Las Palomas 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 ...

Sierra County, New Mexico Sierra County is a county located in the U.S. state of New Mexico. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 11,576. Its county seat is Truth or Consequences. Geography According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of w ...

, United States. Its population was 173 as of the 2010 census. The community is located near Exit 71 of

Interstate 25 Interstate 25 (I-25) is a major Interstate Highway in the western United States. It is primarily a north–south highway, serving as the main route through New Mexico, Colorado, and Wyoming. I-25 stretches from I-10 at Las Cruces, New Mexic ...

;

New Mexico State Road 187 State Road 187 (NM 187) is a state highway in the US state of New Mexico. Its total length is approximately . NM 187's southern terminus is in Hatch, at NM 26 and NM 187's northern terminus is at I 25 Bus. Loop 11 in W ...

also passes through the community.

Geography

Las Palomas 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.

Demographics

History

Las Palomas was one of the offspring settlements of San Ygnacio de la Alamosa, also known as Alamosa, the original native New Mexican settlement, in what became Sierra County, in 1859. After flooding destroyed Alamosa in 1867, many of its residents moved up the Alamosa Creek valley to farm near and live in the new town, called Canada Alamosa. That town had been organized by some earlier residents of Alamosa sometime between 1864 and 1866.Wilson, John P., Between the River and the Mountains: A History of Early Settlement in Sierra County, New Mexico, Report #40, John P. Wilson, Las Cruces, New Mexico, August 1985
/ref> Others moved across the river to the east bank and downstream a couple of miles to farm on the opposite side of the river and to start a new town, first called ''New Alamosa'', but that soon became known as Alamocita. Alamocita was six miles north of

Fort McRae Fort McRae was a Union Army post, established in 1863, then a U.S. Army post from 1866 and closed in 1876, in what is now Sierra County, New Mexico. The post was named for Alexander McRae (1829–1862) a slain hero of the 1862 Battle of Valverde. ...

which was established in April 1863 to protect these new settlements along the

Rio Grande Valley The Lower Rio Grande Valley ( es, Valle del Río Grande), commonly known as the Rio Grande Valley or locally as the Valley or RGV, is a region spanning the border of Texas and Mexico located in a floodplain of the Rio Grande near its mouth. The ...

from the

Apache The Apache () are a group of culturally related Native American tribes in the Southwestern United States, which include the Chiricahua, Jicarilla, Lipan, Mescalero, Mimbreño, Ndendahe (Bedonkohe or Mogollon and Nednhi or Carrizaleño an ...

, along with the traffic along the river and the old road to the east in the

Jornada del Muerto The name Jornada del Muerto translates from Spanish as "Single Day's Journey of the Dead Man" or even "Route of the Dead Man, though the modern literal translation is closer to "The Working Day of the Dead". It was the name given by the Spanish ...

. Also in 1867, a number of the citizens of Canada Alamosa, moved down the Rio Grande to where

Palomas Creek Palomas may refer to: Places * Palomas (Madrid), a ward of the Hortaleza district, Madrid, Spain * Palomas, Arizona, a community in the United States * Palomas, Badajoz, Spain, a town * Palomas, Comerío, Puerto Rico, a barrio in Comerío, a munici ...

had its confluence with the river. There twenty miles south of Fort McRae, it was less exposed to the attacks of the Apache, and easier to reinforce from the fort. There they established the farming settlement first called Plaza del Rio Palomas, later more commonly called Las Palomas. Fort McRae and its garrison would provide its protection and economic benefits to citizens of the towns over the years of its operation until it was closed on October 30, 1876. Las Palomas is the only one of the early New Mexican settlements built along the Rio Grande in Sierra County to survive to the present day despite the river flooding and the construction of reservoirs.

Education

Truth or Consequences Municipal Schools Truth or Consequences Municipal Schools is a school district headquartered in Truth or Consequences, New Mexico Truth or Consequences (often abbreviated as T or C) is a city in New Mexico, and the county seat of Sierra County. In 2020, the ...

is the school district for the entire county.
Text list
/ref> Truth or Consequences Middle School and Hot Springs High School, both in Truth or Consequences, are the district's secondary schools.

References

{{authority control Census-designated places in New Mexico Census-designated places in Sierra County, New Mexico