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History · Corona

Corona’s post office opened in 1902, and 30% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1954 on and the census since 1950.

1902first post office
0on the National Register
30%homes built before 1940
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Photo: AllenS · Public domain
Quick answers

How Corona began

When was Corona founded?

1902

The Corona post office opened in 1902, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1903.

First census: 530 in 19502020 census: 129124 years
Founding year: the first Corona post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1903.The full story ↓

What stands out about Corona’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 Corona are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Corona’s homes were built before 1953.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Corona’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Corona’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
The story

How Corona came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Corona.

Read it all →

Corona is the closest populated community to a purported UFO crash in 1947, approximately 30 miles (48 km) to the southeast. The rancher who found the crash first came to Corona to report it to a few residents, before going to Roswell to tell officials there.

The highest point on the route of the famed Golden State passenger train, operated by the Southern Pacific Railroad, was just south of Corona.

In 2004, Corona was the site of a 5,280 acres (21.4 km2) forest fire, begun when an unknown arsonist lit a pile of pine needles.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Corona, decade by decade

Today3 recent
Outside2010OutsideCorona, New Mexico2008Corona, New MexicoNMMap-doton-Corona2004NMMap-doton-Corona
On the map

Corona on the map, 1954 to 1980

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

Corona on the 1954 USGS mapCorona on the 1963 USGS mapCorona on the 1980 USGS map1954Fort Sumner sheet · 1:250,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Corona.

People over time

Corona, census by census

01002003004005001960198020002020Peak: 530

Between 129 and 530 people in every census since 1950.

8 censuses, 1950–2020.

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

Questions about Corona’s history

What year was Corona founded?

The Corona post office opened in 1902, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1903.

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 (3), Wikipedia, 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.