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History · Manzano

Manzano’s post office opened in 1876

Below: maps from 1954 on.

1876first post office
0on the National Register
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Quick answers

How Manzano began

When was Manzano founded?

1876

The Manzano post office opened in 1876, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Manzana (1871), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 26150 years
Founding year: the first Manzano post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Manzano’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 Manzano are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Manzano’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Manzano’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

Manzano, in brief

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

Manzano is a census-designated place (CDP) in Torrance County, New Mexico, United States. The population was 26 at the 2020 census. The Quarai Ruins of Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument are located near the town. The center of population of New Mexico is located in Manzano. Manzano is part of the Albuquerque, New Mexico, metropolitan statistical area. Manzano comes from the Spanish word for "apple tree."

Its first post office opened in 1876. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 29 to 26 (-10%).

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

Timeline

Manzano, 1871 to 1954

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1871Post officeThe Manzana post office opens
  3. 1872Post officeThe Manzana post office closes
  4. 1876Post officeThe Manzano post office opens
  5. 20th century
  6. 1919Post officeThe Manzano post office closes
  7. 1954On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

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On the map

Manzano on the map, 1954 to 1991

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

Manzano on the 1954 USGS mapManzano on the 1991 USGS map1954Torreon sheet · 1:24,000

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, places now gone and burying grounds

Manzano had its own post office from 1876 to 1919. Another post office, Manzana, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Manzana
1871–1872
Manzano
1876–1919
18701950today
Gone or out of use
Manzano Post Officepost office
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Manzano
ManzanoManzano ChurchyardManzano Hills

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

Questions about Manzano’s history

What year was Manzano founded?

The Manzano post office opened in 1876, 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 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.