Most of Ohkay Owingeh was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1982. Below: 4 old photos and papers and maps from 1953 on.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Ohkay Owingeh is more historic than 75% of U.S. towns. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Ohkay Owingeh’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 Ohkay Owingeh’s 8.4 sits above most of its state (71% of New Mexico towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1540.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B− to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.8 points).
Founding year: Wikidata (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 Ohkay Owingeh’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The pueblo was founded around 1200 AD during the Pueblo III Era. By tradition, the Tewa people moved here from the north, perhaps from the San Luis Valley of southern Colorado, part of a great migration extending into the Pueblo IV Era.
In March 1598, conquistador Oñate traveled north from Nueva Galicia accompanied by a caravan of Catholic missionaries, a thousand soldiers, colonists, and Tlaxcalans. The expedition included cattle, sheep, goats, oxen, and horses, and arrived at Yúngéh (place of the mockingbird) in present-day Ohkay Owingeh on July 11, 1598.
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.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Ohkay Owingeh. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1953San Juan Pueblo 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 Ohkay Owingeh.
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.
Retake this viewCEX D392 The Tewa pueblo of Ohke or, San Juan, 1896
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Ohkay Owingeh’s page.
In 1540, according to Wikidata. Ohkay Owingeh’s post office opened in 1870.
How does Ohkay Owingeh rank for history?
Ohkay Owingeh is more historic than 75% of U.S. towns. 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 Ohkay Owingeh?
One place: the San Juan Pueblo (listed 1974).
How old are the homes in Ohkay Owingeh?
7% of Ohkay Owingeh’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.8 points), against a typical 2.3% for a New Mexico town; the median home was built in 1982.
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 (6), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.
1897–1924
1897–1924
2009
2009
