Grants, New Mexico
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Grants is a city in
Cibola County Cibola County is a county in the U.S. state of New Mexico. As of the 2010 census, the population was 27,213. Its county seat is Grants. It is New Mexico's youngest county, and the third youngest county in the United States, created on June 19, ...
,
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. It is located about west of
Albuquerque 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 ...
. The population was 9,163 at the 2020 Census. It is the
county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...
of Cibola County. Grants is located along the Trails of the Ancients Byway, one of the designated
New Mexico Scenic Byways Scenic and Historic Byways are highways in New Mexico known for their scenic beauty or historic significance. The New Mexico State Highway and Transportation Department Scenic and Historic Byways Program was made effective July 31, 1998 to establi ...
.Trail of the Ancients.
New Mexico Tourism Department. Retrieved August 14, 2014.


History

Grants began as a railroad camp in the 1880s, when three Canadian brothers – Angus A. Grant, John R. Grant, and Lewis A. Grant – were awarded a contract to build a section of the
Atlantic and Pacific Railroad The Atlantic and Pacific Railroad was a U.S. railroad that owned or operated two disjointed segments, one connecting St. Louis, Missouri with Tulsa, Oklahoma, and the other connecting Albuquerque, New Mexico with Needles in Southern Californi ...
through the region. The Grant brothers' camp was first called Grants Camp, then Grants Station, and finally Grants. The new city enveloped the existing colonial New Mexican settlement of Los Alamitos and grew along the tracks of the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad. The town prospered as a result of railroad logging in the nearby
Zuni Mountains Zuni may refer to: Peoples and languages * Zuni people, an indigenous people of the United States * Zuni language, their language Places * Zuni, Virginia, an unincorporated town in Virginia in the United States * Zuni Pueblo, New Mexico, a ce ...
, and it served as a section point for the Atlantic and Pacific, which became part of the
Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often referred to as the Santa Fe or AT&SF, was one of the larger railroads in the United States. The railroad was chartered in February 1859 to serve the cities of Atchison, Kansas, Atchison and Top ...
. The Zuni Mountain Railroad short line had a roundhouse in town (near present-day Exit 81 off
Interstate 40 Interstate 40 (I-40) is a major east–west Interstate Highway running through the south-central portion of the United States. At a length of , it is the third-longest Interstate Highway in the country, after I-90 and I-80. From west to ea ...
) and housed workers in a small community named Breecetown. Timber from the Zuni Mountains was shipped to Albuquerque, where a large sawmill converted the timber to wood products that were sold around the west. After the decline of logging in the 1930s, Grants-Milan gained fame as the "
carrot The carrot ('' Daucus carota'' subsp. ''sativus'') is a root vegetable, typically orange in color, though purple, black, red, white, and yellow cultivars exist, all of which are domesticated forms of the wild carrot, ''Daucus carota'', nat ...
capital" of the United States. Agriculture was aided by the creation of Bluewater Reservoir, and the region's volcanic soils provided ideal conditions for farming. Grants also benefited from its location, both being an
airway beacon An airway beacon (US) or aerial lighthouse (UK and Europe) was a rotating light assembly mounted atop a tower. These were once used extensively in the United States for visual navigation by airplane pilots along a specified airway corridor. ...
and later by
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 ...
, which brought travelers and tourists and the businesses that catered to them. Today the beacon and FSS building on the airport (KGNT) is being restored as the Western New Mexico Aviation Heritage Museum. Perhaps the most memorable boom in the town's history occurred when Paddy Martinez, a
Navajo The Navajo (; British English: Navaho; nv, Diné or ') are a Native American people of the Southwestern United States. With more than 399,494 enrolled tribal members , the Navajo Nation is the largest federally recognized tribe in the United ...
shepherd, discovered
uranium Uranium is a chemical element with the symbol U and atomic number 92. It is a silvery-grey metal in the actinide series of the periodic table. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons. Uranium is weak ...
ore near Haystack Mesa, sparking a mining boom that lasted until the 1980s (see
Uranium mining in New Mexico Uranium mining in New Mexico was a significant industry from the early 1950s until the early 1980s. Although New Mexico has the second largest identified uranium ore reserves of any state in the United States (after Wyoming), no uranium ore has be ...
). The collapse of mining pulled the town into a depression, but the town has enjoyed a resurgence based on interest in tourism and the scenic beauty of the region. Recent interest in
nuclear power Nuclear power is the use of nuclear reactions to produce electricity. Nuclear power can be obtained from nuclear fission, nuclear decay and nuclear fusion reactions. Presently, the vast majority of electricity from nuclear power is produced b ...
has revived the possibility of more uranium mining in the area, and energy companies still own viable mining properties and claims in the area.


Geography

Grants is located in north-central Cibola County. Santa Fe Avenue (former
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 ...
) is the main road through the city, while
Interstate 40 Interstate 40 (I-40) is a major east–west Interstate Highway running through the south-central portion of the United States. At a length of , it is the third-longest Interstate Highway in the country, after I-90 and I-80. From west to ea ...
passes through the south side of the city, with access from exits 81 and 85. I-40 leads east to Albuquerque and west to Gallup. The town of
Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
borders the northwest end of Grants. According to the
United States 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 city has a total area of , all land. Grants is on the north end of the large and recent (youngest flows around 3,000 years old) lava field known as ''El Malpais'' ("the badlands"), part of which is preserved as
El Malpais National Monument El Malpais National Monument is a National Monument located in western New Mexico, in the Southwestern United States. The name El Malpais is from the Spanish term '' Malpaís'', meaning ''badlands'', due to the extremely barren and dramatic volc ...
. To the northeast of town are the San Mateo Mountains and Mount Taylor, at the highest peak in the region. West of the city is 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 the
Zuni Mountains Zuni may refer to: Peoples and languages * Zuni people, an indigenous people of the United States * Zuni language, their language Places * Zuni, Virginia, an unincorporated town in Virginia in the United States * Zuni Pueblo, New Mexico, a ce ...
, an eroded
anticline In structural geology, an anticline is a type of fold that is an arch-like shape and has its oldest beds at its core, whereas a syncline is the inverse of an anticline. A typical anticline is convex up in which the hinge or crest is the ...
with 2-billion-year-old
Precambrian The Precambrian (or Pre-Cambrian, sometimes abbreviated pꞒ, or Cryptozoic) is the earliest part of Earth's history, set before the current Phanerozoic Eon. The Precambrian is so named because it preceded the Cambrian, the first period of the ...
granites and metamorphic rocks at its core. The region is primarily high desert country, dominated by sandstones and lava flows.


Climate

Grants has a typical New Mexico cool semi-arid climate (
Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (born 1951), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author and ...
''BSk''). Located in one of the driest areas in the United States, Grants receives about of precipitation annually. The three wettest months are July, August and September, during the monsoon season. The wettest month on record has been July 2015 with , and the wettest day August 25, 1972 with . The wettest calendar year since 1948 has been 1965 with and the driest 1956 with . Even during the monsoon season, diurnal temperature ranges are very large, being at or above almost year-round. From October, when the monsoon retreats, afternoon temperatures fall from very warm to hot down to comfortable by November and to cool during the winter proper. Mornings typically begin to fall below freezing during October, and over a whole year 177.6 mornings will fall below freezing, although afternoon maxima top freezing on all bar 5.1 afternoons. is typically reached on 4.6 mornings, and the coldest temperature on record is on Christmas Day, 1990. The aridity of the winters makes snowfall very light: the median is only and the most snow in one month in December 1967, which also saw the snowiest season with . During the spring, the weather steadily heats up, with maxima topping before the end of April and reaching on 35.6 afternoons – although only five mornings on record have stayed above . During this early summer period, the weather remains very dry, so that mornings remain cool even into June – as late as June 23, 1964 the temperature fell to freezing. The hottest temperature on record has been on July 14, 2003, and June 28, 2013.


Demographics

As of the
census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...
of 2000, there were 8,806 people, 3,202 households, and 2,321 families residing in the city. The
population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...
was 644.4 people per square mile (248.7/km2). There were 3,626 housing units at an average density of 265.3 per square mile (102.4/km2). The racial makeup of the city among Non-Hispanic groups was 56.18%
White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...
, 1.62%
African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
, 11.97% Native American, 0.92%
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 ...
, 0.12%
Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe the original p ...
, 24.80% from
other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...
, and 4.38% from two or more races.
Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...
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 52.36% of the population. There were 3,202 households, out of which 37.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.5% were
married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...
living together, 17.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.5% were non-families. 24.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.61 and the average family size was 3.06. In the city, the population was spread out, with 28.8% under the age of 18, 9.3% from 18 to 24, 27.9% from 25 to 44, 21.7% from 45 to 64, and 12.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 85.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 79.4 males. The median income for a household in the city was $30,652, and the median income for a family was $33,464. Males had a median income of $31,870 versus $20,808 for females. The
per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...
for the city was $14,053. About 19.4% of families and 21.9% 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 t ...
, including 31.8% of those under age 18 and 11.1% of those age 65 or over.


Education

All public schools in the county are operated by
Grants/Cibola County Schools Grants/Cibola County Schools is a school district based in Grants, New Mexico, United States. Attendance area GCCS's attendance boundary includes most of Cibola County, New Mexico, including the city of Grants. Exceptions are areas on the Zuni Re ...
. Seven elementary schools, one middle school and two high schools serve Grants and Cibola County. Los Alamitos Middle School and
Grants High School Grants High School is a high school in Grants, New Mexico, United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It cons ...
serve Grants. St. Teresa of Avila Catholic School, of the
Roman Catholic Diocese of Gallup The Diocese of Gallup ( la, Dioecesis Gallupiensis, es, Diócesis de Gallup) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in the southwestern region of the United States, encompassing counties in the states of Ariz ...
, is the only private accredited school in the city and serves grades pre-Kindergarten through eighth grades. The school building opened in 1945. There is a
branch A branch, sometimes called a ramus in botany, is a woody structural member connected to the central trunk (botany), trunk of a tree (or sometimes a shrub). Large branches are known as boughs and small branches are known as twigs. The term '' ...
of
New Mexico State University New Mexico State University (NMSU or NM State) is a public land-grant research university based primarily in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest public institution of higher education in New Mexico and one of the state's tw ...
offering a two-year postsecondary program as well as advanced degrees through distance education.


Culture

The National Park Service and the Bureau of Land Management operate the El Malpais Visitor Center at Exit 85 off Interstate 40 in Grants. The visitor center highlights the many features of El Malpais National Monument and El Malpais National Conservation Area. There is a mining museum in town, as well as the Western New Mexico Aviation Heritage Museum at the Grants-Milan Municipal Airport. On Route 66/Santa Fe Avenue, the Cibola Arts Council runs an art gallery and museum that features the works of local artists and many Route 66 artifacts including a
Ford Model T The Ford Model T is an automobile that was produced by Ford Motor Company from October 1, 1908, to May 26, 1927. It is generally regarded as the first affordable automobile, which made car travel available to middle-class Americans. The relati ...
roadster. The museum hosts special events, shows, and openings on a regular basis. There is a Tibetan Buddhist stupa in the Zuni Mountains west of town, the Zuni Mountain Stupa.


Communications


Radio

*
KDSK-FM KDSK-FM (92.7 MHz) is a radio station based in Grants, New Mexico, (population about 10,000), the county seat of Cibola County in western New Mexico. KD Radio Incorporated (KD Radio) purchased KDSK-FM in January 2001. Having had much success wi ...
(92.7
MHz The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose expression in terms of SI base units is s−1, meaning that one he ...
) * KSFE (FM) (96.7
MHz The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose expression in terms of SI base units is s−1, meaning that one he ...
) *
KMIN KMIN (980 AM) is a radio station broadcasting a country music format that is licensed to Grants, New Mexico, United States. The station is owned by KD Radio, Inc. Station history KMIN signed on the air in July 1956 as the first radio station l ...
(980
kHz The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose expression in terms of SI base units is s−1, meaning that on ...
)


Television

*
KOB-TV KOB (channel 4) is a television station in Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States, affiliated with NBC. It is owned by Hubbard Broadcasting, whose sister cable channel Reelz is also based in Albuquerque (KOB and Reelz, however, maintain separate ...
(4) (NBC affiliate) *
KOAT KOAT-TV (channel 7) is a television station in Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States, affiliated with ABC. Owned by Hearst Television, the station maintains studios on Carlisle Boulevard in Northeast Albuquerque, and its transmitter is locate ...
(7) (ABC affiliate) * 7 Cities (10) *
KRQE KRQE (channel 13) is a television station in Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States, affiliated with CBS and Fox. Owned by Nexstar Media Group, it is sister to Santa Fe–licensed ''de facto'' CW owned-and-operated station KWBQ (channel 19) an ...
(13) (CBS affiliate)


Print

* Cibola Citizen (formerly Cibola Beacon) * Gallup Independent


Online media

* TheRacingExperts.com


Notable people

*
Greg Baldwin Greg Baldwin is an American voice actor. Career Baldwin has worked in the theater extensively as Sidney Lipton in ''God's Favorite'', Mushnik in ''Little Shop of Horrors'', Dr. Zubritsky in Neil Simon's ''Fools'', Count Otto Von Bruno in ''Bullsh ...
(born 1960), actor and voice actor * Joseph Fidel (1923–2015), member of the
New Mexico Senate The New Mexico Senate ( es, Senado de Nuevo México) is the upper house of the New Mexico State Legislature. The Senate consists of 42 members, with each senator representing an equal number of single-member constituent districts across the stat ...
* George Hanosh (1938–2008), member of the
New Mexico House of Representatives ) is the lower house of the New Mexico State Legislature. There are 70 members of the House. Each member represents roughly 25,980 residents of New Mexico. The most recent elections were held on November 3, 2020. Composition Leadership Cu ...
* Al Johnson (1922–2011), NFL player for the
Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team plays ...
and coach for
Western New Mexico University Western New Mexico University is a public university in Silver City, New Mexico. It was founded in 1893. History Founded in the Territory of New Mexico on February 11, 1893 as the New Mexico Normal School, the school began to offer classes on S ...
* Walter K. Martinez (1930–1986), member and speaker of the New Mexico House of Representatives * W. Ken Martinez (born 1959), member and speaker of the New Mexico House of Representatives * Paddy Martinez (1881–1969), prospector who discovered
uranium Uranium is a chemical element with the symbol U and atomic number 92. It is a silvery-grey metal in the actinide series of the periodic table. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons. Uranium is weak ...
at Haystack Mesa *
Dianna Ortiz Dianna Mae Ortiz (September 2, 1958 – February 19, 2021) was an American Roman Catholic sister of the Ursuline order. While serving as a missionary in Guatemala, she was abducted on November 2, 1989, by members of the Guatemalan military, det ...
(born 1961),
Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
sister A sister is a woman or a girl who shares one or more parents with another individual; a female sibling. The male counterpart is a brother. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to refer to ...
of the Ursuline order who was abducted by the Guatemalan military * Clemente Sanchez (born 1958), member of the New Mexico Senate *
Marvin Stephens Marvin R. Stephens (March 23, 1922 - May 22, 2008) was an American film actor.Dwyer p.225 A child actor, his first Hollywood roles were in the Mickey McGuire films. Stephens then played the recurring role of Tommy McGuire in Twentieth Century Fo ...
(1922–2008), actor known for the ''Mickey McGuire'' and
Jones Family The Jones Family film series is seventeen 20th Century Fox second feature family comedies produced between 1936 and 1940. Somewhat similar to the mildly comic tone of MGM's '' Andy Hardy'' and Columbia Pictures '' Blondie'' films, the Joneses st ...
film series * David Ulibarri, former member of the New Mexico Senate and
Cibola County Cibola County is a county in the U.S. state of New Mexico. As of the 2010 census, the population was 27,213. Its county seat is Grants. It is New Mexico's youngest county, and the third youngest county in the United States, created on June 19, ...
manager * Jack Wallace (1925–1995), NFL player and coach


Popular culture

* Author
Robison Wells Robison Wells (born April 4, 1978) is an American novelist and blogger. Personal life Robison Wells, the brother of author Dan Wells, was a reluctant reader as a child. He did not become interested in writing until he was in college. He gradu ...
has stated in his novel ''On Second Thought'' that the fictional town of Alamitos is based on Grants, which is the historical name before it was renamed after the mining camp. Wells lived in Grants during the late-1990s. *Grants is mentioned as a central location in the
Louis L'Amour Louis Dearborn L'Amour (; né LaMoore; March 22, 1908 – June 10, 1988) was an American novelist and short story writer. His books consisted primarily of Western novels (though he called his work "frontier stories"); however, he also wrote hi ...
novel ''Flint.''


References


External links


City of Grants official website
* {{authority control Cities in Cibola County, New Mexico Cities in New Mexico County seats in New Mexico Micropolitan areas of New Mexico Mining communities in New Mexico