Socorro, New Mexico

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Socorro Art Project
Socorro Art Project

Socorro is a city in Socorro County in the U.S. state of New Mexico. It stands in the Rio Grande Valley, at an elevation of 4579 feet (1396 m). The population was 8,877 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Socorro CountyGR6.

Contents

[edit] History

[edit] The Founding of Socorro

In June 1598, Juan de Oñate led a group of Spanish settlers through the Jornada del Muerto, an inhospitable patch of desert that ends just south of the present day city of Socorro. As the Spaniards emerged from the desert, Piro Indians of the pueblo of Teypana gave the Spaniards food and water. Therefore, the Spaniards renamed this pueblo Socorro, which means "help" or "aid." Later, the name "Socorro" would be applied to the nearby Piro pueblo of Pilabó. [1]

Nuestra Señora de Socorro , the first Catholic mission in the area, was probably established c. 1626. Fray Augustin de Ventancurt would later write that around 600 people lived in the area during this period. [2]

During the Pueblo Revolt of 1680, Spanish refugees stopped in the pueblo of Socorro. A number of Piro Indians followed the Spaniards as they left the province to go south to safety. With no protection of Spanish troops, Socorro was destroyed and the remaining Piro were killed by the Apache and other tribes. [3]

The Spanish did not initially resettle Socorro when they re-conquered New Mexico. Other than El Paso, there were no Spanish settlements south of Sabinal (which is approximately 30 miles north of Socorro) until the 1800s. [4] In 1800, governor Fernando Chacon gave the order to resettle Socorro and other villages in the area. However, Socorro was not resettled until about 1815. [5] In 1817, 70 Belen residents petitioned the crown for land in Socorro. [6] The 1833 Socorro census lists over 400 residents, with a total of 1,774 people living within the vicinity of the village. [7]

The mission of San Miguel de Socorro was established soon after Socorro was resettled. The church was built on the ruins of the old Nuestra Señora de Socorro. [8]

[edit] The 1800s

In the late 1870s and into 1881, noted lawman and gunman Dallas Stoudenmire served as the town Marshal for Socorro.

[edit] Geography and Geology

Location of Socorro, New Mexico

Socorro is located at 34°3′42″N, 106°53′58″W (34.061759, -106.899424)GR1 at an average elevation of 4,605 feet. The town lies adjacent to the Rio Grande in a landscape dominated by the Rio Grande Rift and numerous extinct volcanos. The immediate region encompasses approximately 6000 feet of vertical relief between the Rio Grande and the Magdalena Mountains. Notable nearby locales include the Cibola National Forest, the BLM Quebradas Scenic Backcountry Byway, and the Bosque del Apache and Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuges. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 37.4 km² (14.4 mi²). 37.3 km² (14.4 mi²) of it is land and 0.1 km² (0.04 mi²) of it (0.21%) is water.

[edit] Demographics

As of the censusGR2 of 2000, there were 8,877 people, 3,415 households, and 2,151 families residing in the city. The population density was 237.9/km² (615.8/mi²). There were 3,940 housing units at an average density of 105.6/km² (273.3/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 66.16% White, 0.74% African American, 2.77% Native American, 2.24% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 23.24% from other races, and 4.79% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 54.50% of the population.

There were 3,415 households out of which 31.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.5% were married couples living together, 14.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.0% were non-families. 29.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.44 and the average family size was 3.02.

In the city the population was spread out with 25.4% under the age of 18, 16.9% from 18 to 24, 25.7% from 25 to 44, 20.4% from 45 to 64, and 11.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 106.6 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $22,530, and the median income for a family was $33,013. Males had a median income of $31,517 versus $23,071 for females. The per capita income for the city was $13,250. About 24.1% of families and 32.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 44.4% of those under age 18 and 23.6% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] New Mexico Tech

Socorro is home to the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology (New Mexico Tech), a state undergraduate and graduate (Ph.D. granting) university specializing in science and engineering. New Mexico Tech hosts a number of major research centers, such as the Energetic Materials Research and Testing Center, the IRIS Consortium Program for Array Seismic Studies of the Continental Lithosphere (PASSCAL) Instrument Center, the New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources, and the Magdalena Ridge Observatory. Also located on the campus is the NRAO (National Radio Astronomy Observatory) Array Operations Center, the headquarters for the Very Large Array and Very Long Baseline Array radiotelescopes. The Very Large Array itself is located west of Socorro, between Magdalena and Datil.

[edit] UFO Lore

Much lore has been spread around the local college, New Mexico Tech, regarding UFO incidents. Most of these stories are purported to be college pranks. There is still no convincing evidence to support any of these rumored Socorro area crashes.

The most famous story of these involved a Socorro policeman by the name of Lonnie Zamora on April 24, 1964. He reported an unknown object landing and taking off just south of town. Zamora said he was able to approach the craft within 50 feet seeing two small humanoid crew members from a distance. Much physical trace evidence was left behind. This evidence, according to the stories at New Mexico Tech, was created in a materials engineering laboratory. When the local police brought the evidence to the school the students, who created the material, purported never to have seen the material before. The incident gained much press over the years, however there is no convincing evidence to support any extraterrestrial claims.

[edit] Media Sightings

Socorro was mentioned in the 1974 movie Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore, though in a somewhat derogatory sense, as Ellen Burstyn's character decided to leave the town for Tucson. The aftermath scene of Bustyn's character's husband's fatal accident at the beginning of the film, although implied as being in Socorro, was actually filmed in Tucson.

The 1971 Roger Corman movie Gas-s-s-s was filmed in and around Socorro, including a hilarious scene using the New Mexico Tech golf carts.

The actress Jodie Foster stayed in Socorro while filming the movie Contact at the Very Large Array fifty miles west of the city.

[edit] Elfego Baca Golf Shoot

The Elfego Baca Golf Shoot is named after a former mayor of Socorro who survived a gun battle near what is now Reserve, New Mexico involving over 4,000 bullets that were fired over the course of 36 hours. Teeing off from Socorro Peak, also known as M Mountain, at an altitude of 7,243 feet, golfers proceed down the side of the mountain some 2,550 vertical feet to the one hole almost three miles away. Surviving rattlesnakes, gnats, cacti, treacherous terrain and the New Mexican sun and heat, golfers have a chance at winning the title to what is considered one of the two most difficult golf courses in the world.

Mike Stanley, an employee of the EMRTC, has won or tied for the win a record 18 times in the history of the shoot which dates back to 1960.

[edit] Points of interest

[edit] Footnotes

  1. ^ Marshal, Michael P. & Walt, Henry J., “Rio Abajo: Prehistory and History of a Rio Grande Province” (Santa Fe: New Mexico Historical Preservation Program, 1984), p 248
  2. ^ Marshal & Walt, “Rio Abajo”, p 248.
  3. ^ Marshal & Walt, “Rio Abajo”, p 248-249 .
  4. ^ Marshal & Walt, “Rio Abajo”, p 280.
  5. ^ Marshal & Walt, “Rio Abajo”, p 285.
  6. ^ Ramirez Alief, Teresa, et. al., eds. “New Mexico Census of 1833 and 1845: Socorro and Surrounding Communities of the Rio Abajo.” (Albuquerque: New Mexico Genealogical Society, Inc., 1994.) p.xiii.
  7. ^ Ramirez Alief, Teresa, et. al., “New Mexico Census: Socorro” pp. 2-10; 32
  8. ^ Marshal & Walt, “Rio Abajo”, p 249.

[edit] External links


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