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History · Wagon Mound

Wagon Mound’s post office opened in 1882, and 56% of its homes were built before 1940

2 places in town are on the National Register, among them the Wagon Mound, a National Historic Landmark. Below: 11 old photos and papers, maps from 1921 on, and the census since 1920.

1882first post office
2on the National Register
56%homes built before 1940
11old photos & papers
4famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Wagon Mound’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Wagon Mound began

When was Wagon Mound founded?

1882

The Wagon Mound post office opened in 1882, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Pinkerton (1881), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 875 in 19202020 census: 266144 years
Founding year: the first Wagon Mound post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Wagon Mound’s past

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

Old housesHalf of Wagon Mound’s homes were built before 1938.Boom and bustPeaked at 1,120 in 1950; 266 people lived here in 2020.A National Historic Landmark2 places on the National Register, including Wagon Mound, a National Historic Landmark.
★ What stands out · The story so far

Wagon Mound, in brief

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

Wagon Mound is a village in Mora County, New Mexico, United States. It is named after and located at the foot of a butte called Wagon Mound, which was a landmark for covered wagon trains and traders going up and down the Santa Fe Trail and is now Wagon Mound National Historic Landmark. It was previously an isolated ranch that housed four families that served as local traders. The shape of the mound is said to resemble a Conestoga wagon. As of the 2020 census, the village population was 266. It was also called Santa Clara for many years. The village, with brightly painted houses and several stores and shops, is located on the plains of northeastern New Mexico. Interstate 25, which skirts the…

Its first post office opened in 1882. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 314 to 266 (-15%).

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

People over time

Wagon Mound, census by census

02004006008001,0001,200192019401960198020002020Peak: 1,120

Peaked at 1,120 in 1950; 266 people lived here in 2020.

11 censuses, 1920–2020.

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

On the National Register

2 historic places in Wagon Mound

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. One is a National Historic Landmark, the highest tier.

places listed
2
National Historic Landmark
1
Wagon Mound
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
1966
Wagon Mound
Santa Clara Hotel, built 1900Wagon Mound★
BuildingsSites★ landmark

Architectural styles listings

Late Victorian1
Vernacular Railroad Commercial1
★ Landmark
Wagon MoundSite
Santa Clara HotelLate Victorian · Built 1900

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

Timeline

Wagon Mound, 1881 to 1973

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1881Post officeThe Pinkerton post office opens
  3. 1882Post officeThe Pinkerton post office closes
  4. 1882Post officeThe Wagon Mound post office opens
  5. 20th century
  6. 1900BuiltSanta Clara Hotel is built
  7. 1910Born hereAngelico Chavez is born here
  8. 1917Born hereEdward Chávez is born here
  9. 1924Born hereFabian Chavez Jr. is born here
  10. 1939In the archiveSpanish-American woman
  11. 1950CensusPopulation peaks at 1,120
  12. 1963LandmarkWagon Mound named a National Historic Landmark
  13. 1964On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  14. 1973Born hereHector Balderas is born here
By decade

Wagon Mound, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1930s11 items
Spanish-American woman1939Spanish-American womanSpanish-American woman1939Spanish-American womanRiding a buffalo, Bean Day1939Riding a buffalo, Bean DaySpectators at Bean Day rodeo1939Spectators at Bean Day rodeoSpectators at Bean Day rodeo1939Spectators at Bean Day rodeoSpectators at Bean Day rodeo1939Spectators at Bean Day rodeoCowboy at Bean Day rodeo1939Cowboy at Bean Day rodeoSpectators at Bean Day rodeo1939Spectators at Bean Day rodeoSpectators at Bean Day rodeo1939Spectators at Bean Day rodeoWagon Mound, New Mexico. Remains of Bean Day festival1939Wagon Mound, New Mexico. Remains of Bean Day festivalScene at Bean Day festival1939Scene at Bean Day festival
1940s–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
On the map

Wagon Mound on the map, 1964 to 1981

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

Wagon Mound on the 1964 USGS mapWagon Mound on the 1981 USGS map1964Wagon Mound 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 Wagon Mound.

Every building

Wagon Mound, building by building, 1921

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a sheet.

Wagon Mound fire insurance map, 1921, sheet 11921Sheet 1 of 1
Sheets
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

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.

Spanish-American woman
Retake this viewSpanish-American woman, 1939

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

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

4 famous people were born in Wagon Mound

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

See all →
Hector BalderasAttorney General of New Mexico · b. 1973
A
Angelico ChavezAmerican writer, poet and historian · b. 1910
E
Edward ChávezAmerican painter · b. 1917
F
Fabian Chavez Jr.American politician · b. 1924
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and burying grounds

Wagon Mound’s post office has been open since 1882. Another post office, Pinkerton, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Pinkerton
1881–1882
Wagon Mound
1882–today
18801950today
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Wagon Mound
HillsideSanta Clara

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

Help out

Finish Wagon Mound’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewSpanish-American woman: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Questions about Wagon Mound’s history

What year was Wagon Mound founded?

The Wagon Mound post office opened in 1882, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Wagon Mound?

Two places: the Wagon Mound (listed 1966) and the Santa Clara Hotel (1991).

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 the Library of Congress (11), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.