Luna County, New Mexico facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Luna County
U.S. county
Luna County Courthouse in Deming
Location within the U.S. state of New Mexico
New Mexico's location within the U.S.
Country	United States
State	New Mexico
Founded	March 16, 1901
Named for	Solomon Luna
Seat	Deming
Largest city	Deming
Area
• Total	2,965 sq mi (7,680 km2)
• Land	2,965 sq mi (7,680 km2)
• Water	0.2 sq mi (0.5 km2)  0.0%%
Population  (2020)
• Total	25,427
• Density	8.5757/sq mi (3.3111/km2)
Time zone	UTC−7 (Mountain)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−6 (MDT)
Congressional district	2nd

Luna County is a place in New Mexico, a state in the United States. Its name in Spanish is Condado de Luna. In 2020, about 25,427 people lived here. The main town, or county seat, is Deming. Luna County is right next to the border with Mexico.

History of Luna County

Luna County was created on March 16, 1901. It was formed from parts of Grant County and Doña Ana County. The New Mexico Legislature made this happen.

The county was named after Solomon Luna. He was a politician who worked to make the county separate. This happened because of a big competition between the towns of Deming and Silver City. Both towns were in Grant County at that time.

The Pancho Villa Raid

A famous event happened in Luna County on March 16, 1916. A Mexican revolutionary named Pancho Villa led his soldiers into the village of Columbus. This was in the southern part of the county.

The soldiers attacked and burned much of the town. Many people had to run into the desert to be safe. About 350 United States Army soldiers were stationed nearby. They quickly woke up and defended Columbus.

The fighting lasted until morning. Pancho Villa then went back across the Mexican border. The U.S. Army later went into Mexico to try and find Villa. However, he was never caught.

This raid caused the deaths of 18 people in Columbus. About 75 of Villa's soldiers were also killed. Today, you can visit Pancho Villa State Park in Columbus. It has cacti and old army ruins.

Other Historical Events

In 1917, copper miners from Bisbee, Arizona were forced to move to Luna County. This event is known as the Bisbee Deportation.

More recently, in 2019, a barrier was built along the border with Mexico. This project was made faster by changing some rules. These rules normally protect things like endangered species and archaeological sites.

Geography of Luna County

Luna County covers about 2,965 square miles. Almost all of this area is land. Most of the county is flat land. It has either grassland or desert areas.

However, there are also three mountain ranges here:

• Cooke's Range in the northern part.
• The Florida Mountains near Deming in the center.
• The Tres Hermanas Mountains in the south, close to Columbus.

Neighboring Areas

Luna County shares borders with other counties and a Mexican municipality:

• Sierra County – to the northeast
• Doña Ana County – to the east
• Grant County – to the west
• Hidalgo County – to the west
• Ascensión, Chihuahua, Mexico – to the south

Main Roads and Highways

Many important roads run through Luna County. These include major highways that connect different parts of the state and country:

• I-10
• I-10 Bus.
• US 70
• US 180
• NM 9
• NM 11
• NM 26
• NM 27
• NM 61
• NM 141
• NM 143
• NM 148
• NM 198
• NM 331
• NM 332
• NM 377
• NM 394
• NM 418
• NM 495
• NM 497
• NM 517
• NM 549

People of Luna County

In 2010, about 25,095 people lived in Luna County. There were 9,593 households, which are groups of people living together. The county had about 8.5 people per square mile.

Most people in the county were white (77.7%). About 1.3% were American Indian, and 1.1% were black or African American. People of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 61.5% of the population.

The average age of people in Luna County was 39.5 years old. About 34% of households had children under 18 living with them.

Education in Luna County

All students in Luna County attend schools that are part of Deming Public Schools.

Towns and Villages

Luna County has several communities:

City

• Deming (This is the main town and county seat)

Village

• Columbus

Other Communities

These are places where people live, but they are not officially cities or villages:

Old and Abandoned Towns

Luna County also has some ghost towns. These are places where people used to live, but now they are mostly empty:

• Gage
• Mimbres
• Mowry City
• Myndus
• Nutt
• Ojo de Vaca Station

See also

In Spanish: Condado de Luna (Estados Unidos) para niños