Española is a city primarily in Rio Arriba County, New Mexico, United States. A portion of the central and eastern section of the city is in Santa Fe County. Founded as a railroad village some distance from the old Indian town of San Juan de los Caballeros (now renamed

Ohkay Owingeh Ohkay Owingeh (, ), known by its Spanish name as San Juan Pueblo from 1598 to 2005, is a pueblo in Rio Arriba County, New Mexico. For statistical purposes, the United States Census Bureau has defined that community as a census-designated p ...

), it was named Española and officially incorporated in 1925. It has been called the first capital city in the United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was at 10,526. Española is within the Albuquerque–Santa Fe–Los Alamos combined statistical area. The city is home to Northern New Mexico College.

History

Etymology

Española was referred to as ''La Vega de los Vigiles'' ('the Vigils' Meadow') before the presence of railroads. ''La Española'' means 'Spanish woman', and folk history attributes the name to railroad construction workers who named the area after a woman who worked in a small restaurant in the area. In fact the name is a shortened form of ''Plaza Española'' ('Spanish town'), which likely was to differentiate it from the Tewa pueblo just to the south.

Spanish settlement

Tewa people have lived in the area since the 13th century. They built towns in the area, now called 'pueblos', four of which still exist: Ohkay Owingeh, Pojoaque, Santa Clara and San Ildefonso. The upper reaches of the Rio Grande region were explored by the Spanish in 1540. Don Juan de Oñate was the first to bring settlers here in 1598. His group stayed at Ohkay Owingeh for a time (calling the Tewa town San Juan de los Caballeros), before settling in an abandoned Tewa village which he renamed San Gabriel. San Gabriel, close to modern Española, can thus be seen as the first capital city founded by people of European racial descent in what is now the United States. Oñate arrived in the Española area on July 11, 1598, at the confluence of the Chama River and the Rio Grande, where he established a camp at a place then called Yunque-Yunque. Almost a century later, near the same region, Don Diego de Vargas established his villa at Santa Cruz.

Railroad era

Prior to the arrival from Antonito, Colorado of the

narrow gauge A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge (distance between the rails) narrower than . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with Minimum railw ...

Denver and Rio Grande Railroad in 1880, the hamlet on the west-side of the Rio Grande was known as La Vega de los Vigiles in reference to the Vigil family who initially settled that area. The earliest document found indicates that La Vegas de los Vigiles had been populated by 1751, over 100 years before the railroad's arrival. With the coming of the railroad the name of the hamlet was changed to Española. Until 1886, when it was extended to Santa Fe, Española was the terminus of the line. The Española station included an engine facility along with a roundhouse and

turntable A phonograph, later called a gramophone, and since the 1940s a record player, or more recently a turntable, is a device for the mechanical and analogue reproduction of sound. The sound vibration waveforms are recorded as corresponding phys ...

so it could service the locomotives. The facilities were built but torn down or no longer in use after six years; plans for the town had changed. Later popularly known as the "

Chili Line The Chili Line, officially known as the Santa Fe Branch, was a narrow-gauge branch of the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad (D&RGW). It ran from Antonito, Colorado, to Santa Fe, New Mexico. The Denver and Rio Grande Railway (D&RG) began ...

", this was part of an ambitious but unsuccessful proposal to connect

Denver Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

with

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

. The route extended into what today is the downtown Española area, and the railroad began selling lots in the area. Anglo merchants, mountain men, and settlers slowly filtered into Española. Frank Bond and his brother George, who were

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

emigrant Emigration is the act of leaving a resident country or place of residence with the intent to settle elsewhere (to permanently leave a country). Conversely, immigration describes the movement of people into one country from another (to permanentl ...

s, would later arrive in the city. Together they established the state's largest mercantile and a multi–million dollar wool empire. With them came economic growth and prominence. Española was the headquarters for all the Bond family interests which included over 12 businesses across New Mexico. Frank R. Frankenburger, a business man born in Fort Scott, Kansas, was the first "elected" mayor; he was elected in 1923. The first mayor who was chosen in "popularity" was Frank Bond, in 1907. In 1925 Española was incorporated as a city. As the population rose, there was a high demand for public education in the city. Española High School was established; it would be the largest school in the area for decades. The first high school in the area, however, was Santa Cruz High School. Two miles away from downtown Española, it opened in 1906 in the historic Santa Cruz area. Neither high school operates after a merger of school districts in 1975. The importance of the railroad began to lessen as minimal passenger traffic and low shipments forced the railroad to close in 1941, with the tracks removed the following year. Many locals would become unemployed and would follow the railroad to Santa Fe,

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 ...

and central

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

for jobs. Española's population would fall dramatically and many homes in the downtown became abandoned. Most of the locals who remained would turn to farming as a way of life. Many people saw Española as another failed railroad town. The city removed the railroad tracks and the train depot in the 1960s, and the railroads completely vanished.

Post-railroad

With the beginnings of

Manhattan Project The Manhattan Project was a research and development program undertaken during World War II to produce the first nuclear weapons. It was led by the United States in collaboration with the United Kingdom and Canada. From 1942 to 1946, the ...

in nearby Los Alamos, many locals eventually found jobs at the

Los Alamos National Laboratory Los Alamos National Laboratory (often shortened as Los Alamos and LANL) is one of the sixteen research and development Laboratory, laboratories of the United States Department of Energy National Laboratories, United States Department of Energy ...

(LANL). As much as nearly 9% of Española's population have been employed at LANL. In the 1980s, many historical buildings and homes of historical significance were torn down for

urban renewal Urban renewal (sometimes called urban regeneration in the United Kingdom and urban redevelopment in the United States) is a program of land redevelopment often used to address real or perceived urban decay. Urban renewal involves the clearing ...

. Española followed many other New Mexico cities in this trend, but in Española, it failed. More modern business began to move into town, but the growth of Española had now expanded east across the Rio Grande. Although several buildings of historical significance remain in downtown Española, many are unused or abandoned. Strip malls became visible in Española, the first being the 'Big Rock shopping center', founded by oil tycoon Roy Honstein. In the 1990s, a controversial plan to build a "plaza" and mission church where many historic buildings once stood was up for consideration. The city agreed to the plan, and locals supported the plaza. Although a plaza never existed in Española before the railroads, it was built to pay tribute to the Spanish culture in the area.

Recent history

Española Plaza, replica convento On September 18, 2008,

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

, then a candidate for president, visited Española for a rally at the city's New Plaza in the Main Street district.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the city has a total area of , with land and water, for a total of 0.83%. Española lies at an elevation of around with much variance. It is in a valley nestled between the Jemez and Sangre de Cristo mountain ranges, and the meeting point of three rivers, the

Rio Grande The Rio Grande ( or ) in the United States or the Río Bravo (del Norte) in Mexico (), also known as Tó Ba'áadi in Navajo language, Navajo, is one of the principal rivers (along with the Colorado River) in the Southwestern United States a ...

, the Rio Chama, and the Rio Santa Cruz.

Climate

Española has a borderline cool semi-arid climate (

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

''BSk'')/ cool desert climate (''BWk''). The main Española weather station is hotter and drier than nearby cities due to relatively lower altitude, lying over lower than Taos or county seat Tierra Amarilla. July is the hottest month, with an average high of . The highest recorded temperature was in 2003. The average coolest month is January at . The lowest recorded temperature was in 1971. The maximum average precipitation occurs in August with an average of .

Air quality

According to the 2011 annual report by the American Lung Association, the Santa Fe–Española CSA (metropolitan area) has the cleanest ozone layer in the country (ranked #1), cleanest area in the country for 24-hour particle pollution (ranked #1) and cleanest area in the country for annual particle pollution (ranked #2).

Demographics

2000 census

At the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 9,688 people, 5,751 households, and 4,569 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 5,107 housing units at an average density of 189.2/square kilometer (489.8/square mile). The racial makeup of the city was 67.55%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.58%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 2.86% Native American, 0.14% Asian, 0.06%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, 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 th ...

, 25.56% from other races, and 3.25% from two or more races. 84.38% of the population were

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race. There were 5,751 households, of which 35.6% had children under the age of eighteen living with them, 42.5% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 18.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.5% were non-families. 26.2% of all households were made up of single individuals, and 9.7% had someone living alone who was sixty-five years of age or older. The average household size was 2.56 and the average family size was 3.08. In the city, the population was spread out, with 27.8% under the age of 18, 9.7% from 18 to 24, 28.1% from 25 to 44, 22.1% from 45 to 64, and 12.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was thirty-four years. For every 100 females there were 95.3 males. For every 100 females aged eighteen and over, there were 94.6 males. The median income for a household in the city was $27,144, and the median income for a family was $32,255. Males had a median income of $25,558 versus $23,177 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the city was $14,303. 21.6% of the population and 16.5% of families 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 ...

. Out of the total population, 28.4% of those under the age of eighteen and 15.1% of those sixty-five and older were living below the poverty line.

2010 census

As of the census of 2010, there were 10,224 residing in the city. The racial makeup of the city was: *8.8%

(''alone'') *0.3% Black or African American *2.3% Native American *1.0% Asian *0.1% from other races *0.4%

Multiracial The term multiracial people refers to people who are mixed with two or more races (human categorization), races and the term multi-ethnic people refers to people who are of more than one ethnicity, ethnicities. A variety of terms have been used ...

(''two or more races'') *87.1% of the population were Hispanics or Latinos (''of any race'')

Economy

left, Presbyterian Hospital, 2013, after expansion The

is the largest employer in Española; it accounts for over 12% employment of residents. The education sector is the second largest employer, the Española Public Schools is the 16th largest school district in New Mexico. Recently, Northern New Mexico College has expanded its degree programs and made massive improvements to its campus, adding a new library and a new School of Education. Larger local businesses include Akal Securities Inc, a security company that employees over 500 people. Española has seen much commercial development on Riverside Drive, the city's secondary main road. Retail and eatery chains are anchors of a shopping square which came into the city in 1999. Other stores followed.

Plaza de Española

The fountain at Plaza de Española was designed as a replica of the

Alhambra The Alhambra (, ; ) is a palace and fortress complex located in Granada, Spain. It is one of the most famous monuments of Islamic architecture and one of the best-preserved palaces of the historic Muslim world, Islamic world. Additionally, the ...

. The plaza is home to the Convent Mission, administered by the Episcopal Church.

Telecommunications

Satview Broadband, headquartered in Reno, is the local cable television company. Due to a legal dispute with Jemez Mountains Electric Cooperative, Satview Broadband has suspended services in Española as of March 2016. The city is served by several satellite TV services and is served by

Windstream Communications Windstream Holdings, Inc., trading as Windstream Communications is a provider of voice and data network communications to businesses across the United States. Under the Kinetic brand, it offers broadband, phone and digital streaming TV services to ...

for telecom and broadband service.

Festivals and activities

Española's restaurants and convenience stores are popular with travelers between Santa Fe and northern communities, as well as with local people. The local fiestas are held in the summer to commemorate the Spanish colonization and introduction of Christian faith to the area. The fiestas include live

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 ...

and/or

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

, vendors and parades. There are many locations near Española that provide for outdoor activity such as hiking, biking, and river sports like rafting and kayaking. Nearby winter sports include skiing (downhill and cross-country) and snowboarding.

Parks and recreation

Recreational facilities

* Penny Roybal Garcia (Ranchitos) Aquatic Center * Richard L. Lucero Recreation Center

Major community parks

* Plaza de Española Park * Vietnam Veteran's Memorial Park * Ranchitos Park * Valdez Park (dedicated in memory of Española native Phil Valdez)

Government

The city of Española is run by a

mayor–council government A mayor–council government is a system of local government in which a mayor who is directly elected by the voters acts as chief executive, while a separately elected city council constitutes the legislative body. It is one of the two most comm ...

system under Strong-mayor form. The mayor and eight-member

city council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, borough counc ...

ors from their respected districts are elected to a four-year term, elections are constant every two years, with no term limits. The mayor appoints a

city manager A city manager is an official appointed as the administrative manager of a city in the council–manager form of city government. Local officials serving in this position are referred to as the chief executive officer (CEO) or chief administ ...

who supervises department heads, prepares the budget, and coordinates departments. Every two years during the organizational meeting, one council member is elected by a majority in the council to serve as ''mayor pro–tem'', usually a member from the party that is in control of the council.

Elected officials

List of mayors

: ''*Denotes Resignation''

Education

Public schools

The City of Española is a part of the Española Public Schools district, with six of its 14 schools being located within the city. ; Secondary schools * Española Valley High School *Carlos F. Vigil Middle School ;Elementary schools *Eutimio Tim Salazar III "Fairview" Elementary *James H. Rodriguez "Española" Elementary *Tony E. Quintana "Sombrillo" Elementary ;Kindergartens *Los Niños Kindergarten Center

Charter and tribal schools

*McCurdy Charter School K-12 *La Tierra Montesori School of the Arts and Sciences *Carinos de los Ninos Charter School There is a

Bureau of Indian Education The Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) is a division of the U.S. Department of the Interior under the Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs that directs and manages education functions. Formerly known as the Office of Indian Education Programs ...

(BIE)-affiliated tribal elementary school, Kha'p'o Community School, that has an Española address, though the school is actually in Santa Clara Pueblo.

Private schools

*Holy Cross Catholic School ( Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Santa Fe) *Victory Faith Christian Academy

College

* Northern New Mexico College

Library

Española Public Library is located inside the Richard Lucero Center at 313 North Paseo De Oñate. Its collection is about 50,000 items.

Cultural references

Española serves as the setting for the 2023

black comedy Black comedy, also known as black humor, bleak comedy, dark comedy, dark humor, gallows humor or morbid humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally ...

series The Curse, which among other themes explores

gentrification Gentrification is the process whereby the character of a neighborhood changes through the influx of more Wealth, affluent residents (the "gentry") and investment. There is no agreed-upon definition of gentrification. In public discourse, it has ...

of the area.

Notable People

Jack Aeby Jack W. Aeby (; August 16, 1923 – June 19, 2015) was an American environmental physicist most famous for having taken the only well-exposed Color photography, color photograph of the first detonation of a nuclear weapon on July 16, 1945, at the ...

, environmental physicist * Eppie Archuleta, weaver and textile artist * Frank Bond, Canadian businessman *

Jacobo de la Serna Jacobo de la Serna (born 1965 in Espanola, New Mexico, Espanola, New Mexico, USA) is a ceramic artist, Spanish Colonial scholar and painter. His work is exhibited in permanent collections around the United States. In 2009 de la Serna was selected f ...

, ceramic artist * Kenneth John Gonzales, attorney and judge * Robert B. Hall, geographer * Leo Jaramillo, member of the New Mexico Senate * Joseph Maestas, member of the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission * Joe Mondragon, jazz musician * Hari Jiwan Singh Khalsa, Sikh leader * Patricia D. Lopez, computer scientist * Richard Lucero, longest-serving mayor of Española * Roger Montoya, humanitarian, artist, former gymnast, and politician *Members of The Movin' Morfomen * Nora Naranjo Morse, artist and poet * Satya Rhodes-Conway, politician in

Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is the List of municipalities in Wisconsin by population, second-most populous city in the state, with a population of 269,840 at the 2020 Uni ...

* Raemer Schreiber, physicist * Harbhajan Singh Khalsa, founder of the 3HO movement, moved to Española * Debbie Rodella, New Mexico state legislator, was born in Española. * Scott Tipton, Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Colorado's 3rd district, was born in Española.

References

External links

City websiteChamber of Commerce
{{DEFAULTSORT:Espanola, New Mexico Cities in Rio Arriba County, New Mexico Cities in Santa Fe County, New Mexico Cities in New Mexico Micropolitan areas of New Mexico Populated places established in 1598 1598 establishments in New Spain New Mexico populated places on the Rio Grande