state of New Mexico
Coordinates: 32°37′05″N 105°23′40″W / 32.61806°N 105.39444°W / 32.61806; -105.39444Coordinates: 32°37′05″N 105°23′40″W / 32.61806°N 105.39444°W / 32.61806; -105.39444
CountryUnited States
StateNew Mexico
CountyOtero
Elevation
[1]
6,060 ft (1,850 m)
Population
 (2010)
 • Total71
Time zoneUTC-7 (Mountain (MST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC-6 (MDT)
ZIP codes
88344
Area code(s)575
GNIS feature ID909714

Piñon[1] 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.[2] The postoffice in Piñon opened in 1907. In 2014, Piñon was ranked as the most politically conservative town in New Mexico.[3]

The area is arid and subject to forest fires. In June 2011, the lightning-caused Gage Fire burned 1385 acres[4] just to the west of town.[5]

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.[6] The town was named in 1907 by the local school teacher John W. Nations after the piñon pine trees in the area.[7]

Economy[]

The last gas station in Piñon closed in 2004.[8]

Education[]

It is within Cloudcroft Municipal Schools.[9]

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.[10] 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.[11] In August 1959, Piñon residents filed an injunction against board members to stop the closure.[12] The board upheld the closure in December 1959.[13]

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.[14]

Notes[]

  1. ^ a b U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Piñon, New Mexico
  2. ^ Burdett, William H. (1998) The Roads of New Mexico Shearer Publishing, Fredericksburg, Texas, page 107, ISBN 0-940672-52-9
  3. ^ Walker, Hunter; Kiersz, Andy (18 June 2014). "Here Are The Most Liberal And Most Conservative Towns In Each State". Business Insider. Archived from the original on 18 June 2014. Retrieved 18 June 2014.
  4. ^ Gage Fire 1385 acres (Map). New Mexico Fire Information (NMFireInfo). 5 June 2011. Archived from the original on 9 June 2011. Retrieved 18 June 2014.
  5. ^ Myslivy, Jennifer (5 June 2011). "Gage Fire Update June 5". New Mexico Fire Information (NMFireInfo). Archived from the original on 9 June 2011. Retrieved 9 June 2011.
  6. ^ 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
  7. ^ 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
  8. ^ Shoup, Steve (2008-06-09). "High Food and Gas Prices Force the Only Store in Weed To Close". Albuquerque Journal. Retrieved 2021-07-30. - Clipping of first and of second page from Newspapers.com (showing illustrations)
  9. ^ "2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Otero County, NM" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2021-07-27.
  10. ^ Thompson, Fritz (1991-05-26). "Weed High's Long Goodbye". Albuquerque Journal. pp. F1, F3. - Clipping of first and of second page at Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "Schools At Pinon, Orogrande Closed". Alamogordo Daily News. Vol. 64, no. 174. Alamogordo, New Mexico. 1959-07-24. p. 1. - Clipping from Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "Pinon Folk Would Keep School Open". Carlsbad Current-Argus. Carlsbad, New Mexico. 1959-08-23. p. 8. - Clipping from Newspapers.com
  13. ^ "Board's Pinon Stand Unchanged". Alamogordo Daily News. Alamogordo, New Mexico. 1959-12-09. p. 1. - Clipping from Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ "Cloudcroft School Board Acts To Expand District". Albuquerque Journal. Albuquerque, New Mexico. Associated Press. 1992-11-20. p. D3. - Clipping from Newspapers.com.

External links[]

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