Hillsboro, New Mexico facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Hillsboro, New Mexico
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Hillsboro New Mexico Community Center
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 Hillsboro, New Mexico
Location in New Mexico
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| Country | United States |
| State | New Mexico |
| County | Sierra |
| Area | |
| • Total | 2.13 sq mi (5.5 km2) |
| Elevation | 5,364 ft (1,635 m) |
| Population
(2010)
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| • Total | 124 |
| • Density | 58.2/sq mi (22.48/km2) |
| Time zone | Mountain |
| • Summer (DST) | Mountain |
| ZIP code |
88042
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| Area code(s) | 575 |
| FIPS code | 35-32380 |
| GNIS feature ID | 2584112 |
Hillsboro is a small, unincorporated community in Sierra County, New Mexico, United States. It is located in the southwestern part of the state. The town was founded in 1877 after gold was discovered nearby.
Hillsboro was the main town (county seat) of Sierra County from 1884 until 1936. After that, Truth or Consequences became the county seat.
Gold seekers first called the town Hillsborough in December 1877. The name was later shortened to Hillsboro. By 1880, about 700 people lived there, including 400 miners. A county courthouse was built in 1892. By 1907, the population had grown to 1,200 people. A big flood in June 1914 damaged many buildings in the town. Today, New Mexico State Road 152 and NM 27 meet and cross through the town.
Contents
Geology and Mining History
The first house in Hillsboro was built in August 1877. This happened after two prospectors, Dan Dugan and Dave Stitzel, found rocks with gold and silver. Soon after, they discovered more valuable rock (ore) at the Rattlesnake vein. Gold was also found in the Rattlesnake and Wicks gulches in November.
Miners used machines called arrastres to crush the ore in Hillsboro. A larger 10-stamp mill was built in 1878 to process even more ore. Before 1904, about $6.75 million worth of gold and silver was produced. Between 1911 and 1931, miners produced thousands of tons of gold, silver, and copper ore.
Types of Mineral Deposits
Experts have identified four main types of mineral deposits in the Hillsboro area:
- Fissure veins: These are cracks in volcanic rock (andesite) filled with minerals.
- Disseminated deposits: Minerals spread out in a type of rock called monzonite porphyry.
- Replacement deposits: Minerals that replaced older rocks like limestone.
- Placer gold deposits: Gold found in loose sand and gravel, often in riverbeds.
The Copper Flat volcano, located northeast of Hillsboro, is the source of the gold in the area. This volcano is about 4 miles wide. It has a central core of quartz monzonite rock, surrounded by thick layers of volcanic rock. Many mineral veins spread out from this central core like spokes on a wheel.
The Golddust Camp placer deposits are found in the dry gulches that flow from Copper Flat. These are places where gold settled in the sand and gravel. The veins produced about 51,000 ounces of gold. The placer deposits produced even more, about 110,000 ounces.
Copper Flat Mine
The Sternberg Mine at Copper Flat produced 200 tons of copper ore between 1911 and 1934. Later, in 1959, the Bear Creek Mining Company found a special rock formation (a mineralized breccia pipe) within the main rock core.
In 1980, Quintana Minerals Corporation started open-pit mining at Copper Flat. They mined copper ore that contained about 0.45 percent copper. The main minerals found there include pyrite, chalcopyrite, sphalerite, and galena.
Climate and Weather
Hillsboro has a cold semi-arid climate. This means it is generally dry, but not a true desert. The hottest temperature ever recorded in Hillsboro was 107°F (42°C). This happened on June 15–16, 1896, June 22, 1981, and June 26, 1994. The coldest temperature recorded was -14°F (-26°C) on January 11, 1962.
| Climate data for Hillsboro, New Mexico, 1991–2020 normals, extremes 1893–present | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °F (°C) | 81 (27) |
84 (29) |
87 (31) |
94 (34) |
104 (40) |
107 (42) |
105 (41) |
104 (40) |
102 (39) |
94 (34) |
84 (29) |
83 (28) |
107 (42) |
| Mean maximum °F (°C) | 67.9 (19.9) |
73.6 (23.1) |
80.7 (27.1) |
86.1 (30.1) |
94.1 (34.5) |
101.4 (38.6) |
100.6 (38.1) |
96.9 (36.1) |
93.3 (34.1) |
86.9 (30.5) |
77.1 (25.1) |
68.6 (20.3) |
102.8 (39.3) |
| Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 54.8 (12.7) |
59.9 (15.5) |
67.3 (19.6) |
74.9 (23.8) |
83.3 (28.5) |
92.5 (33.6) |
91.8 (33.2) |
89.2 (31.8) |
84.0 (28.9) |
75.1 (23.9) |
63.4 (17.4) |
53.7 (12.1) |
74.2 (23.4) |
| Daily mean °F (°C) | 39.9 (4.4) |
44.0 (6.7) |
50.6 (10.3) |
57.6 (14.2) |
65.5 (18.6) |
74.4 (23.6) |
76.7 (24.8) |
74.6 (23.7) |
68.5 (20.3) |
58.4 (14.7) |
47.2 (8.4) |
39.3 (4.1) |
58.1 (14.5) |
| Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | 25.0 (−3.9) |
28.1 (−2.2) |
34.0 (1.1) |
40.3 (4.6) |
47.7 (8.7) |
56.3 (13.5) |
61.7 (16.5) |
60.0 (15.6) |
53.0 (11.7) |
41.8 (5.4) |
31.3 (−0.4) |
24.8 (−4.0) |
42.0 (5.6) |
| Mean minimum °F (°C) | 12.5 (−10.8) |
15.4 (−9.2) |
20.1 (−6.6) |
27.0 (−2.8) |
35.2 (1.8) |
46.4 (8.0) |
54.6 (12.6) |
53.7 (12.1) |
43.1 (6.2) |
27.8 (−2.3) |
17.0 (−8.3) |
11.6 (−11.3) |
9.4 (−12.6) |
| Record low °F (°C) | −14 (−26) |
−10 (−23) |
8 (−13) |
17 (−8) |
27 (−3) |
39 (4) |
46 (8) |
47 (8) |
35 (2) |
15 (−9) |
5 (−15) |
−5 (−21) |
−14 (−26) |
| Average precipitation inches (mm) | 0.64 (16) |
0.42 (11) |
0.30 (7.6) |
0.35 (8.9) |
0.68 (17) |
0.83 (21) |
2.08 (53) |
2.41 (61) |
1.97 (50) |
0.99 (25) |
0.74 (19) |
0.87 (22) |
12.28 (311.5) |
| Average snowfall inches (cm) | 1.2 (3.0) |
0.3 (0.76) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.3 (0.76) |
0.3 (0.76) |
0.6 (1.5) |
2.7 (6.78) |
| Average precipitation days (≥ 0.01 in) | 2.8 | 2.3 | 2.0 | 1.7 | 3.0 | 4.0 | 10.1 | 9.7 | 6.6 | 4.1 | 2.7 | 3.5 | 52.5 |
| Average snowy days (≥ 0.1 in) | 0.4 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.4 | 1.1 |
| Source 1: NOAA | |||||||||||||
| Source 2: National Weather Service | |||||||||||||
Education
The schools for Hillsboro are part of the Truth or Consequences Municipal Schools district. This district covers the entire county. Middle school students attend Truth or Consequences Middle School. High school students go to Hot Springs High School. Both schools are located in Truth or Consequences.
Notable People from Hillsboro
Some important people have lived in Hillsboro:
- C.C. Crews: A doctor and veteran of the American Civil War.
- Frank W. Parker: He later became a justice on the New Mexico Supreme Court. He was the judge for the 1899 murder trial of Albert J. Fountain.
See also
In Spanish: Hillsboro (Nuevo México) para niños
