Sacramental records for the pueblo church at Abiquiu, province of New Mexico, often referred to a settlement Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe de la Cueva. This hamlet probably served as the initial source of settlers that later formed the future village of La Cañada de La Madera approximately two miles due north of this site. At some point in time in the early 1900s, the name of the village of La Cueva was changed to Cañada de La Madera. The first US Post Office was established under the name of La Madera, rumored in order to accommodate postal authorities. The first postmaster, Elias Gallegos, was appointed on July 9, 1906. The post office was operated within the mercantile store that Elias Gallegos had previously built.
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 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.
