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History · Galisteo

Galisteo’s post office opened in 1893, and 53% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is the San Jose Hall. Below: 2 old photos and papers and maps from 1894 on.

1893first post office
1on the National Register
53%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Galisteo’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Galisteo began

When was Galisteo founded?

1893

The Galisteo post office opened in 1893, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Gallisteo (1876), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 253133 years
Founding year: the first Galisteo post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Galisteo’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 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18943 editions of the USGS map, 1894 to 1983. Watch Galisteo change.Old housesHalf of Galisteo’s homes were built before 1938.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Galisteo’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo2 archive items have no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewHouse: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Galisteo on the map, 1894 to 1983

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

Galisteo on the 1894 USGS mapGalisteo on the 1966 USGS mapGalisteo on the 1983 USGS map1894Lamy sheet · 1:125,000

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

The story so far

Galisteo, in brief

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

Galisteo is a census-designated place (CDP) in Santa Fe County, New Mexico, United States. It is part of the Santa Fe, New Mexico Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 253 at the 2020 census.

Its first post office opened in 1893. Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 253 in 2010, 253 in 2020.

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

Timeline

Galisteo, 1876 to 1959

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1876Post officeThe Gallisteo post office opens
  3. 1885Post officeThe Gallisteo post office closes
  4. 1893Post officeThe Galisteo post office opens
  5. 1894On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 20th century
  7. 1905BuiltSan Jose Hall is built
  8. 1910Born hereConcha Ortiz y Pino is born here
  9. 1959Post officeThe Galisteo post office closes
By decade

Galisteo, decade by decade

Date unknown2 to date
HouseDate?HouseLucero HouseDate?Lucero House
Today7 recent
Mailboxes in2011Mailboxes inGalisteo2011Galisteo1957 Ford Fairlane 50020111957 Ford Fairlane 500Time, with Ease2006Time, with EaseNuevo Mexico (Luz)2006Nuevo Mexico (Luz)For my Love2006For my LoveNMMap-doton-Galisteo2004NMMap-doton-Galisteo
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.

House
Retake this viewHouse

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Galisteo

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
2015
San Jose Hall
San Jose Hall, built 1905
Buildings
San Jose HallBuilt 1905

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, places now gone and burying grounds

Galisteo had its own post office from 1893 to 1959. Another post office, Gallisteo, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Gallisteo
1876–1885
Galisteo
1893–1959
18701950today
Gone or out of use
Galisteo Post Officepost office
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Galisteo
New GalisteoOld Galisteo

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

Questions about Galisteo’s history

What year was Galisteo founded?

The Galisteo post office opened in 1893, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Galisteo?

One place: the San Jose Hall (listed 2015).

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 (7), the Library of Congress (2), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.