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History · Mesita

Half of Mesita’s homes were built after 1973

Most of Mesita was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1973. Below: 2 old photos and papers and maps from 1957 on.

0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Mesita’s archive · credits on each photo

What stands out about Mesita’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 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Mesita’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Mesita’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 viewAmtrak's westbound Southwest Limited, T…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story so far

Mesita, in brief

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

Mesita is a census-designated place (CDP) in Cibola County, New Mexico, United States. As of the 2020 census, Mesita had a population of 793.

Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 804 in 2010, 793 in 2020.

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

By decade

Mesita, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1980s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1980s2 items
Amtrak's westbound Southwest Limited, Train 3, at Marmon, NM in April 19831983Amtrak's westbound Southwest Limited, Train 3, at Mar…Amtrak's westbound Southwest Limited, Train 3, at Marmon, NM in April 19831983Amtrak's westbound Southwest Limited, Train 3, at Mar…
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
Today10 recent
A Wonderful Santa Fe Sunset Sequence by Roger Puta - 5 Photos2016A Wonderful Santa Fe Sunset Sequence by Roger Puta - …A Wonderful Santa Fe Sunset Sequence by Roger Puta - 5 Photos2016A Wonderful Santa Fe Sunset Sequence by Roger Puta - …A Wonderful Santa Fe Sunset Sequence by Roger Puta - 5 Photos2016A Wonderful Santa Fe Sunset Sequence by Roger Puta - …A Wonderful Santa Fe Sunset Sequence by Roger Puta - 5 Photos2016A Wonderful Santa Fe Sunset Sequence by Roger Puta - …A Wonderful Santa Fe Sunset Sequence by Roger Puta - 5 Photos2016A Wonderful Santa Fe Sunset Sequence by Roger Puta - …A Three Photo Sequence by Roger Puta2016A Three Photo Sequence by Roger PutaA Three Photo Sequence by Roger Puta2016A Three Photo Sequence by Roger PutaA Three Photo Sequence by Roger Puta2016A Three Photo Sequence by Roger Puta2013, View E Toward Mesita, NM. Mesita on Right Side of Image20132013, View E Toward Mesita, NM. Mesita on Right Side …NMMap-doton-Mesita2004NMMap-doton-Mesita
On the map

Mesita on the map, 1957 to 1971

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

Mesita on the 1957 USGS mapMesita on the 1971 USGS map1957Mesita 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 Mesita.

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.

Amtrak's westbound Southwest Limited, Train 3, at Marmon, NM in April 1983
Retake this viewAmtrak's westbound Southwest Limited, Train 3, at Marmon, NM in April 1983, 1983

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

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

Famous people close to Mesita

Nobody well known was born in Mesita itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
P
Paula Gunn AllenAmerican writer · b. 1939
Joe BacaAmerican politician · b. 1947
Adelina Otero-Warren1882-1965 , suffragist, politician, and author · b. 1881
G
Gloria CastilloAmerican actress · b. 1933
Art AragonAmerican boxer · b. 1927
M
Marvin StephensAmerican film actor · b. 1922
Places that used to be

Old corners and burying grounds

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

Hamlets and corners on the map
El RitoMarmon
1cemetery inside Mesita
Mesita

Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Questions about Mesita’s history

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 (12), 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.