On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Chaparral is more historic than 24% of U.S. towns, #40 of 73 in New Mexico. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Chaparral’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 Chaparral’s 1.6 sits near the middle of its state (60% of New Mexico towns have fewer) while its 3 historic buildings outnumber those of 65% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share (±0.4 points) is firm at this size.
Founding year: our sources. 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 Chaparral’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Chaparral yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Chaparral is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Doña Ana and Otero counties, New Mexico. The population was 16,551 at the 2020 census. Chaparral is primarily a bedroom community for the neighboring city of El Paso, Texas, and the neighboring military installations of White Sands Missile Range and Fort Bliss. It is officially part of the Las Cruces Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 14,631 to 16,551 (+13%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Chaparral, 1906 to 1940
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Places that used to be
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Another post office, Newman, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Hamlets and corners on the map
Newman
Gone or out of use
Newman Post Officepost office
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Chaparral
Desert ViewTompkins Family
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Chaparral’s history
How does Chaparral rank for history?
Chaparral is more historic than 24% of U.S. towns, #40 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 Chaparral?
One place: the Chope's Town Cafe and Bar (listed 2015).
How old are the homes in Chaparral?
0.0% of Chaparral’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 2.3% for a New Mexico town; the median home was built in 1994.
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 (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.
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