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AHistory
History · Tome

Tome dates to 1739, and 13% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 85% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Its Register listings are the Tome Jail and the El Cerro Tome Site. Below: maps from 1952 on.

1739founded
2on the National Register
13%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Tome began

When was Tome founded?

1739

Tome dates its founding to 1739 (Wikipedia’s history). Its post office opened in 1881.

2020 census: 1,718287 years

How historic is Tome?

A

More historic than 85% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1881.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Tome’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Tome is more historic than 85% of U.S. towns. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its age ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.

A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Tome’s overall grade.
Founding era1739, from Wikipedia: founded before 1776, an older era than 96% of U.S. townsA+Homes built before 194013.3% of homes (±14.0) · typical NM town 2.3% · U.S. 8.4%BNational Register2 listings, 11.6 per 10,000 residents · typical NM town 2.2 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 85%
NewerOlder

New Mexico towns list about as much on the Register as the country (a typical New Mexico town has 2.2 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Tome’s 11.6 sits above most of its state (74% of New Mexico towns have fewer) while its 2 listings outnumber those of 60% of U.S. towns.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikipedia alone; no second source gives 1739.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B+ to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±14.0 points).

Founding year: Wikipedia (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Tome’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 Tome are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Older than the countryEstablished in 1739, 37 years before the Declaration of Independence.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Tome’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Tome’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
Timeline

Tome, 1739 to 1963

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

  1. 18th century
  2. 1739
    FoundingTome is established
  3. 19th century
  4. 1875BuiltTome Jail is built
  5. 1881Post officeThe Tome post office opens
  6. 20th century
  7. 1927Post officeThe El Morro post office opens
  8. 1949Born hereRosa Maria Calles is born here
  9. 1952On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  10. 1963Post officeThe El Morro post office closes
The story

How Tome came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Tome.

Read it all →

Tome was originally part of an encomienda granted to Tomé Domínguez de Mendoza in 1659. During the Pueblo Revolt of 1680, Domínguez fled to El Paso along with the other surviving Spanish settlers, but 38 members of his household were killed. Understandably, he was hesitant to return and remained in El Paso even after the Spanish reconquered New Mexico in 1692.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Tome, decade by decade

Today14 recent
A weathered building that appears to be homemade as tiny chapel in the settlement of Tome in New Mexico's Rio Grande Va…2021A weathered building that appears to be homemade as t…Artist Armando Alvarez Compean's 1997 La Puerta Del Sol metal-art sculpture grouping below Tome near the settlement of …2021Artist Armando Alvarez Compean's 1997 La Puerta Del S…Artist Armando Alvarez Compean's 1997 La Puerta Del Sol metal-art sculpture grouping below Tome near the settlement of …2021Artist Armando Alvarez Compean's 1997 La Puerta Del S…Artist Armando Alvarez Compean's 1997 La Puerta Del Sol metal-art sculpture grouping below Tome near the settlement of …2021Artist Armando Alvarez Compean's 1997 La Puerta Del S…Artist Armando Alvarez Compean's 1997 La Puerta Del Sol metal-art sculpture grouping below Tome near the settlement of …2021Artist Armando Alvarez Compean's 1997 La Puerta Del S…Artist Armando Alvarez Compean's 1997 La Puerta Del Sol metal-art sculpture grouping below Tome near the settlement of …2021Artist Armando Alvarez Compean's 1997 La Puerta Del S…People walking along the original El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro National Historic Trail in2014People walking along the original El Camino Real de T…NTIR Signs mark the original El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro National Historic Trail in2014NTIR Signs mark the original El Camino Real de Tierra…Lush green grass at the Tome Plaza in2014Lush green grass at the Tome Plaza inGreen fields can be seen along the El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro National Historic Trail in2014Green fields can be seen along the El Camino Real de …Children walk the original El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro National Historic Trail in2014Children walk the original El Camino Real de Tierra A…Agriculture fields can be seen along the El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro National Historic Trail in2014Agriculture fields can be seen along the El Camino Re…Agriculture along the original El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro National Historic Trail in2014Agriculture along the original El Camino Real de Tier…A large tree stands along the original El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro National Historic Trail in2014A large tree stands along the original El Camino Real…
On the map

Tome on the map, 1952 to 1991

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

Tome on the 1952 USGS mapTome on the 1979 USGS mapTome on the 1991 USGS map1952Tome 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 Tome.

On the National Register

2 historic places in Tome

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

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
1977
Tome Jail
Tome Jail, built 1875El Cerro Tome Site
BuildingsSites
Tome JailBuilt 1875
El Cerro Tome SiteSite

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices and old corners

Tome’s post office has been open since 1881. Another post office, El Morro, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Tome
1881–today
El Morro
1927–1963
18801950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
El Cerro

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.

Los ChavesIts storyDAdelino1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Tome’s history

What year was Tome founded?

In 1739, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Tome’s post office opened in 1881.

How does Tome rank for history?

Tome is more historic than 85% of U.S. towns. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

What is on the National Register in Tome?

Two places: the Tome Jail (listed 1977) and the El Cerro Tome Site (1996).

How old are the homes in Tome?

13% of Tome’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±14.0 points), against a typical 2.3% for a New Mexico town; the median home was built in 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).

From Wikimedia Commons (8), the Library of Congress (6), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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.