San Antonio 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 ...

Socorro County Socorro County is a county in the U.S. state of New Mexico. As of the 2010 census, the population was 17,866. The county seat is Socorro. The county was formed in 1852 as one of the original nine counties of New Mexico Territory. Socorro wa ...

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 ...

, United States, roughly in the center of the state, on 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 ...

. The entire

population Population typically refers to the number of people in a single area, whether it be a city or town, region, country, continent, or the world. Governments typically quantify the size of the resident population within their jurisdiction using a ...

of the

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

is approximately 18,000.

Description

San Antonio is partly

agricultural Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating Plant, plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of Sedentism, sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of Domestication, domesticated species created food ...

, and partly a

bedroom community A commuter town is a populated area that is primarily residential rather than commercial or industrial. Routine travel from home to work and back is called commuting, which is where the term comes from. A commuter town may be called by many o ...

for Socorro and

White Sands Missile Range White Sands Missile Range (WSMR) is a United States Army military testing area and firing range located in the US state of New Mexico. The range was originally established as the White Sands Proving Ground on 9July 1945. White Sands National P ...

. The city supports a few small businesses, which include the original Owl Bar and Cafe (featured on an episode of the

Travel Channel Travel Channel (stylized as Trvl Channel since 2018) is an American pay television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, which had previously owned the channel from 1997 to 2007. The channel is headquartered in New York, New York, United S ...

's ''

Burger Land ''Burger Land'' is an American food reality television series that premiered with two special episodes airing back-to-back on September 2, 2012, on the Travel Channel. The series is hosted by food author/filmmaker and hamburger enthusiast George ...

'' in 2013), The Buckhorn Tavern (featured in 2009 on the

Food Network Food Network is an American basic cable channel owned by Television Food Network, G.P., a joint venture and general partnership between Warner Bros. Discovery Networks (which holds a 69% ownership stake of the network) and Nexstar Media Group ...

's ''

Throwdown! with Bobby Flay ''Throwdown! with Bobby Flay'' is a Food Network television program in which celebrity chef Bobby Flay challenges cooks renowned for a specific dish or type of cooking to a cook-off of their signature dish. At the beginning of each show, Flay rec ...

'',), San Antonio Crane, a restaurant featuring Mexican food, a seasonal roadside market, and a general store. San Antonio is the gateway to the

Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge The Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge ( ) is located in southern New Mexico. It was founded in 1939 and is administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. It is a favorite spot to watch the migration of the sandhill cranes in th ...

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 ...

runs along the west, and

U.S. Route 380 U.S. Route 380 (US 380) is an east–west United States highway. The highway's eastern terminus is in Greenville, Texas at an intersection with Interstate 30, of which the easternmost 3–4 miles are concurrent with US 69 in a loop around t ...

begins there and heads east to Carrizozo. The

is just to the east of San Antonio, and the

BNSF Railway BNSF Railway is one of the largest freight railroads in North America. One of seven North American Class I railroads, BNSF has 35,000 employees, of track in 28 states, and nearly 8,000 locomotives. It has three transcontinental routes that ...

runs through the community and has a small yard, little more than a siding. While still part of the

New Mexico Territory The Territory of New Mexico was an organized incorporated territory of the United States from September 9, 1850, until January 6, 1912. It was created from the U.S. provisional government of New Mexico, as a result of ''Santa Fe de Nuevo México ...

, the town was the birthplace of

Conrad Hilton Conrad Nicholson Hilton Sr. (December 25, 1887 – January 3, 1979) was an American businessman who founded the Hilton Hotels chain. From 1912 to 1916 Hilton was a Republican representative in the first New Mexico Legislature, but became disil ...

. His father was a merchant and hotelier in San Antonio, and Hilton learned the hotel trade there. Hilton was one of the original legislators in the newly formed state of New Mexico, and founded the

Hilton Hotels Corporation Hilton Worldwide (legally Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc.) is an American multinational hospitality company that manages and franchises a broad portfolio of hotels and resorts. Founded by Conrad Hilton in May 1919, the corporation is now led b ...

. San Antonio is about 28 miles from

Trinity Site Trinity was the code name of the first detonation of a nuclear weapon. It was conducted by the United States Army at 5:29 a.m. on July 16, 1945, as part of the Manhattan Project. The test was conducted in the Jornada del Muerto desert abo ...

, where the first nuclear bomb was detonated on July 16, 1945. Residents reported tremors like an earthquake and the town received some of the remnants of the mushroom cloud, resulting in some

radioactive contamination Radioactive contamination, also called radiological pollution, is the deposition of, or presence of radioactive substances on surfaces or within solids, liquids, or gases (including the human body), where their presence is unintended or undesirab ...

of the area, which faded quickly and does not persist today. The town was the meeting place for the scientists who detonated the bomb. On July 15, 2018, San Antonio was hit by a thunderstorm that caused the small town to be covered with up to 2 ft of mud. This event received an emergency declaration from Governor Martinez. Highway 380 after this event was impossible to traverse, and the force of the flood water swept off the train tracks at the Burlington-Northern Santa Fe Railroad at the 380 crossing. This event helped justify funding for building a retention pond, and coming up with other plans to prevent similar future floods.

Education

It is within

Socorro Consolidated Schools Socorro Consolidated School District (SCSD) or Socorro Consolidated Schools is a school district headquartered in Socorro, New Mexico. Located within Socorro County, the district includes Socorro, Alamillo, Chamizal, Escondida, Lemitar, Lui ...

. Socorro High School is the comprehensive high school of the district.

References

External links

{{Coord, 33, 54, 58, N, 106, 52, 12, W, region:US_type:city_source:kolossus-eswiki, display=title Census-designated places in New Mexico Census-designated places in Socorro County, New Mexico New Mexico populated places on the Rio Grande

Description

Education

See also

References

External links