Belen dates to 1740, and 4 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 80% of U.S. towns · #7 of 73 in New Mexico. What drives it
Most of Belen was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1979. Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1909 on, and the census since 1920.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1865.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Belen’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Belen is more historic than 80% of U.S. towns, #7 of 73 in New Mexico. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Belen’s overall grade.
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 Belen’s 6.7 sits above most of its state (71% of New Mexico towns have fewer) while its 5 historic buildings outnumber those of 70% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1740.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.7 points).
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 Belen’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Belén was founded in 1740 as Nuestra Señora de Belén (Our Lady of Bethlehem) by a group of colonists led by Diego Torres and Antonio Salazar, who had received permission to settle the tract of land known as the Belén Grant. The early settlers in the Belén grant included several genízaro families. The genízaros, Native Americans with origins as slaves and servants of colonists, were important in the frontier defense of New Mexico. For the genízaros, relocation to Belén and other frontier settlements was a means of acquiring land. Their settlement in Belén was established to protect the southern border of the colony from Apache raiders. Belén was the first of what would be many genízaro settlements, and by 1744, 40 families were in residence. Spanish and mestizo families also settled in Belén.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
In 1740, according to Wikidata. Belen’s post office opened in 1865, and the census of 1920 counted 1,306 people here.
How does Belen rank for history?
Belen is more historic than 80% of U.S. towns, #7 of 73 in New Mexico. 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.
What is on the National Register in Belen?
4 listings: 4 buildings, among them the Felipe Chaves House (listed 1980, the first). 5 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Belen?
7% of Belen’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.7 points), against a typical 2.3% for a New Mexico town; the median home was built in 1979.
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 the Library of Congress (4), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (4), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
1943
1943
