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History · Vadito

Vadito’s post office opened in 1927, and 28% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is the Laureano Cordova Mill. Below: 13 old photos and papers and maps from 1964 on.

1927first post office
1on the National Register
28%homes built before 1940
13old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Vadito’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Vadito began

When was Vadito founded?

1927

The Vadito post office opened in 1927, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 25899 years
Founding year: the first Vadito post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Vadito’s past

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

A town in old photos13 old photos, postcards and papers.
★ What stands out · By decade

Vadito, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1930s to the 1940s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1930s–1940s12 items
Chapel1939ChapelVadito, New Mexico. Deserted machinery1943Vadito, New Mexico. Deserted machineryVadito, near Penasco, New Mexico. Chapel1943Vadito, near Penasco, New Mexico. ChapelVadito, New Mexico. A Spanish-American child1943Vadito, New Mexico. A Spanish-American childVadito, New Mexico. A Spanish-American brother and sister1943Vadito, New Mexico. A Spanish-American brother and si…Untitled photo, possibly related to: Vadito, New Mexico. Deserted machinery1943Untitled photo, possibly related to: Vadito, New Mexi…Vadito, Taos County, New Mexico. A very poor Spanish-American home1943Vadito, Taos County, New Mexico. A very poor Spanish-…Vadito, Taos County, New Mexico. A very poor Spanish-American home1943Vadito, Taos County, New Mexico. A very poor Spanish-…Vadito, Taos County, New Mexico. Political sentiment in a Spanish-American home1943Vadito, Taos County, New Mexico. Political sentiment …Untitled photo, possibly related to: Vadito, New Mexico. A Spanish-American child1943Untitled photo, possibly related to: Vadito, New Mexi…Untitled photo, possibly related to: Vadito, New Mexico. A Spanish-American brother and sister1943Untitled photo, possibly related to: Vadito, New Mexi…Untitled photo, possibly related to: Vadito, New Mexico. A Spanish-American brother and sister1943Untitled photo, possibly related to: Vadito, New Mexi…
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
Date unknown1 to date
Casita Martinez, State Route 75Date?Casita Martinez, State Route 75
Today3 recent
A local arts-and-crafts store in the tiny settlement of Vadito on what's called the "High Road," a winding route throug…2021A local arts-and-crafts store in the tiny settlement …Vadito panorama2008Vadito panoramaNMMap-doton-Vadito2004NMMap-doton-Vadito
The story so far

Vadito, in brief

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

Vadito is a census-designated place (CDP) in southern Taos County, New Mexico, United States. It is on the scenic High Road to Taos. As of the 2020 census, Vadito had a population of 258.

Its first post office opened in 1927. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 270 to 258 (-4%).

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

Timeline

Vadito, 1870 to 1964

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1870BuiltLaureano Cordova Mill is built
  3. 20th century
  4. 1927Post officeThe Vadito post office opens
  5. 1939In the archiveChapel
  6. 1943In the archiveVadito, New Mexico. Deserted machinery
  7. 1964On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
On the map

Vadito on the map, 1964 to 1995

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

Vadito on the 1964 USGS mapVadito 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 Vadito.

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.

Chapel
Retake this viewChapel, 1939

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Vadito

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1974
Laureano Cordova Mill
Laureano Cordova Mill, built 1870
Buildings
All 1 listings
Laureano Cordova MillBuilding · listed 1974

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Vadito

Nobody well known was born in Vadito 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
Help out

Finish Vadito’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.
Date a photo1 archive item has no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewChapel: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
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 Vadito’s history

What year was Vadito founded?

The Vadito post office opened in 1927, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Vadito?

One place: the Laureano Cordova Mill (listed 1974).

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 (2), the Library of Congress (14), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.