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History · Pinon

Pinon’s post office opened in 1907

Below: maps from 1965 on.

1907first post office
0on the National Register
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Quick answers

How Pinon began

When was Pinon founded?

1907

The Pinon post office opened in 1907, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 24119 years
Founding year: the first Pinon post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

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

Start Pinon’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Pinon’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 Pinon came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Pinon.

Read it all →

The area was originally settled by the agricultural and hunter gatherer Jornada Mogollon people, circa 200 CE, whose suzerainty ended with the influx of the Apache and other plains raiders in approximately 1450.

The community was named in 1907 by the local school teacher John W. Nations after the piñon pine trees in the area. The postoffice in Piñon opened in 1907. In 2014, Piñon was ranked as the most politically conservative town in New Mexico.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

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

Pinon on the map, 1965 to 2004

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

Pinon on the 1965 USGS mapPinon on the 1979 USGS mapPinon on the 2004 USGS map1965Pinon 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 Pinon.

Famous people

Famous people close to Pinon

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

See all →
Ronny CoxAmerican actor and musician · b. 1938
J
Jonathan HenryAmerican politician
Places that used to be

Old corners and burying grounds

Pinon’s post office has been open since 1907.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Piñon
1cemetery inside Pinon
Piñon

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

Questions about Pinon’s history

What year was Pinon founded?

The Pinon post office opened in 1907, 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 Wikipedia, 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.