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History · Chilili

Chilili’s post office opened in 1882, and 37% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 3 old photos and papers and maps from 1954 on.

1882first post office
0on the National Register
37%homes built before 1940
3old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Chilili’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Chilili began

When was Chilili founded?

1882

The Chilili post office opened in 1882, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 126144 years
Founding year: the first Chilili post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Chilili’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 3 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Chilili’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewChilili, New Mexico: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story so far

Chilili, in brief

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

Chilili is a census-designated place in Bernalillo County, New Mexico, United States. As of the 2020 census, Chilili had a population of 126. It is part of the Albuquerque Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Its first post office opened in 1882. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 137 to 126 (-8%).

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

Timeline

Chilili, 1882 to 1954

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1882Post officeThe Chilili post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1937Post officeThe Chilili post office closes
  5. 1940In the archiveChilili, New Mexico
  6. 1954On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Chilili, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1940s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1940s3 items
Chilili, New Mexico1940Chilili, New MexicoChilili, New Mexico1940Chilili, New MexicoCharacter of farming country and distant view of Chilili. Bernalillo County, New Mexico1940Character of farming country and distant view of Chil…
1950s–1990snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
Today1 recent
NMMap-doton-Chilili2004NMMap-doton-Chilili
On the map

Chilili on the map, 1954 to 1991

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

Chilili on the 1954 USGS mapChilili on the 1991 USGS map1954Chilili 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 Chilili.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Chilili, New Mexico
Retake this viewChilili, New Mexico, 1940

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Chilili’s page.

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

Famous people close to Chilili

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

See all →
Bruce KingAmerican businessman and politician · b. 1924
Toney AnayaAmerican politician · b. 1941
Gary KingAmerican attorney and politician · b. 1954
Jason AndersonAmerican motorcycle racer · b. 1993
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, places now gone and burying grounds

Chilili had its own post office from 1882 to 1937.

Chilili
1882–1937
18801950today
Gone or out of use
Chilili Post Officepost office
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Chilili
ChililiSaint John Nepomucene

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

Questions about Chilili’s history

What year was Chilili founded?

The Chilili post office opened in 1882, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (2), the Library of Congress (2), 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.