Coyanosa was originally settled as a ranching community in the early 1900s. A post office was established in 1908, but was discontinued 10 years later. Further development of the community resumed in the 1950s, as numerous water wells were drilled in the area to irrigate nearby cotton farms. By 1958, around 200 people lived in Coyanosa. The post office reopened, and by the early 1960s, the population had risen to 600. Increasing fuel prices in the mid-1970s made irrigation unprofitable and forced many area cotton farms out of business. A decline in the number of inhabitants soon followed. By 1990, Coyanosa had around 270 people. That figure had fallen to 138 by 2000.
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 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.
