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A−History
History · Bernalillo

Bernalillo dates to 1698, and 3 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 78% of U.S. towns · #8 of 73 in New Mexico. What drives it

Most of Bernalillo was built recently: 4% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1992. 3 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 13 buildings. Below: maps from 1954 on and the census since 1880.

1698founded
3on the National Register
4%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Bernalillo began

When was Bernalillo founded?

1698

Bernalillo dates its founding to 1698 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 1,223 in 18802020 census: 8,977328 years

How historic is Bernalillo?

A−

More historic than 78% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1855.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Bernalillo’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Bernalillo is more historic than 78% of U.S. towns, #8 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 Bernalillo’s overall grade.
Founding era1698, from Wikidata: founded before 1776, an older era than 96% of U.S. townsA+Homes built before 19404.0% of homes (±1.5) · typical NM town 2.3% · U.S. 8.4%CNational Register3 listings, 15 historic buildings, 16.5 per 10,000 residents · typical NM town 2.2 · U.S. 2.4A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 78%
NewerOlder
New Mexico towns of 2,500+ (73)Ahead of 90%

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 Bernalillo’s 16.5 sits above most of its state (78% of New Mexico towns have fewer) while its 15 historic buildings outnumber those of 78% of U.S. towns.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1698.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B− to A+. The pre-1940 share (±1.5 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 Bernalillo’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 Bernalillo are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Older than the countryEstablished in 1698, 78 years before the Declaration of Independence.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Bernalillo’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Timeline

Bernalillo, 1698 to 1954

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

  1. 17th century
  2. 1698
    FoundingBernalillo is established
  3. 19th century
  4. 1852Born herePedro Perea is born here
  5. 1855Post officeThe Bernalillo post office opens
  6. 1857BuiltOur Lady of Sorrows Church is built
  7. 20th century
  8. 1935BuiltRoosevelt School is built
  9. 1954On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
The story

How Bernalillo came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Bernalillo.

Read it all →

Bernalillo is one of the oldest European-founded communities in New Mexico. The area had been occupied for centuries by indigenous Pueblo peoples before Spanish resettlement in the late 17th century. Following the Spanish reconquest of New Mexico, Governor Diego de Vargas founded the settlement of Bernalillo in 1695, and the community developed along the Rio Grande as part of the colonial corridor associated with El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro. Bernalillo later grew from a series of riverfront haciendas into a regional trading center linking nearby Pueblo communities and Hispanic settlers.

ChaptersWine Festival

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Bernalillo, decade by decade

Today17 recent
20130425-FNS-RBN-6236201320130425-FNS-RBN-623620130425-FNS-RBN-6216201320130425-FNS-RBN-621620130424-FNS-RBN-6212201320130424-FNS-RBN-621220130424-FNS-RBN-6208201320130424-FNS-RBN-620820130424-FNS-RBN-6180201320130424-FNS-RBN-618020130424-FNS-RBN-6171201320130424-FNS-RBN-617120130424-FNS-RBN-6170201320130424-FNS-RBN-617020130424-FNS-RBN-6161201320130424-FNS-RBN-616120130424-FNS-RBN-6159201320130424-FNS-RBN-615920130424-FNS-RBN-6157201320130424-FNS-RBN-615720130424-FNS-RBN-6142201320130424-FNS-RBN-614220130424-FNS-RBN-6137 Food and Nutrition Service-Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR)-Marketing Ini…201320130424-FNS-RBN-6137 Food and Nutrition Service-Food…20130424-FNS-RBN-6133201320130424-FNS-RBN-613320130424-FNS-RBN-6117201320130424-FNS-RBN-611720130423-FNS-RBN-6092201320130423-FNS-RBN-6092Bernalillo map2007Bernalillo mapMapNMMap-doton-Bernalillo2004NMMap-doton-Bernalillo
On the map

Bernalillo on the map, 1954 to 2006

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

Bernalillo on the 1954 USGS mapBernalillo on the 1972 USGS mapBernalillo on the 1990 USGS mapBernalillo on the 2006 USGS map1954Bernalillo 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 Bernalillo.

On the National Register

3 listings protect 15 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
3
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
15
each building in a district counts
first listed
1977
Our Lady of Sorrows Church
Our Lady of Sorrows Church, built 1857Roosevelt School, built 1935Abenicio Salazar Historic District
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Spanish Pueblo Revival1
Classical Revival1
Territorial Style1
Our Lady of Sorrows ChurchBuilt 1857
Roosevelt SchoolSpanish Pueblo Revival · Built 1935
All 3 listings
Abenicio Salazar Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1980

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Bernalillo, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00010,000188019001920194019601980200020208,977

Grew from 1,223 people in 1880 to 8,977 in 2020, 7 times over.

9 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Old corners and burying grounds

Bernalillo’s post office has been open since 1855.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Las Cocinitas
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Bernalillo
BernalilloOur Lady of Sorrows

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

PlacitasIts storyDSanta Ana PuebloIts storyDRio RanchoIts storyD−

Questions about Bernalillo’s history

What year was Bernalillo founded?

In 1698, according to Wikidata. Bernalillo’s post office opened in 1855, and the census of 1880 counted 1,223 people here.

How does Bernalillo rank for history?

Bernalillo is more historic than 78% of U.S. towns, #8 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 Bernalillo?

Three places: the Our Lady of Sorrows Church (listed 1977), the Roosevelt School (1996) and the Abenicio Salazar Historic District (1980).

How old are the homes in Bernalillo?

4% of Bernalillo’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.5 points), against a typical 2.3% for a New Mexico town; the median home was built in 1992.

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 (17), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (3), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.