On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Meadow Lake is more historic than 12% of U.S. towns, #50 of 73 in New Mexico. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
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HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Meadow Lake’s 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 Meadow Lake’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (28% of New Mexico towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.3 points).
Founding year: our sources. 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 Meadow Lake’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Meadow Lake yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Meadow Lake is a census-designated place (CDP) in Valencia County, New Mexico, United States. As of the 2020 census, Meadow Lake had a population of 4,573. It is part of the Albuquerque Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 4,708 to 4,573 (-3%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Meadow Lake’s history
How does Meadow Lake rank for history?
Meadow Lake is more historic than 12% of U.S. towns, #50 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.
How old are the homes in Meadow Lake?
2% of Meadow Lake’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.3 points), against a typical 2.3% for a New Mexico town; the median home was built in 1992.
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 (4), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps 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.
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