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Tucumcari (; ) is a city in and the county seat of
Quay County Quay County () is a county in the state of New Mexico. As of the 2010 census, the population was 9,041. Its county seat is Tucumcari. The county was named for Pennsylvania senator Matthew Quay, who supported statehood for New Mexico. Its easter ...
, New Mexico, United States. The population was 5,278 at the 2020 census. Tucumcari was founded in 1901, two years before Quay County was established.


History

In 1901, the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad built a construction camp in the western portion of modern-day Quay County. Originally called Ragtown, the camp became known as "Six Shooter Siding", due to numerous gunfights. Its first formal name, Douglas, was used only for a short time. After it grew into a permanent settlement, it was renamed Tucumcari in 1908. The name was taken from
Tucumcari Mountain Tucumcari Mountain, once referred to as Tucumcari Peak or Mesa Tucumcari, is a mesa situated just outside Tucumcari, New Mexico. Where the mountain got its name is uncertain. It may have come from the Comanche word "tukamukaru", which means to l ...
, which is situated near the community. The origin of the mountain's name is uncertain; it may have been derived from the Comanche word ''tʉkamʉkarʉ'', which means 'ambush'. A 1777 burial record mentions a Comanche woman and her child captured in a battle at Cuchuncari, which is believed to be an early version of the name Tucumcari. In December 1951, a water storage tank collapsed in the city. Four were killed and numerous buildings were destroyed.


Former railroad transit point

Tucumcari until the mid-twentieth century was a junction for transcontinental train service. The Rock Island Railroad ran pool train operations with the
Southern Pacific The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials- SP) was an American Class I railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was operated by various companies under the ...
, with transfers at the station (for the Tucumcari-Los Angeles leg of the trip). The '' Choctaw Rocket'' (Memphis-Little Rock-Tucumcari-El Paso-Los Angeles) made the switch there (for the coach cars). The '' Golden State'' (Chicago-Kansas City-Topeka-Tucumcari-El Paso-Los Angeles) ran continuously through the town.


Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and 0.13% is water.


Climate

Tucumcari has a
cool semi-arid climate A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of semi-ar ...
( Köppen ''BSk''), characterized by cool winters and hot summers. Rainfall is relatively low except during the summer months, when thunderstorms associated with the North American monsoon can bring locally heavy downpours. Snowfall is generally light, with am average of . Due to the frequency of low humidity, wide
daily Daily or The Daily may refer to: Journalism * Daily newspaper, newspaper issued on five to seven day of most weeks * ''The Daily'' (podcast), a podcast by ''The New York Times'' * ''The Daily'' (News Corporation), a defunct US-based iPad new ...
temperature variations are normal. The record high temperature at Tucumcari was on June 11, 2022, and the record low temperature on January 13, 1963. The hottest monthly mean maximum has been in July 2011 and the coldest mean minimum in January 1963, although the coldest month by mean maximum was January 1949, with a mean high of . The wettest calendar year has been 1941, with and the driest, 1934, with . The most rainfall in one month was in July 1950. The most rainfall in 24 hours was on June 21, 1971. The most snowfall in one year was , from July 1911 to June 1912. The most snowfall in one month was , in February 1912.


Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 5,989 people, 2,489 households, and 1,607 families residing in the city. The population density was 793.8 people per square mile (306.7/km). There were 3,065 housing units at an average density of 406.2 per square mile (156.9/km). The racial makeup of the city was 75.87% White, 1.29% African American, 1.39% Native American, 1.20%
Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...
, 0.22% Pacific Islander, 17.10% from other races, and 2.94% from two or more races. Hispanic or
Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...
of any race were 51.41% of the population. There were 2,489 households, out of which 29.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.4% were married couples living together, 15.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.4% were non-families. 31.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.35 and the average family size was 2.93. In the city, the population was spread out, with 26.0% under the age of 18, 7.5% from 18 to 24, 24.2% from 25 to 44, 24.8% from 45 to 64, and 17.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 90.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.8 males. The median income for a household in the city was $22,560, and the median income for a family was $27,468. Males had a median income of $25,342 versus $18,568 for females. The per capita income for the city was $14,786. About 19.1% of families and 24.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 29.5% of those under age 18 and 16.7% of those age 65 or over.


Arts and culture

The buildings formerly at Metropolitan Park (locally known as "Five Mile Park" because it is located about five miles (8 km) outside of town) were designed by Trent Thomas, adapted from his design of
La Fonda Hotel La Fonda on the Plaza is a historical luxury hotel, located at 100 E. San Francisco Street and Old Santa Fe Trail in downtown Santa Fe, New Mexico adjacent to the Plaza. The hotel has been a member oHistoric Hotels of America the official progra ...
in Santa Fe. The park once featured New Mexico's largest outdoor swimming pool. Owing to deterioration, Metropolitan Park was named to the New Mexico Heritage Preservation Alliance's list of Most Endangered for 2003. In 2010, the park's main building caught fire and burnt to the ground. The city of Tucumcari razed the site weeks after the fire. In 2014, a series of suspicious fires destroyed abandoned buildings, including the Tucumcari Motel, Payless Motel, and a house in the 500 block of North Fourth Street. A former Tucumcari Police Department officer and several others have been charged with arson. The town formerly hosted an
air show An air show (or airshow, air fair, air tattoo) is a public event where aircraft are exhibited. They often include aerobatics demonstrations, without they are called "static air shows" with aircraft parked on the ground. The largest air show m ...
each year. The show held on October 4, 2006, was canceled after one hour when a single-engine plane crashed, resulting in the pilot's death.


Tucumcari Tonite, Route 66, and tourism

For many years, Tucumcari has been a popular stop for cross-country travelers on Interstate 40 (formerly
U.S. 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 ...
in the area). It is the largest city on the highway between Amarillo, Texas and
Albuquerque, New Mexico Albuquerque ( ; ), ; kee, Arawageeki; tow, Vakêêke; zun, Alo:ke:k'ya; apj, Gołgéeki'yé. abbreviated ABQ, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Its nicknames, The Duke City and Burque, both reference its founding in ...
.
Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
s reading "TUCUMCARI TONITE!" placed along I-40 for many miles to the east and west of the town invite motorists to stay the night in one of Tucumcari's "2000" (later changed to "1200") motel rooms. The "TUCUMCARI TONITE!" campaign was abandoned in favor of a campaign which declared Tucumcari, "Gateway to the West". However, on June 24, 2008, Tucumcari's Lodgers Tax Advisory Board, the group responsible for the billboards, voted to return to the previous slogan. Old U.S. Route 66 runs through the heart of Tucumcari via Route 66 Boulevard, which was previously known as Tucumcari Boulevard from 1970 to 2003 and as Gaynell Avenue before that time. Numerous businesses, including gasoline service stations, restaurants, and motels, were constructed to accommodate tourists as they traveled through on the Mother Road. A large number of the vintage motels and restaurants built in the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s are still in business despite intense competition from newer chain motels and restaurants in the vicinity of Interstate 40, which passes through the city's outskirts on the south. Tucumcari is the home of over 50 murals. Most were painted by artists Doug and Sharon Quarles and serve as a tourist attraction.


Downtown

Most of Tucumcari's oldest buildings lie along or near Main Street in the Historic Downtown area. These include: * Rock Island-Southern Pacific Train Station (built 1926, restored 2011) * Odeon Theatre (built 1937, still operating) * Crescent Creamery (vacant) * Masonic Temple (still operating) * Princess Theater (under renovation) Also located in the downtown area are the concrete arches that once surrounded the Hotel Vorenburg, which was demolished in the 1970s after being damaged by fire. The Federal Building, commonly known as Sands-Dorsey Drug, was damaged by two fires before finally being demolished in 2015. The location is now a park.


Education

It is a part of the Tucumcari Public Schools school district. Schools in Tucumcari include: * Tucumcari Early Head Start and Head Start (non-public daycare and preschool) * Tucumcari Elementary School (public Pre-K through fifth grade) * Tucumcari Middle School (public sixth grade through eighth grade) * Tucumcari High School (public ninth grade through twelfth grade) Tertiary schools: *
Mesalands Community College Mesalands Community College, is a public community college in Tucumcari, New Mexico Tucumcari (; ) is a city in and the county seat of Quay County, New Mexico, Quay County, New Mexico, United States. The population was 5,278 at the 2020 Unit ...
(community two-year institution of higher learning)


Notable people

*In 1896, Tom "Black Jack" Ketchum and his associates robbed a post office and store in Liberty, NM, a community that dissolved after the railroad bypassed it. Many of Liberty's residents moved to the nearby railroad siding that eventually became Tucumcari. Some of the local residents believe that there is a cave in a mesa south of Tucumcari that may hold some loot from the robbery of Liberty, New Mexico. *Musician
Bob Scobey Robert Alexander Scobey Jr. (December 9, 1916 – June 12, 1963) was an American jazz trumpet player of traditional or Dixieland music based originally in the San Francisco area and later in Chicago, Illinois. He was born in Tucumcari, New Mex ...
was born in Tucumcari in 1916. *American character actor Paul Brinegar was born in Tucumcari. *Tucumcari High School graduate
Stan David Stanley Chaunce David (born on February 17, 1962) is a former American football player for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted in the seventh round (182nd pick overall) of the 1984 NFL Draft. David graduated f ...
was a star safety for the Texas Tech Red Raiders and played 16 NFL games for the
Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. ...
in 1984. He was listed as number 48 in the '' Sports Illustrated'' list of "The 50 Greatest New Mexico Sports Figures". * Rex Maddaford, who competed for the New Zealand team in the
1968 Summer Olympics The 1968 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1968), officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XIX Olimpiada) and commonly known as Mexico 1968 ( es, México 1968), were an international multi-sport eve ...
, has been a long-time Tucumcari Public Schools faculty member.


In popular culture

* Many of the scenes in the television show '' Rawhide'' (1959–1966) starring
Clint Eastwood Clinton Eastwood Jr. (born May 31, 1930) is an American actor and film director. After achieving success in the Western TV series '' Rawhide'', he rose to international fame with his role as the "Man with No Name" in Sergio Leone's "''Doll ...
were shot in the Tucumcari area. Paul Brinegar, who played Wishbone, was from Tucumcari. * Tucumcari is the setting of one of the first scenes in
Sergio Leone Sergio Leone (; 3 January 1929 – 30 April 1989) was an Italian film director, producer and screenwriter credited as the pioneer of the Spaghetti Western genre and widely regarded as one of the most influential directors in the history of cin ...
's 1965 film ''
For a Few Dollars More ''For a Few Dollars More'' ( it, Per qualche dollaro in più) is a 1965 Spaghetti Western film directed by Sergio Leone. It stars Clint Eastwood and Lee Van Cleef as bounty hunters and Gian Maria Volonté as the primary villain. German actor K ...
'', starring Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef, and
Gian Maria Volonté Gian Maria Volonté (9 April 1933 – 6 December 1994) was an Italian actor, including roles in four Spaghetti Western films: Ramón Rojo in Sergio Leone's ''A Fistful of Dollars'' (1964) and El Indio in Leone's '' For a Few Dollars More'' ( ...
. This is a prochronism, as Tucumcari was founded many years after the historical period in which ''For a Few Dollars More'' takes place. * A scene in the 1971 movie ''
Two-Lane Blacktop ''Two-Lane Blacktop'' is a 1971 American road movie directed by Monte Hellman, written by Rudy Wurlitzer and starring songwriter James Taylor, the Beach Boys drummer Dennis Wilson, Warren Oates, and Laurie Bird. Plot Two street racers, the Dri ...
'', starring James Taylor, Dennis Wilson, and Warren Oates, was filmed at a gasoline service station on U.S. Highway 54 just northeast of Tucumcari. Tucumcari Mountain is clearly visible at the beginning of this scene. * In the David Stone Series featuring Micah Dalton, the lead character was raised in Tucumcari. * Scenes for the film, '' Hell or High Water'', were filmed in Tucumcari on June 1, 2015. * A segment of the 2018 movie '' The Ballad of Buster Scruggs'' centers around an unsuccessful attempt to rob a bank in Tucumcari. *A plot strand in
season 5 A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and po ...
of AMC’s ''
Better Call Saul ''Better Call Saul'' is an American crime and legal drama television series created by Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould. Part of the ''Breaking Bad'' franchise, it is a spin-off of Gilligan's previous series, '' Breaking Bad'', and serves as a ...
'', the prequel to ''
Breaking Bad ''Breaking Bad'' is an American crime drama television series created and produced by Vince Gilligan. Set and filmed in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the series follows Walter White (Bryan Cranston), an underpaid, overqualified, and dispirited hig ...
'', revolves around legal battles to oust a resident from his house near Tucumcari so that Mesa Verde, Kim’s client, can build a call center there. * The ''
USS Tucumcari (PGH-2) The USS ''Tucumcari'' (PGH-2) was a Boeing-built hydrofoil. Named after Tucumcari, New Mexico, it was the basis for the technology used in the subsequent ''Pegasus''-class patrol boats and the Jetfoil ferries. Its unique feature was a waterjet ...
'' hydrofoil was built by Boeing and began service in 1968. It was decommissioned in 1972 after running aground in Puerto Rico. * In Barry Levinson's '' Rain Man'', Tom Cruise says he's in Tucumcari while on a payphone. * Tucumcari is referenced in the song Willin' by the
Country Rock Country rock is a genre of music which fuses rock and country. It was developed by rock musicians who began to record country-flavored records in the late 1960s and early 1970s. These musicians recorded rock records using country themes, vocal s ...
band
Little Feat Little Feat is an American rock band formed by lead vocalist and guitarist Lowell George and keyboardist Bill Payne in 1969 in Los Angeles. George disbanded the group because of creative differences shortly before his death in 1979. Surviving ...
.


See also

*
National Register of Historic Places listings in Quay County, New Mexico __NOTOC__ This is a list of the National Register of Historic Places listings in Quay County, New Mexico. This is intended to be a complete list of the properties and districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Quay County, New Mex ...
**
Baca–Goodman House The Baca–Goodman House was a single-dwelling home in Tucumcari, New Mexico, United States. Tucumcari merchant Benito Baca built the house around 1905, and subsequent owner Herman Goodman expanded it in the 1920s. It was added to the National ...
(former listing) ** Blue Swallow Motel **
Cactus Motor Lodge The Cactus Motor Lodge, later known as the Cactus RV Park, was a motel located along historic U.S. Route 66 in Tucumcari, New Mexico. I.E. and Edna Perry built the lodge in 1941. The motel included three wings of units forming a "U" shape and an of ...
(structure no longer exists)


References


External links


City of Tucumcari

Tucumcari Chamber of Commerce
{{authority control Cities in New Mexico County seats in New Mexico Cities in Quay County, New Mexico