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History · Encino

Encino’s post office opened in 1904, and 24% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 10 old photos and papers, maps from 1978 on, and the census since 1940.

1904first post office
0on the National Register
24%homes built before 1940
10old photos & papers
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Encino’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Encino began

When was Encino founded?

1904

The Encino post office opened in 1904, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 652 in 19402020 census: 51122 years
Founding year: the first Encino post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
The story so far

Encino, in brief

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

Encino is a village in Torrance County, New Mexico, United States. The population was 51 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Albuquerque Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Its first post office opened in 1904. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 82 to 51 (-38%).

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

Timeline

Encino, 1904 to 1978

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1904Post officeThe Encino post office opens
  3. 1937Born hereLarry Larrañaga is born here
  4. 1939In the archivePassing a section house along the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe railroad
  5. 1943In the archivePassing a section house along the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe railroad1a34731v
  6. 1978On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Encino, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1930s to the 1940s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1930s–1940s10 items
Passing a section house along the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe railroad1939Passing a section house along the Atchison, Topeka, a…Passing a section house along the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe railroad1a34731v1943Passing a section house along the Atchison, Topeka, a…Encino (vicinity), New Mexico. Landscape along the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad enroute to Belen, New Mexico1943Encino (vicinity), New Mexico. Landscape along the At…Encino, New Mexico. Passing through the town on the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad between Vaughn and Belen, Ne…1943Encino, New Mexico. Passing through the town on the A…Encino, New Mexico. Passing through the town on the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad between Vaughn and Belen, Ne…1943Encino, New Mexico. Passing through the town on the A…Encino, New Mexico. Passing through the town on the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad between Vaughn and Belen, Ne…1943Encino, New Mexico. Passing through the town on the A…Encino, New Mexico. Sheep and cattle ranch along the Atchison, Topeka and Sata Fe Railroad between Vaughn and Belen, Ne…1943Encino, New Mexico. Sheep and cattle ranch along the …Encino, New Mexico. Passing a section house along the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad between Vaughn and Belen, …1943Encino, New Mexico. Passing a section house along the…Untitled photo, possibly related to: Encino, New Mexico. Passing a section house along the Atchison, Topeka and Santa F…1943Untitled photo, possibly related to: Encino, New Mexi…Encino (vicinity), New Mexico. Passing a section house along the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroad1943Encino (vicinity), New Mexico. Passing a section hous…
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
Today2 recent
Doors2012DoorsNMMap-doton-Encino2004NMMap-doton-Encino
On the map

Encino on the map, 1978 to 1984

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

Encino on the 1978 USGS mapEncino on the 1984 USGS map1978Encino 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 Encino.

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.

Passing a section house along the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe railroad
Retake this viewPassing a section house along the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe railroad, 1939

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Encino, census by census

010020030040050060070019401960198020002020Peak: 652

Between 51 and 652 people in every census since 1940.

9 censuses, 1940–2020.

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

Help out

Finish Encino’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 viewPassing a section house along the Atchi…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Questions about Encino’s history

What year was Encino founded?

The Encino post office opened in 1904, 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 (3), the Library of Congress (9), Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.