Dulce’s post office opened in 1892, and 1 of its places is on the National Register
More historic than 38% of U.S. towns · #29 of 73 in New Mexico. What drives it
Most of Dulce was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1992. 1 place in town is on the National Register, among them a historic district with 30 buildings. Below: maps from 1954 on.
Founding year: the first Dulce post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Dulce’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Dulce is more historic than 38% of U.S. towns, #29 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 Dulce’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 Dulce’s 93.2 sits above most of its state (92% of New Mexico towns have fewer) while its 30 historic buildings outnumber those of 82% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to B+. The pre-1940 share (±1.0 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). 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 Dulce’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Dulce was founded by the Gomez family as a ranching operation. The original name was "Agua Dulce," Spanish for sweet water because of the presence of natural springs that provided good drinking water for the people and their animals. The original homestead was founded in 1877 by Jose Eugenio Gomez. The Jicarilla Apache reservation was established in 1887 when the Apache people were forced into a reservation. The Gomez Ranch is currently kept under Manuel Gomez ownership, though surrounded by reservation land.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Dulce. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1954Aztec 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 Dulce.
Places that used to be
Old burying grounds
Dulce’s post office has been open since 1892.
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Dulce
GomezMartinezWirt
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Dulce’s history
What year was Dulce founded?
The Dulce post office opened in 1892, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Dulce rank for history?
Dulce is more historic than 38% of U.S. towns, #29 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 Dulce?
One place: the Jicarilla Apache Historic District (listed 1984).
How old are the homes in Dulce?
0.0% of Dulce’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.0 points), against a typical 2.3% for a New Mexico town; the median home was built in 1992.
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 (6), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, 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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