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History · Tecolotito

Half of Tecolotito’s homes were built after 1998

Most of Tecolotito was built recently: 5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1998. Below: maps from 1890 on.

0on the National Register
5%homes built before 1940
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What stands out about Tecolotito’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 Tecolotito are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18903 editions of the USGS map, 1890 to 1983. Watch Tecolotito change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Tecolotito’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Tecolotito’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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On the map

Tecolotito on the map, 1890 to 1983

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

Tecolotito on the 1890 USGS mapTecolotito on the 1963 USGS mapTecolotito on the 1983 USGS map1890Bernal sheet · 1:125,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Tecolotito.

The story so far

Tecolotito, in brief

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

Tecolotito is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in San Miguel County, New Mexico, United States. The word "Tecolotito" has its origin in the Nahuatl language, tecolatl. Adopted into Mexican Spanish it means "small owl." As of the 2020 census, Tecolotito had a population of 204.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 232 to 204 (-12%).

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

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.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
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Famous people

Famous people close to Tecolotito

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

See all →
Wally FunkAmerican aviator and astronaut · b. 1939
Rudolfo AnayaAmerican Chicano novelist, poet · b. 1937
Teresa Leger FernandezAmerican attorney and politician · b. 1959
Ezequiel Cabeza De BacaGovernor of New Mexico · b. 1864
Eleanor Spiess-FerrisAmerican painter · b. 1941
M
Margaret LarkinAmerican musician · b. 1899

Questions about Tecolotito’s history

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 U.S. Geological Survey historical maps 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.