Anton Chico, or Anton Chico Abajo or Anton Chico de Abajo, is a

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counterparts of incorporated places, such ...

Guadalupe County, New Mexico Guadalupe County ( es, Condado de Guadalupe) is a county in the U.S. state of New Mexico. As of the 2010 census, the population was 4,687, making it the fifth-least populous county in New Mexico. Its county seat is Santa Rosa. History Guada ...

, United States. Its population was 188 as of the 2010 census, of which 167 were

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...

in origin. Anton Chico has a post office with ZIP code 87711. New Mexico State Road 386 passes through the community. Anton Chico is listed in the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

Geography

Anton Chico is located at . According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

, the community has an area of , all land. In 1958 tin roofs rather than adobe were on the majority of houses.

Demographics

History

Prior to 1786, when a peace treaty was concluded with the

Comanches The Comanche or Nʉmʉnʉʉ ( com, Nʉmʉnʉʉ, "the people") are a Native American tribe from the Southern Plains of the present-day United States. Comanche people today belong to the federally recognized Comanche Nation, headquartered in La ...

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

settlements in

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...

were confined to the

Rio Grande The Rio Grande ( and ), known in Mexico as the Río Bravo del Norte or simply the Río Bravo, is one of the principal rivers (along with the Colorado River) in the southwestern United States and in northern Mexico. The length of the Rio G ...

valley and nearby. The reduced threat from the Comanches, the most numerous and dangerous of the

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

peoples surrounding the New Mexican settlements, permitted the expansion of the Spanish eastward into the

Pecos River The Pecos River ( es, Río Pecos) originates in north-central New Mexico and flows into Texas, emptying into the Rio Grande. Its headwaters are on the eastern slope of the Sangre de Cristo mountain range in Mora County north of Pecos, New Mexico ...

valley and onto the

Great Plains The Great Plains (french: Grandes Plaines), sometimes simply "the Plains", is a broad expanse of flatland in North America. It is located west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky Mountains, much of it covered in prairie, steppe, an ...

. The motivation for the Pecos Valley settlements was the growing population of New Mexico plus the need to defend the Spanish and Puebloan settlements in the Rio Grande valley from raids by Apache and other Indian peoples. In 1822 the government of New Mexico created the Anton Chico Land Grant, 378,537 acres (153,188 ha) in size. Salvador Tapia and 36 others petitioned the government for the grant. In exchange they promised to take up residence in the grant area, to hold the land in common for themselves and future settlers, and to obtain

firearms A firearm is any type of gun designed to be readily carried and used by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see Legal definitions). The first firearms originated in 10th-century China, when bamboo tubes c ...

and

bows and arrows The bow and arrow is a ranged weapon system consisting of an elastic launching device (bow) and long-shafted projectiles (arrows). Humans used bows and arrows for hunting and aggression long before recorded history, and the practice was common t ...

to defend the settlement against Indian attacks. The initial settlers came to Anton Chico from La Cuesta (now called Villanueva), upstream on the Pecos River. However, Indian raids caused the abandonment of the settlement in 1827. Anton Chico was resettled in 1834, this time with success Seven settlements grew along of the Pecos River. From north to south (upstream to downstream) they were Tecolotito, Upper Anton Chico, Anton Chico, Llano Viejo, La Loma, Llano del Medio, Dilia, and Colonias. Anton Chico is the largest settlement of the seven. It was described in 1841-1842 as having a population of 200 to 300 people and built around a plaza designed for defense. The houses, surrounded by high walls, were described as follows: As one of the closest New Mexican settlements to the Great Plains with its

bison Bison are large bovines in the genus ''Bison'' (Greek: "wild ox" (bison)) within the tribe Bovini. Two extant and numerous extinct species are recognised. Of the two surviving species, the American bison, ''B. bison'', found only in North Ame ...

herds and

Plains Indians Plains Indians or Indigenous peoples of the Great Plains and Canadian Prairies are the Native American tribes and First Nation band governments who have historically lived on the Interior Plains (the Great Plains and Canadian Prairies) of N ...

, many

Cibolero A Cibolero (plural: ''ciboleros'') was a Spanish colonial (and later Mexican) buffalo hunter from New Mexico. The Spanish word for buffalo as used in New Mexico is ''cibolo''; hence, the name ''Cibolero'' for buffalo hunter. Activities Ciboleros hu ...

s (bison hunters) and

Comanchero The Comancheros were a group of 18th- and 19th-century traders based in northern and central New Mexico. They made their living by trading with the nomadic Great Plains Indian tribes in northeastern New Mexico, West Texas, and other parts of the ...

s (traders with the Plains Indians) originated from Anton Chico and other

Hispano The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties forme ...

communities along the Pecos River in the 19th century. Anton Chico achieved its maximum prominence about 1890 when it had a population of 900 people, all or nearly all

, and was a mercantile center for much of eastern New Mexico. Subsequently, with out-migration the population and economic activity declined. A factor in its decline was the re-routing of

Route 66 U.S. Route 66 or U.S. Highway 66 (US 66 or Route 66) was one of the original highways in the United States Numbered Highway System. It was established on November 11, 1926, with road signs erected the following year. The h ...

which before 1937 crossed the Pecos River near Anton Chico. Subsequently, Anton Chico was distant from major transportation routes.

Climate

Anton Chico has a cold steppe climate (BSk) under the

Köppen Classification Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (born 1951), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author an ...

of climates. Under the

Trewartha climate classification The Trewartha climate classification (TCC) or the Köppen–Trewartha climate classification (KTC) is a climate classification system first published by American geographer Glenn Thomas Trewartha in 1966. It is a modified version of the Köppen ...

the climate is a cold steppe with hot summers and cool winters (BSak). Most precipitation is received in the warmer six months of the year.

National Register of Historic Places

In 1986, the village of Anton Chico was added to the National Register of Historic Places.

Education

Its school district is

Santa Rosa Consolidated Schools Santa Rosa Consolidated School District, also known as Santa Rosa Consolidated Schools (SRCS), is a school district headquartered in Santa Rosa, New Mexico Santa Rosa is a city in and the county seat of Guadalupe County, New Mexico, United Sta ...

. It operates Rita M. Marquez Elementary School and Anton Chico Middle School in Anton Chico. Santa Rosa High School is the district's sole comprehensive high school. Prior to 1973 the school district closed the junior high school in the Anton Chico area and began sending middle school students to Santa Rosa. This in turn made the Anton Chico residents upset at the school district. The West Las Vegas School District offered to have school bus transportation from Anton Chico to its schools and asked the State of New Mexico to pay for the transportation costs, but in 1973 the

New Mexico State Board of Education New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

denied the request to pay. In 1973 the Anton Chico elementary, which covered Kindergarten through grade 6, had 154 students.
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References

External links

A Brief History of the Anton Chico Land Grant
by Severiano R. Sisneros Jr., Secretary/Treasurer @New Mexico Legislature {{authority control Census-designated places in New Mexico Census-designated places in Guadalupe County, New Mexico Populated places established in 1834 National Register of Historic Places in Guadalupe County, New Mexico 1834 establishments in Mexico