Gila, New Mexico facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Gila, New Mexico
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 Gila, New Mexico
Location in New Mexico
Gila, New Mexico
Location in the United States
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| Country | United States |
| State | New Mexico |
| County | Grant |
| Area | |
| • Total | 9.394 sq mi (24.33 km2) |
| • Land | 9.362 sq mi (24.25 km2) |
| • Water | 0.032 sq mi (0.08 km2) |
| Elevation | 4,557 ft (1,389 m) |
| Population
(2010)
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| • Total | 314 |
| • Density | 33.43/sq mi (12.906/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC-7 (MST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-6 (MDT) |
| ZIP code |
88038
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| Area code(s) | 575 |
| FIPS code | 35-17-29160 |
| GNIS feature ID | 898782 |
Gila is a census-designated place in Grant County, New Mexico, United States. It is 48 kilometres (30 mi) northwest of the county seat, Silver City. Its population was 314 as of the 2010 census. The community is located in the irrigated valley of the Gila River in the midst of hilly and mountainous semi-arid terrain. The townsite was sporadically populated by the Apache, Spanish and Mexican colonists, and American Mountain Men prior to the rise to prominence of the million-acre Lyons & Campbell Ranch. The ranch established its headquarters in Gila in 1890 and was one of the largest ranches in the United States. The headquarters building is on the National Register of Historic Places.
Contents
History
Gila and the nearby town of Cliff were settled in 1884. The area was and is primarily a ranching and farming community. The local Gila Post Office was established on Apr 5, 1875.
Economics and culture
Services in Gila include: post office, library, EMT and medical clinic, community center, senior center, library, and several churches. The Gila Valley Library contains 4,052 volumes. The library circulates 6,699 items per year and serves a rural population of 807 persons living in or near Gila and Cliff.
Transportation
Major highways
Gila can be accessed via NM 211 from US 180 north of Silver City. Also, NM 153 provides access to Turkey Creek.
Points of interest
- The Double E Ranch is four miles from Gila, and is one of the largest working cattle ranches in Grant County.
- The Lyons & Campbell Ranch Headquarters is a Registered New Mexico Cultural Property and on the National Registry of Historic Places. The National Park Service in their publication The Cattleman's Empire wrote "The L.C. completely overshadowed all other ranching operations in the Southwest, at its height controlling over one million acres" and “The L.C. remains as one of the last surviving Great Ranch Houses of the Old West”. Today the L.C. Ranch Headquarters is a 60 room adobe complex including an old west Saloon, Jail, theater, chapel, and 27 room Main Ranch House. There are Saturday afternoon guided tours and overnight accommodations.
- Gila is the town where Michael Scofield has Sara Tancredi meet him on the television series Prison Break.
Images for kids
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The east portal of the ranch headquarters, built of adobe.
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The saloon at the ranch headquarters.
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A typical landscape near Gila looking north to the Mogollon Mountains.
