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History · Caballo

Caballo dates to 1908

Below: maps from 1961 on.

1908founded
0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Caballo began, and where its name came from

When was Caballo founded?

1908

Caballo dates its founding to 1908 (Wikipedia’s history). Its post office opened in 1916.

2020 census: 77118 years

How did Caballo get its name?

Caballo was named after the mountains to the east.

Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1916. Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

What stands out about Caballo’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 Caballo are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Caballo’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Caballo’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

Caballo, in brief

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

Caballo is a census-designated place in Sierra County, New Mexico, United States. As of the 2020 census, Caballo had a population of 77. Caballo has a post office with ZIP code 87931. The community is located along New Mexico State Road 187, north and south of Exit 63 on Interstate 25. Caballo was founded in 1908, when John Gordon and his extended family homesteaded here. It was named after the mountains to the east. A post office was established in 1916. In 1938, the Caballo Dam was constructed, creating a lake which forced residents to re-establish the community to the west. The lake is host to Caballo Lake State Park.

Caballo was established in 1908. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 112 to 77 (-31%).

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

Timeline

Caballo, 1908 to 1961

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1908
    FoundingCaballo is established
  3. 1916Post officeThe Caballo post office opens
  4. 1961On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

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On the map

Caballo on the map, 1961 to 1996

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

Caballo on the 1961 USGS mapCaballo on the 1980 USGS mapCaballo on the 1996 USGS map1961Caballo 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 Caballo.

Famous people

Famous people close to Caballo

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

See all →
F
Freddie BrownAmerican songwriter · b. 1940
M
Marty MartinAmerican politician · b. 1951

Questions about Caballo’s history

What year was Caballo founded?

In 1908, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Caballo’s post office opened in 1916.

Memory lane

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

Town Square →
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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). How TownRatings grades history →

From U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.