Los Lunas’ post office opened in 1855, and 4 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 35% of U.S. towns · #33 of 73 in New Mexico. What drives it
Most of Los Lunas was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1998. Below: 5 old photos and papers, maps from 1952 on, and the census since 1880.
The Los Lunas post office opened in 1855, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Sandia (1892), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 876 in 18802020 census: 17,242171 years
How historic is Los Lunas?
C
More historic than 35% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Los Lunas post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Los Lunas’ History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Los Lunas is more historic than 35% of U.S. towns, #33 of 73 in New Mexico. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Los Lunas’ overall grade.
New Mexico towns list about as much on the Register as the country (a typical New Mexico town has 2.2 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Los Lunas’ 2.1 sits near the middle of its state (61% of New Mexico towns have fewer) while its 4 listings outnumber those of 68% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to B−. The pre-1940 share (±1.2 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Los Lunas’ past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The original land grant was made to Don Adrian Luna Candelaria in 1716, but within two years it was given to the Luna family. Some Civil War battles were fought near the village. Los Lunas became the county seat in 1876 and became an incorporated village in 1928. The Los Lunas Decalogue Stone is located nearby.
A United States Army Air Forces bombing range, used by elements of the 509th Bomb Wing out of Kirtland Army Air Field, later Kirtland Air Force Base, was located here during and after World War II.
Los Lunas and its surrounding communities were impacted by the Desert Willow Complex Fire, which burned multiple homes in the Carson Park district as well as injuring over a dozen people.
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.
The Los Lunas post office opened in 1855, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Los Lunas rank for history?
Los Lunas is more historic than 35% of U.S. towns, #33 of 73 in New Mexico. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
What is on the National Register in Los Lunas?
4 listings: 4 buildings, among them the Tranquilino Luna House (listed 1975, the first).
How old are the homes in Los Lunas?
2% of Los Lunas’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.2 points), against a typical 2.3% for a New Mexico town; the median home was built in 1998.
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).
From Wikimedia Commons (12), the Library of Congress (7), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (4), Wikipedia, 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.
1943
1985
2025
2023
2023
2021
2021
2021
2021
2020
2018
2013
2013
2011
2007
2004
