Pie Town is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

and

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), 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 counte ...

located along U.S. Highway 60 in Catron 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 ...

. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 186. Pie Town has been noted for its colorful place name. Pie Town is the location of a "Pie Festival" on the second Saturday of each September. Pie Town is located immediately north of the Gila National Forest and not very far west of the Plains of San Agustin, the location of the

Very Large Array The Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) is a centimeter-wavelength radio astronomy observatory in the southwestern United States built in the 1970s. It lies in central New Mexico on the Plains of San Agustin, between the towns of Magdalena, Ne ...

radio telescope A radio telescope is a specialized antenna (radio), antenna and radio receiver used to detect radio waves from astronomical radio sources in the sky. Radio telescopes are the main observing instrument used in radio astronomy, which studies the r ...

, which is also located along U.S. 60. In addition, one of the ten large

radio antenna In radio-frequency engineering, an antenna (American English) or aerial (British English) is an electronic device that converts an alternating electric current into radio waves (transmitting), or radio waves into an electric current (receivi ...

s that form the Very Long Baseline Array of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory can be seen from U.S. 60, just east of Pie Town.

Depictions in media

Pie Town and its people were photographed in 1940 by Russell Lee, a photographer for the Farm Security Administration of the U.S. government. Pie Town, Lee's photos, and the local restaurant, the Daily Pie Cafe, were the subject of an article in ''Smithsonian'' magazine in February 2005. In 2014, a feature-length

documentary A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

, ''Pie Lady of Pie Town'', was produced.

CBS News Sunday Morning ''CBS News Sunday Morning'' (frequently shortened to ''Sunday Morning'') is an American television newsmagazine that has aired on CBS since January 28, 1979. Created by Robert Northshield and E.S. "Bud" Lamoreaux III, and originally hosted by ...

aired a story about the town in 2015.

Education

The school district is

Quemado Schools Quemado Independent Schools (Independent School District 2) is a school district headquartered in Quemado, New Mexico, U.S. Shelby Perea of the ''Albuquerque Journal'' described the district, located in a rural area, as being "small". In Catron ...

Tourism

Pie Town is located along U.S. 60, west of Socorro and approximately east of

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona. With over 1.6 million residents at the 2020 census, it is the ...

Albuquerque Albuquerque ( ; ), also known as ABQ, Burque, the Duke City, and in the past 'the Q', is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Bernalillo County, New Mexico, Bernal ...

is to the northeast by other highways. The center of Pie Town is west of where US 60 crosses the

Continental Divide A continental divide is a drainage divide on a continent such that the drainage basin on one side of the divide feeds into one ocean or sea, and the basin on the other side either feeds into a different ocean or sea, or else is endorheic, not ...

, and some visitors arrive by way of the

Continental Divide Trail The Continental Divide National Scenic Trail (in short Continental Divide Trail, CDT) is a United States National Scenic Trail with a length measured by the Continental Divide Trail Coalition of between the U.S. border with Chihuahua (state), Chi ...

(CDT) that provides a respite between Silver City and Grants, New Mexico. For cyclists,

equestrians Equestrianism (from Latin , , , 'horseman', 'horse'), commonly known as horse riding ( Commonwealth English) or horseback riding (American English), includes the disciplines of riding, driving, and vaulting. This broad description includes the ...

, motorcyclists, and hikers, Pie Town provides a number of services, including

lodging Lodging refers to the use of a short-term dwelling, usually by renting the living space or sometimes through some other arrangement. People who travel and stay away from home for more than a day need lodging for sleep, rest, food, safety, shel ...

, supplies, and unique flavors of pie on request. In June 2007, three residents of Pie Town, Nita Larronde, Don Kearney, and Kathy Knapp, were awarded the Curry Trail Angel Award by the

Adventure Cycling Association Adventure Cycling Association is a nonprofit member organization focused on travel by bicycle (bicycle touring). Headquartered in Missoula, Montana, Adventure Cycling develops cycling routes, publishes maps, provides guided trips, and advocates ...

in recognition for their kindness and generosity. The area of Pie Town is rich in relics of the Native Americans. Many

Anasazi The Ancestral Puebloans, also known as Ancestral Pueblo peoples or the Basketmaker-Pueblo culture, were an ancient Native American culture of Pueblo peoples spanning the present-day Four Corners region of the United States, comprising southea ...

and Acoma pottery shards have been found in the area, along with grinding slicks, an ancient axe head, and

petrified wood Petrified wood (from Ancient Greek meaning 'rock' or 'stone'; literally 'wood turned into stone'), is the name given to a special type of ''fossilized wood'', the fossilized remains of terrestrial plant, terrestrial vegetation. ''Petrifaction ...

. Some fossilized bones have been found on the ground. The ruins of Native American communities, which consist of one to a few dozen structures, are found here. The Pie Town Annual Pie Festival includes a pie-baking contest, games and races, music, food, and arts and crafts.

Gallery

File:Russellpiea.jpg, Serving food in Pie Town, 1940 File:Pie Town.JPG, Daily Pie Cafe, May 2009 File:School children singing. Pie Town, New Mexico, October 1940.jpg, School children singing, 1940 File:Saying grace before the barbeque dinner at the New Mexico Fair. Pie Town, New Mexico, October 1940.jpg, Saying grace before the barbeque dinner in Pie Town, 1940 File:PieTownCafe2006.jpg, Pie Cafe in Pie Town (2006) File:Pie-O-Neer_PIES_in_Pie_Town_New_Mexico.jpg, Pie-O-Neer Cafe in Pie Town 2007

References

External links