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History · La Jara

La Jara’s post office opened in 1911, and 31% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1940 on.

1911first post office
0on the National Register
31%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How La Jara began

When was La Jara founded?

1911

The La Jara post office opened in 1911, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 177115 years
Founding year: the first La Jara post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about La Jara’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 La Jara are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
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Start La Jara’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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The story so far

La Jara, in brief

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

La Jara is a census-designated place (CDP) in Sandoval County, New Mexico, United States. As of the 2020 census, La Jara had a population of 177. It is part of the Albuquerque Metropolitan Statistical Area .

Its first post office opened in 1911. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 207 to 177 (-14%).

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

By decade

La Jara, decade by decade

Today1 recent
NMMap-doton-LaJara2004NMMap-doton-LaJara
On the map

La Jara on the map, 1940 to 2002

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

La Jara on the 1940 USGS mapLa Jara on the 1963 USGS mapLa Jara on the 2002 USGS map1940Cuba sheet · 1:62,500

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

Places that used to be

Old corners and burying grounds

La Jara’s post office has been open since 1911.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Upper La Jara
1cemetery inside La Jara
La Jara

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

Questions about La Jara’s history

What year was La Jara founded?

The La Jara post office opened in 1911, 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 →
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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 (1), 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.