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History · Pinos Altos

Pinos Altos’ post office opened in 1867, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

Most of Pinos Altos was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2004. 1 place in town is on the National Register, among them a historic district with 37 buildings. Below: 12 old photos and papers and maps from 1902 on.

1867first post office
1on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
12old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Pinos Altos’ archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Pinos Altos began

When was Pinos Altos founded?

1867

The Pinos Altos post office opened in 1867, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 225159 years
Founding year: the first Pinos Altos post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Pinos Altos’ past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A historic districtThe Pinos Altos Historic District takes in 37 historic buildings.A town in old photos12 old photos, postcards and papers, 1909–1940.
★ What stands out · On the National Register

1 listing protects 37 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
37
each building in a district counts
first listed
1984
Pinos Altos Historic District
Pinos Altos Historic District, built 1860
Districts

Architectural styles listings

Territorial1
All 1 listings
Pinos Altos Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1984

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

By decade

Pinos Altos, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1900s to the 1940s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s1 item
NM Silver City 1909 1250001909NM Silver City 1909 125000
1910s–1930snothing 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
1940s11 items
Gold mining rocker box1940Gold mining rocker boxPapago dry washer1940Papago dry washerGold prospector1940Gold prospectorPanning gold. Pinos Altos, New Mexico1940Panning gold. Pinos Altos, New MexicoProspector operating the papago. Pinos Altos, New Mexico1940Prospector operating the papago. Pinos Altos, New Mex…Eugene Davis panning gold. Pinos Altos, New Mexico1940Eugene Davis panning gold. Pinos Altos, New MexicoGold prospector at his diggings1940Gold prospector at his diggingsPinos Altos, New Mexico. Gold prospector working his diggings1940Pinos Altos, New Mexico. Gold prospector working his …Prospector with his milk goat1940Prospector with his milk goatGold prospector working his diggings. Pinos Altos, New Mexico1940Gold prospector working his diggings. Pinos Altos, Ne…Prospector working the sluice box. Pinos Altos, New Mexico1940Prospector working the sluice box. Pinos Altos, New M…
1950s–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
The story

How Pinos Altos came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Pinos Altos.

Read it all →

Originally named Birchville, after prospector and former outlaw, Robert H. Birch, one of three people who found the first gold, it later took the Spanish name Pinos Altos, meaning tall pines, because there were tall trees growing in the area. These were cut down as the town grew to a population of about 9,000 during the 1880s and 1890s before slowly being abandoned during the early 1900s. Today, many of the original buildings remain.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Pinos Altos, 1860 to 1964

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1860BuiltPinos Altos Historic District is built
  3. 1867Post officeThe Pinos Altos post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1909In the archiveNM Silver City 1909 125000
  6. 1940In the archiveGold mining rocker box
  7. 1947On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  8. 1964Post officeThe Pinos Altos post office closes
On the map

Pinos Altos on the map, 1947 to 1992

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

Pinos Altos on the 1947 USGS mapPinos Altos on the 1992 USGS map1947Fort Bayard 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 Pinos Altos.

Every building

Pinos Altos, building by building, 1902

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a sheet.

Pinos Altos fire insurance map, 1902, sheet 11902Sheet 1 of 1
Sheets
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

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.

NM Silver City 1909 125000
Retake this viewNM Silver City 1909 125000, 1909

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

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

Famous people close to Pinos Altos

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

See all →
Paul BenedictAmerican actor · b. 1938
Elisa QuintanaAmerican astronomer · b. 1973
James TenneyAmerican composer and music theorist · b. 1934
L
Leslie GravesAmerican actress · b. 1959
Karen ShepherdUnited States Congresswoman from Utah · b. 1940
Howie MoralesLieutenant Governor of New Mexico since 2019 · b. 1973
Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Pinos Altos had its own post office from 1867 to 1964.

Pinos Altos
1867–1964
18601940today

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

Help out

Finish Pinos Altos’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewNM Silver City 1909 125000: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Questions about Pinos Altos’ history

What year was Pinos Altos founded?

The Pinos Altos post office opened in 1867, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Pinos Altos?

One place: the Pinos Altos Historic District (listed 1984).

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 (3), the Library of Congress (9), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.