San Rafael is a

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 ...

(CDP) in Cibola 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 ...

, United States. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 933. Also known as "Bikyaya" or "El Gallo", it lies at an elevation of above sea level and is located in north-central Cibola County at (35.1125386, -107.8825580).

New Mexico State Road 53 State Road 53 (NM 53) is a state highway in the US state of New Mexico. Its total length is approximately . NM 53's western terminus is a continuation as Arizona State Route 61 (AZ 61) at the Arizona border west-southwest of Zun ...

passes through the community, leading north to

Interstate 40 Interstate 40 (I-40) is a major east–west transcontinental Interstate Highway System, Interstate Highway in the Southeastern United States, southeastern and Southwestern United States, southwestern portions of the United States. At a leng ...

and to the center of

Grants Grant or Grants may refer to: People * Grant (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Grant (surname), including a list of people and fictional characters ** Ulysses S. Grant (1822–1885), the 18th president of the U ...

, the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

. An 1850 U.S. Army map shows a ''Hay Camp'' near San Rafael.

Fort Wingate Fort Wingate was a military installation near Gallup, New Mexico, United States. There were two other locations in New Mexico called Fort Wingate: Seboyeta, New Mexico, Seboyeta (1849–1862) and San Rafael, New Mexico, San Rafael (1862–1868 ...

was established (moved from Seboyeta, New Mexico) by Lt. Colonel J. Francisco Chavez, 1st New Mexico Infantry under the orders of General

Edward Canby Edward Richard Sprigg Canby (November 9, 1817 – April 11, 1873) was a career United States Army officer and a Union general in the American Civil War. He served as a military governor after the war. In 1861–1862, Canby commanded the Depart ...

in 1862. It was located near a large spring and designed to house four companies of troops. Colonel

Kit Carson Christopher Houston Carson (December 24, 1809 – May 23, 1868) was an American frontiersman, fur trapper, wilderness guide, Indian agent and United States Army, U.S. Army officer. He became an American frontier legend in his own lifetime ...

and four companies of New Mexico Volunteers used this fort. Carson was ordered by General Carleton to round up first the

Mescalero Apache Mescalero or Mescalero Apache () is an Apache tribe of Southern Athabaskan languages, Southern Athabaskan–speaking Native Americans in the United States, Native Americans. The tribe is federally recognized as the Mescalero Apache Tribe of the M ...

, then the

Navajo The Navajo or Diné are an Indigenous people of the Southwestern United States. Their traditional language is Diné bizaad, a Southern Athabascan language. The states with the largest Diné populations are Arizona (140,263) and New Mexico (1 ...

and send them to

Bosque Redondo Fort Sumner was a military fort in New Mexico Territory charged with the internment of Navajo and Mescalero Apache populations from 1863 to 1868 at nearby Bosque Redondo. History On October 31, 1862, Congress authorized the construction of ...

. San Rafael was a stop on the Navajo's journey to and from

Fort Sumner Fort Sumner was a Fortification, military fort in New Mexico Territory charged with the internment of Navajo and Mescalero, Mescalero Apache populations from 1863 to 1868 at nearby Bosque Redondo. History On October 31, 1862, Congress of the ...

. In 1868 the garrison and name of the fort was transferred to the former site of Fort Lyon, near Gallup.Fort Wingate
NewMexicoHistory.org

Demographics

References

Census-designated places in New Mexico Census-designated places in Cibola County, New Mexico {{NewMexico-geo-stub

Demographics

See also

References