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B+History
History · Tularosa

Tularosa’s post office opened in 1868, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

More historic than 67% of U.S. towns · #12 of 73 in New Mexico. What drives it

Most of Tularosa was built recently: 10% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1975. 1 place in town is on the National Register, among them a historic district with 182 buildings. Below: maps from 1948 on and the census since 1880.

1868first post office
1on the National Register
10%homes built before 1940
5famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Tularosa began

When was Tularosa founded?

1868

The Tularosa post office opened in 1868, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 549 in 18802020 census: 2,553158 years

How historic is Tularosa?

B+

More historic than 67% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Tularosa post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Tularosa’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Tularosa is more historic than 67% of U.S. towns, #12 of 73 in New Mexico. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Tularosa’s overall grade.
Founding era1868, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19409.8% of homes (±4.6) · typical NM town 2.3% · U.S. 8.4%B−National Register1 listing, 182 historic buildings, 701 per 10,000 residents · typical NM town 2.2 · U.S. 2.4A+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 67%
NewerOlder
New Mexico towns of 2,500+ (73)Ahead of 85%

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 Tularosa’s 701 sits above most of its state (99% of New Mexico towns have fewer) while its 182 historic buildings outnumber those of 93% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.6 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.

Founding year: the first post office (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 Tularosa’s past

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

A historic districtThe Tularosa Original Townsite District takes in 182 historic buildings.A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Tularosa are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · On the National Register

1 listing protects 182 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
182
each building in a district counts
first listed
1979
Tularosa Original Townsite District
Tularosa Original Townsite District
Districts

Architectural styles listings

Victorian1
Pueblo Revival1
Mission Revival1
California Bungalow1
Ranch1
Tularosa Original Townsite DistrictVictorian

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

Help out

Start Tularosa’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Tularosa’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

How Tularosa came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Tularosa.

Read it all →

Tularosa gets its name from the Spanish description for the red or rose colored reeds growing along the banks of the Rio Tularosa. The Rio Tularosa, which still exists along the north side of the village, attracted the original settlers as a water source in the desert. Settlers attempted to establish a settlement in 1860 but were unsuccessful due to Mescalero Apache raids. Two years later, after a battle at nearby Round Mountain, Mexican farmers from the Rio Grande valley succeeded in settling the area. The Mission Church, St Francis de Paula was built to honor a promise made to St Francis that if no one was killed in the battle at Round Mountain, the townspeople would build a church dedicated to him. In 1863, the Town of Tularosa was formally established and was mapped with 49 blocks and water rights distributed and recorded.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Tularosa, 1868 to 1961

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1868Post officeThe Tularosa post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1917Born hereJan Clayton is born here
  5. 1925Born hereKim Stanley is born here
  6. 1934Born hereKatherine D. Ortega is born here
  7. 1948On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  8. 1961Born hereSteve Ontiveros is born here
By decade

Tularosa, decade by decade

Today18 recent
Pistachios in Tularosa, New Mexico on 21 May 2024 - 152024Pistachios in Tularosa, New Mexico on 21 May 2024 - 15Pistachios in Tularosa, New Mexico on 21 May 2024 - 142024Pistachios in Tularosa, New Mexico on 21 May 2024 - 14Pistachios in Tularosa, New Mexico on 21 May 2024 - 132024Pistachios in Tularosa, New Mexico on 21 May 2024 - 13Pistachios in Tularosa, New Mexico on 21 May 2024 - 122024Pistachios in Tularosa, New Mexico on 21 May 2024 - 12Pistachios in Tularosa, New Mexico on 21 May 2024 - 112024Pistachios in Tularosa, New Mexico on 21 May 2024 - 11Pistachios in Tularosa, New Mexico on 21 May 2024 - 102024Pistachios in Tularosa, New Mexico on 21 May 2024 - 10Pistachios in Tularosa, New Mexico on 21 May 2024 - 12024Pistachios in Tularosa, New Mexico on 21 May 2024 - 1White-winged Dove - Flickr - GregTheBusker (3)2014White-winged Dove - Flickr - GregTheBusker (3)White-winged Dove - Flickr - GregTheBusker (2)2014White-winged Dove - Flickr - GregTheBusker (2)Darkling Beetle - Flickr - GregTheBusker2014Darkling Beetle - Flickr - GregTheBuskerLong Trip Alone2010Long Trip AloneMountain outside of2009Mountain outside ofTularosa New Mexico Welcome Sign2008Tularosa New Mexico Welcome SignFlickr - ggallice - White Sands2008Flickr - ggallice - White SandsFlickr - ggallice - White Sands (3)2008Flickr - ggallice - White Sands (3)Flickr - ggallice - White Sands (2)2008Flickr - ggallice - White Sands (2)Flickr - ggallice - White Sands (1)2008Flickr - ggallice - White Sands (1)NMMap-doton-Tularosa2004NMMap-doton-Tularosa
On the map

Tularosa on the map, 1948 to 1982

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

Tularosa on the 1948 USGS mapTularosa on the 1982 USGS map1948Tularosa sheet · 1:62,500

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

People over time

Tularosa, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,50018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 3,200

Between 549 and 3,200 people in every census since 1880.

12 censuses, 1880–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Tularosa’s Wikipedia page.

Famous people

5 famous people were born in Tularosa

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Kim StanleyAmerican actress · b. 1925
Jan ClaytonAmerican actress · b. 1917
S
Steve OntiverosAmerican baseball player · b. 1961
Katherine D. OrtegaAmerican politician · b. 1934
D
Dianna DuranNew Mexico Republican · b. 1956

Questions about Tularosa’s history

What year was Tularosa founded?

The Tularosa post office opened in 1868, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Tularosa rank for history?

Tularosa is more historic than 67% of U.S. towns, #12 of 73 in New Mexico. 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 Tularosa?

One place: the Tularosa Original Townsite District (listed 1979).

How old are the homes in Tularosa?

10% of Tularosa’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.6 points), against a typical 2.3% for a New Mexico town; the median home was built in 1975.

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 (18), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), 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.