Gamerco, New Mexico facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Gamerco, New Mexico
Łigaiyaaʼáhí
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Location of the old powerplant
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Location of Gamerco, New Mexico
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| Country | United States |
| State | New Mexico |
| County | McKinley |
| Area | |
| • Total | 0.96 sq mi (2.48 km2) |
| • Land | 0.96 sq mi (2.48 km2) |
| • Water | 0.00 sq mi (0.00 km2) |
| Elevation | 6,729 ft (2,051 m) |
| Population
(2020)
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| • Total | 1,343 |
| • Density | 1,403.34/sq mi (541.80/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC-7 (Mountain (MST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-6 (MDT) |
| Zip code |
87317
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| Area code(s) | 505 |
| FIPS code | 35-28530 |
| GNIS feature ID | 2806717 |
Gamerco is a small place in McKinley County, New Mexico, United States. It's called an unincorporated community, which means it's not officially a city or town with its own local government. The name Gamerco comes from the company that started it.
In the Navajo language, Gamerco is known as Navajo: Łigaiyaaʼáhí. This name means "white smokestack," which likely refers to a power plant that used to be there. In 2020, about 1,343 people lived in Gamerco.
History of Gamerco
Gamerco began in 1920 as a "company town." This means a company built and owned the town to house its workers. The company was called the Gallup American Coal Company, and that's where the name Gamerco comes from!
The company started digging for coal in the nearby hills. To support the mining, they built a coal processing plant, a railroad track, a power plant, and even a church. Around 500 coal miners and their families lived and worked in Gamerco.
However, in the 1960s, the coal mines closed down. The power plant was shut off, and the railroad tracks were removed. This changed Gamerco a lot.
More recently, in 2012, the nearby City of Gallup thought about adding Gamerco to its city limits. This process is called annexation.
Where is Gamerco?
Gamerco is located in New Mexico, just three miles north of the city of Gallup. It covers an area of about 0.96 square miles (2.48 square kilometers), and all of it is land.
People of Gamerco
| Historical population | |||
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| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 2020 | 1,343 | — | |
| U.S. Decennial Census | |||
In 2010, there were 1,956 people living in Gamerco. The community is quite diverse. About half of the people were Native American. Many residents were also Hispanic or Latino.
Many families live in Gamerco. About 37.6% of the people living there were under 18 years old. This means there are a lot of kids and teenagers in the community!
Education
Students in Gamerco attend public schools managed by Gallup-McKinley County Public Schools.
