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History · Cochiti

Cochiti’s post office opened in 1907, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

Most of Cochiti was built recently: 5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1976. 1 place in town is on the National Register, among them a historic district with 53 buildings. Below: 8 old photos and papers and maps from 1953 on.

1907first post office
1on the National Register
5%homes built before 1940
8old photos & papers
3famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Cochiti’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Cochiti began

When was Cochiti founded?

1907

The Cochiti post office opened in 1907, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 479119 years
Founding year: the first Cochiti post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Cochiti’s past

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

A historic districtThe Cochiti Pueblo takes in 53 historic buildings.
★ What stands out · On the National Register

1 listing protects 53 historic buildings

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
53
each building in a district counts
first listed
1974
Cochiti Pueblo
Cochiti Pueblo
Districts
Cochiti PuebloDistrict

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

The story

How Cochiti came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Cochiti.

Read it all →

The Cochiti people are thought to be descended from the Ancestral Puebloans (formerly known as the Anasazi). The ancestors of the Cochiti people, living in cliff dwellings at Rito de los Frijoles in present-day Bandelier National Monument, divided into two groups. One was located in the pueblo of Katishtya (later called San Felipe pueblo) in the south and the other was located in Potrero Viejo, one of the finger mesas of the Pajarito Plateau in northern central New Mexico. Approximately 12 miles northwest of the present-day Cochiti Pueblo, a temporary pueblo known as Hanut Cochiti had been established.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Cochiti, 1871 to 1969

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1871In the archiveCochitea, New Mexico - DPLA - 85943d46f3a4cafb996e8001b70ea3fd (page 1)
  3. 1888In the archiveDance at Cochiti Pueblo) - W. Cal. Brown & Co
  4. 1896In the archiveCEX D360 The Keres pueblo of
  5. 20th century
  6. 1900In the archivepostcard, photographic print
  7. 1907Post officeThe Cochiti post office opens
  8. 1908Post officeThe Cochiti post office closes
  9. 1915Born hereHelen Cordero is born here
  10. 1921Born hereJoe Herrera is born here
  11. 1936In the archiveTodros Geller - From Land to Land - 1936 - Indian village Cochiti New Mexico - 0081
  12. 1953On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  13. 1969Born hereVirgil Ortiz is born here
By decade

Cochiti, decade by decade

5 decades in the archive, from the 1870s to the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1870s–1890s6 items
Cochitea, New Mexico - DPLA - 85943d46f3a4cafb996e8001b70ea3fd (page 1)1871Cochitea, New Mexico - DPLA - 85943d46f3a4cafb996e800…Cochitea, New Mexicoc. 1871Cochitea, New MexicoDance at Cochiti Pueblo) - W. Cal. Brown & Co1888Dance at Cochiti Pueblo) - W. Cal. Brown & CoCEX D360 The Keres pueblo of1896CEX D360 The Keres pueblo ofEstufa or Sacred Meeting Place, Pueblo1898Estufa or Sacred Meeting Place, PuebloPostcardOld Church, Pueblo of1898Old Church, Pueblo ofPostcard
1900s–1930s2 items
postcard, photographic print1900spostcard, photographic printPostcardTodros Geller - From Land to Land - 1936 - Indian village Cochiti New Mexico - 00811936Todros Geller - From Land to Land - 1936 - Indian vil…
1940s–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
Today4 recent
Tent Rocks, New Mexico 22009Tent Rocks, New Mexico 2Tent Rocks, New Mexico 12009Tent Rocks, New Mexico 1Cochiti Pueblo Ceremonial shield EthnM2009Cochiti Pueblo Ceremonial shield EthnMNMMap-doton-Cochiti2004NMMap-doton-Cochiti
On the map

Cochiti on the map, 1953 to 2002

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

Cochiti on the 1953 USGS mapCochiti on the 1977 USGS mapCochiti on the 2002 USGS map1953Santo Domingo Pueblo 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 Cochiti.

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.

Cochitea, New Mexico - DPLA - 85943d46f3a4cafb996e8001b70ea3fd (page 1)
Retake this viewCochitea, New Mexico - DPLA - 85943d46f3a4cafb996e8001b70ea3fd (page 1), 1871

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

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

3 famous people were born in Cochiti

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Helen CorderoAmerican artist · b. 1915
V
Virgil OrtizPotter, artist, fashion designer · b. 1969
J
Joe HerreraCochití painter · b. 1921
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and old corners

Cochiti had its own post office from 1907 to 1908.

Cochiti
1907–1908
19001960today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Cochiti Pueblo

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

Help out

Finish Cochiti’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewCochitea, New Mexico - DPLA - 85943d46f…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Questions about Cochiti’s history

What year was Cochiti founded?

The Cochiti post office opened in 1907, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Cochiti?

One place: the Cochiti Pueblo (listed 1974).

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 (12), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, 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.