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History · Laguna

Laguna dates to 1699, and 2 of its places are on the National Register

Most of Laguna was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1983. 2 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 101 buildings. Below: 3 old photos and papers from 1943 on.

1699founded
2on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
3old photos & papers
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Laguna’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Laguna began

When was Laguna founded?

1699

Laguna dates its founding to 1699 (Wikipedia’s history). Its post office opened in 1919.

2020 census: 1,282327 years
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1919.The full story ↓

What stands out about Laguna’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 3 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.A historic districtThe Laguna Pueblo takes in 101 historic buildings.Older than the countryEstablished in 1699, 77 years before the Declaration of Independence.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Laguna’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewA freight train stopping for coal and w…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the National Register

2 listings protect 102 historic buildings

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

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
102
each building in a district counts
first listed
1973
San Jose de la Laguna Mission and Convento
Laguna Pueblo, built 1699San Jose de la Laguna Mission and Convento
BuildingsDistricts
Laguna PuebloBuilt 1699
All 2 listings
San Jose de la Laguna Mission and ConventoBuilding · listed 1973

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

Timeline

Laguna, 1699 to 1943

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

  1. 17th century
  2. 1699
    FoundingLaguna is established
  3. 1699BuiltLaguna Pueblo is built
  4. 20th century
  5. 1919Post officeThe New Laguna post office opens
  6. 1925Born hereLee Marmon is born here
  7. 1943In the archiveA freight train stopping for coal and water at a siding enroute to Gallup1a34742v
The story

How Laguna came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Laguna.

Read it all →

The San Jose de la Laguna Mission and Convento, built starting in 1699, is in Laguna. It is extremely well-preserved, and has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1973.

Anton Docher, the "Padre of Isleta", served as a priest in Laguna during his long period in Isleta.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Laguna, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1940s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1940s3 items
A freight train stopping for coal and water at a siding enroute to Gallup1a34742v1943A freight train stopping for coal and water at a sidi…New-mexico-rez1943New-mexico-rezSanta Fe R.R. train stopping for coal and water1a34733v1943Santa Fe R.R. train stopping for coal and water1a3473…
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
Southwest Chief at Laguna, February 20202020Southwest Chief at Laguna, February 2020Laguna Mission and Village2010Laguna Mission and Village
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.

A freight train stopping for coal and water at a siding enroute to Gallup1a34742v
Retake this viewA freight train stopping for coal and water at a siding enroute to Gallup1a34742v, 1943

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

Retake this view · +15
Places that used to be

Old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.

Hamlets and corners on the map
New Laguna
Gone or out of use
Laguna Pueblo Pitmine
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Laguna
EckermanSan Jose

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

ParajeIts storyB−

Questions about Laguna’s history

What year was Laguna founded?

In 1699, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Laguna’s post office opened in 1919.

What is on the National Register in Laguna?

Two places: the Laguna Pueblo (listed 1973) and the San Jose de la Laguna Mission and Convento (1973).

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 (5), the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.