Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Rio Lucio

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
–Not graded
History · Rio Lucio

Rio Lucio’s post office opened in 1921

Most of Rio Lucio was built recently: 9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1979. Below: maps from 1964 on.

1921first post office
0on the National Register
9%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: MARELBU · CC BY 3.0
Quick answers

How Rio Lucio began

When was Rio Lucio founded?

1921

The Rio Lucio post office opened in 1921, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 303105 years
Founding year: the first Rio Lucio post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

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

Start Rio Lucio’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Rio Lucio’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story so far

Rio Lucio, in brief

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

Rio Lucio is a census-designated place (CDP) in Taos County, New Mexico, United States. As of the 2020 census, Rio Lucio had a population of 303.

Its first post office opened in 1921. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 389 to 303 (-22%).

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

Timeline

Rio Lucio, 1921 to 1964

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1921Post officeThe Rio Lucio post office opens
  3. 1922Post officeThe Rio Lucio post office closes
  4. 1964On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Rio Lucio, decade by decade

Today4 recent
Rio Lucio, New Mexico - Chapel of Sagrado Corazón de Jesús2014Rio Lucio, New Mexico - Chapel of Sagrado Corazón de …Rio Lucio, NM, View N, Junction NM 75 and Indian Route 206, Sangre de Cristo Mountains on the Horozon, 20112011Rio Lucio, NM, View N, Junction NM 75 and Indian Rout…Rio Lucio, NM, View N, Junction NM 75 and Indian Route 206, 20112011Rio Lucio, NM, View N, Junction NM 75 and Indian Rout…NMMap-doton-RioLucio2004NMMap-doton-RioLucio
On the map

Rio Lucio on the map, 1964 to 1995

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

Rio Lucio on the 1964 USGS mapRio Lucio on the 1995 USGS map1964Penasco 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 Rio Lucio.

Famous people

Famous people close to Rio Lucio

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

See all →
C
Chiara AureliaAmerican actress · b. 2002
David HykesAmerican music therapist · b. 1953
A
Al HurricaneAmerican singer-songwriter · b. 1936
Chief OurayUte chief · b. 1833
Benigno C. HernándezAmerican politician · b. 1862
R
Ruthanna HopperAmerican writer · b. 1972
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, places now gone and burying grounds

Rio Lucio had its own post office from 1921 to 1922.

Rio Lucio
1921–1922
19201970today
Gone or out of use
Rio Lucio Post Officepost office
1cemetery inside Rio Lucio
Rio Lucio

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Picuris Pueblo1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Rio Lucio’s history

What year was Rio Lucio founded?

The Rio Lucio post office opened in 1921, 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 →
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 (4), 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.