Torreon is a farming communityPearce, T. M. (1965) "Torreon" ''New Mexico place names; a geographical dictionary'' University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque, NM, p. 168
OCLC 420847
/ref> and

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

Torrance County Torrance County is a county located in the center of the U.S. state of New Mexico. As of the 2020 census, the population was 15,045. The county seat is Estancia. The geographic center of New Mexico is located in Torrance County, southwest of ...

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. The population was 244 at the 2000 census. It is part of the

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 ...

Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Geography

Torreon is located on NM State Route 55 on the eastern slopes of the

Manzano Mountains The Manzano Mountains are a small mountain range in the central part of the U.S. state of New Mexico. They are oriented north–south and are 30 miles long. The center of the range lies due east of the town of Belen. The name "Manzano" is Sp ...

. 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 CDP has a total area of 8.3 square miles (21.5 km), all land.

History

Torreon is built on the site of an old Piro

pueblo Pueblo refers to the settlements of the Pueblo peoples, Native American tribes in the Southwestern United States, currently in New Mexico, Arizona, and Texas. The permanent communities, including some of the oldest continually occupied settlement ...

one of the more northern of the Salinas pueblos. The Piro site was occupied prior to the arrival of the Spanish in the 16th century, but became part of the Salinas District, a group of mission towns on the east side of the

. As the

Apache The Apache ( ) are several Southern Athabaskan language-speaking peoples of the Southwestern United States, Southwest, the Southern Plains and Northern Mexico. They are linguistically related to the Navajo. They migrated from the Athabascan ho ...

moved south along the edge of the

Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in great-circle distance, straight-line distance from the northernmost part of Western Can ...

in the mid-17th century these missions had to become more defensible. However, by 1677 the Torreon site had been abandoned. Torreon was resettled in the Spring of 1841 by Nino Antonio Montoya and twenty-six other farmers under a grant from the Prefect of the Central District of New Mexico. The Torreon Grant was named after the defensive towersTwitchell, Ralph Emerson (1911) ''The Leading Facts of New Mexican History'' Torch Press, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, p. 496OCLC 3828708
/ref> built at Manzano 6.6 miles to the south, and consisted of an area approximately three miles east–west by six miles north–south. Apache raids remained a serious problem until after the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

and the appointment of

Edward Hatch Edward Hatch (December 22, 1832 – April 11, 1889) was a career American soldier who served as a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War. After the war, he became the first commander of the 9th U.S. Cavalry Regiment, a buffalo ...

as New Mexico Military District commander.

Demographics

As of 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 244 people, 93 households, and 66 families residing in the CDP. The population density was . There were 139 housing units at an average density of 16.7 per square mile (6.5/km). The racial makeup of the CDP was 73.77%

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 ...

, 0.41% Native American, 0.82% Asian, 1.23%

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 ...

, 18.85% from other races, and 4.92% from two or more races.

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 were 68.85% of the population. There were 93 households, out of which 30.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.9% 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, 7.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.0% were non-families. 26.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.62 and the average family size was 3.23. In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 25.0% under the age of 18, 9.0% from 18 to 24, 20.1% from 25 to 44, 32.0% from 45 to 64, and 13.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 106.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 101.1 males. The median income for a household in the CDP was $36,250, and the median income for a family was $45,750. Males had a median income of $35,375 versus $12,188 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 CDP was $12,349. About 12.9% of families and 10.9% 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 ...

, including 13.4% of those under the age of eighteen and none of those 65 or over.

References

External links

{{authority control Census-designated places in Torrance County, New Mexico Census-designated places in New Mexico Albuquerque metropolitan area 1841 establishments in Mexico

Geography

History

Demographics

See also

References

External links