Jemez Springs (pronounced HEH-mes) is a village in Sandoval County,

New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...

, United States. The population was 250 at the 2010 census. Named for the nearby Pueblo of Jemez, the village is the site of Jemez State Monument and the headquarters of the Jemez Ranger District. The village and nearby locations in the Jemez Valley are the site of hot springs and several religious retreats.

Geography

Situated in the

Jemez Mountains The Jemez Mountains (, Tewa: ''Tsąmpiye'ip'įn'', Navajo: ''Dził Łizhinii'') are a group of mountains in Rio Arriba, Sandoval, and Los Alamos counties, New Mexico, United States. Numerous Puebloan Indian tribes have lived in the Jemez Moun ...

, Jemez Springs is located entirely within the

Santa Fe National Forest The Santa Fe National Forest is a protected national forest in northern New Mexico in the Southwestern United States. It was established in 1915 and covers . Elevations range from 5,300 feet (1600 m) to 13,103 feet (4000 m) at the su ...

. The village is sited on the Jemez River in the red rock San Diego Canyon. State Highway 4 passes through the settlement on the east bank of the Rio Grande tributary. Geothermal springs in and near the village feed the Jemez River. The village has a total area of , all land.

History

The Jemez Valley is thought to have been inhabited for the last 4500 years. The Spaniards who visited the area beginning in 1540 reported multiple Native American

pueblo Pueblo refers to the settlements of the Pueblo peoples, Native American tribes in the Southwestern United States, currently in New Mexico, Arizona, and Texas. The permanent communities, including some of the oldest continually occupied settlement ...

s (villages), in the valley. The

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...

mission church San José de los Jemez was built just to the north of the current village in 1621 but was abandoned around the 1640s. Today the ruins are the site of Jemez State Monument. Following the

Pueblo Revolt The Pueblo Revolt of 1680, also known as Popé, Popé's Rebellion or Po'pay's Rebellion, was an uprising of most of the Indigenous Pueblo people against the Spanish Empire, Spanish colonizers in the province of Santa Fe de Nuevo México, larger t ...

the Jemez people began converging at the current Pueblo of Jemez. In the nineteenth century the valley was given over to mostly agrarian and pastoral uses. Jemez Springs' post office opened in 1907. The village is named for the Pueblo of Jemez twelve miles to the south. The 1907 post office was preceded by one established in 1884 named ''Archuleta''. The village's current main bathhouse originates from this period. In 1942, Jemez Springs was the second choice (after Oak City, Utah) for the location of the

Los Alamos National Laboratory Los Alamos National Laboratory (often shortened as Los Alamos and LANL) is one of the sixteen research and development Laboratory, laboratories of the United States Department of Energy National Laboratories, United States Department of Energy ...

, the proposed

Manhattan Project The Manhattan Project was a research and development program undertaken during World War II to produce the first nuclear weapons. It was led by the United States in collaboration with the United Kingdom and Canada. From 1942 to 1946, the ...

research laboratory, but Los Alamos was chosen instead. In 1947 two

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

retreats were founded nearby, the Congregation of the Servants of the Paraclete and the Handmaids of the Precious Blood. The village was incorporated on December 5, 1955. Following enthusiasm from supporters of Kyozan Joshu Sasaki, the Bodhi Manda Zen Center was founded in 1972.

Demographics

Jemez Springs is in the Albuquerque Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 375 people, 113 households, and 82 families residing in the village. The population density was . There were 149 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 78.40%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 2.40% Native American, 1.87% Asian, 12.80% from other races, and 4.53% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 27.47% of the population. There were 113 households, out of which 34.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.4% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 8.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.4% were non-families. 20.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 5.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.63 and the average family size was 3.09. In the village, the population was spread out, with 22.1% under the age of 18, 3.2% from 18 to 24, 25.9% from 25 to 44, 32.3% from 45 to 64, and 16.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44 years. For every 100 females, there were 72.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 68.8 males. The median income for a household in the village was $36,818, and the median income for a family was $36,042. Males had a median income of $36,964 versus $4,960 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the village was $19,522. About 13.5% of families and 20.9% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 25.0% of those under age 18 and none of those age 65 or over. Since 1990, the population has been on a decline, decreasing from 413 in 1990 to an estimated 253 in 2022.

Education

Jemez Valley Public Schools serves the village of Jemez Springs as well as the surrounding Jemez Mountain Region.

Climate

Jemez Springs has a

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

''Cfa'').

Notable people

Rudolfo Anaya Rudolfo Anaya (October 30, 1937June 28, 2020) was an American author. Noted for his 1972 novel '' Bless Me, Ultima'', Anaya was considered one of the founders of the canon of contemporary Chicano and New Mexican literature. The themes and cult ...

, author, had a house there. * Gerald Fitzgerald,

priest, and founder of the religious order The Congregation of the Servants of the Paraclete lived in Jemez Springs. *

N. Scott Momaday Navarre Scotte Momaday (February 27, 1934–January 24, 2024) was a Kiowa and American novelist, short story writer, essayist, and poet. His novel ''House Made of Dawn'' was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1969 in literature, 1969, and ...

had a retirement home there until 2011. * Actor

John Diehl John Henry Diehl (born May 1, 1950) is an American character actor. Noted for his work in avant-garde theater, Diehl has performed in more than 140 films and television shows, including '' Land of Plenty'', '' Stripes'', ''City Limits'', '' Nix ...

and singer Julie Christensen relocated to Jemez Springs in 2022.

References

External links

*
Jemez Springs Public Library

Jemez Valley Public Schools
{{authority control Jemez Mountains Villages in Sandoval County, New Mexico Villages in New Mexico Albuquerque metropolitan area