History · Angel Fire

Angel Fire dates to 1967

Among the newest of U.S. towns. What drives it

Most of Angel Fire was built recently: 0.2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1988. Below: maps from 1965 on and the census since 1990.

1967founded

0on the National Register

0.2%homes built before 1940

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Photo: Davishan99 · CC BY-SA 3.0

Quick answers

How Angel Fire began

When was Angel Fire founded?

1967

Angel Fire dates its founding to 1967 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1990.

First census: 93 in 19902020 census: 1,19259 years

How historic is Angel Fire?

D⁻

Among the newest of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓

Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1919.

History grade

What drives Angel Fire’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Angel Fire is among the newest of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

D⁻

HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Angel Fire’s overall grade.

Founding era1967, from Wikidata: founded 1945 or later, an older era than 2% of U.S. townsD⁻Homes built before 19400.2% of homes (±0.3) · typical NM town 2.3% · U.S. 8.4%D National RegisterNo listings counted · typical NM town 2.2 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C

All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Among the newest

NewerOlder

New Mexico towns list about as much on the Register as the country (a typical New Mexico town has 2.2 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Angel Fire’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (28% of New Mexico towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1967.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D− to D. The pre-1940 share (±0.3 points) is firm at this size.

Founding year: Wikidata (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Angel Fire’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Angel Fire are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.

★ What stands out · Help out

Start Angel Fire’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Angel Fire’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos

00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s

0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.

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The story so far

Angel Fire, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Angel Fire yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Angel Fire is a village in Colfax County, New Mexico, United States. The population was 1,192 at the 2020 census. Angel Fire Resort is a popular skiing and snowboarding destination, with over 500 acres (2.0 km2) of slopes. Angel Fire and nearby communities experience cold winter temperatures and mild temperatures in the summer. To the north, off of U.S. Route 64, is Vietnam Veterans Memorial State Park. Angel Fire is on the Enchanted Circle Scenic Byway.

Angel Fire was established in 1967. Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 1,216 in 2010, 1,192 in 2020.

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Angel Fire, 1919 to 1967

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

20th century
1919Post officeThe Agua Fria post office opens
1933Post officeThe Agua Fria post office closes
1965On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
1967
FoundingAngel Fire is established

On the map

Angel Fire on the map, 1965 to 1995

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Angel Fire. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

1965Palo Flechado Pass sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Angel Fire.

People over time

Angel Fire, census by census

Between 93 and 1,216 people in every census since 1990.

4 censuses, 1990–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Angel Fire’s Wikipedia page.

Famous people

Famous people close to Angel Fire

Nobody well known was born in Angel Fire itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →

Chiara AureliaAmerican actress · b. 2002

David HykesAmerican music therapist · b. 1953

Chief OurayUte chief · b. 1833

Agnes Morley CleavelandAmerican writer · b. 1874

Benigno C. HernándezAmerican politician · b. 1862

Ruthanna HopperAmerican writer · b. 1972

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and places now gone

Another post office, Agua Fria, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Hamlets and corners on the map

Agua Fria

Gone or out of use

Agua Fria Post Officepost office

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Questions about Angel Fire’s history

What year was Angel Fire founded?

In 1967, according to Wikidata. Angel Fire’s post office opened in 1919, and the census of 1990 counted 93 people here.

How does Angel Fire rank for history?

Angel Fire is among the newest of U.S. towns. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

How old are the homes in Angel Fire?

0.2% of Angel Fire’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 2.3% for a New Mexico town; the median home was built in 1988.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →

Start a conversation

Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

From Wikimedia Commons (30), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.

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