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History · Pastura

Pastura dates to 1901

Below: maps from 1978 on.

1901founded
0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
1famous people
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Quick answers

How Pastura began

When was Pastura founded?

1901

Pastura dates its founding to 1901 (Wikipedia’s history). Its post office opened in 1903.

2020 census: 17125 years
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1903.The full story ↓

What stands out about Pastura’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 Pastura are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
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Start Pastura’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Pastura’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

How Pastura came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Pastura.

Read it all →

It was established in 1901 as a watering spot for steam trains on the Southern Pacific Railroad. In 1903 the US Postal Service built a post office in Pastura in response to its growth, and in 1907, the Southern Pacific Railroad built a 142-mile (229 km) wooden pipeline from the Sierra Blanca mountain range to Pastura.

The small town began to decline when it was bypassed by Route 66, which passed 20 miles (32 km) to the north. When the steam locomotives were replaced by diesel locomotives in the 1940s, the railroad no longer needed to use Pastura as a watering stop, and the town declined even further. Today the area is a small farming community.

The Chicano author Rudolfo Anaya was born in Pastura in 1937.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Pastura, 1901 to 1978

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1901
    FoundingPastura is established
  3. 1903Post officeThe Pastura post office opens
  4. 1937Born hereRudolfo Anaya is born here
  5. 1960Post officeThe Pastura post office closes
  6. 1978On 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

Pastura on the map, 1978 to 1984

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

Pastura on the 1978 USGS mapPastura on the 1984 USGS map1978Pastura 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 Pastura.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices and places now gone

Pastura had its own post office from 1903 to 1960.

Pastura
1903–1960
19001960today
Gone or out of use
Pastura Post Officepost office

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

Questions about Pastura’s history

What year was Pastura founded?

In 1901, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Pastura’s post office opened in 1903.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

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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 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.