Piñon, New Mexico facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Piñon
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 Piñon
Location in New Mexico
Piñon
Location in the United States
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| Country | United States |
| State | New Mexico |
| County | Otero |
| Area | |
| • Total | 5.16 sq mi (13.38 km2) |
| • Land | 5.16 sq mi (13.37 km2) |
| • Water | 0.00 sq mi (0.01 km2) |
| Elevation | 6,011 ft (1,832 m) |
| Population
(2020)
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| • Total | 24 |
| • Density | 4.65/sq mi (1.80/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC-7 (Mountain (MST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-6 (MDT) |
| ZIP codes |
88344
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| Area code(s) | 575 |
| FIPS code | 35-57440 |
| GNIS feature ID | 2584178 |
Piñon is a small ranching community in New Mexico, a state in the southwestern United States. It's located in Otero County. This community is found among piñon pine and juniper trees, high up at about 6,060 feet (1,847 meters) above sea level. You can find Piñon where NM Route 24 and NM Route 506 meet.
The area around Piñon is very dry, which means it can have forest fires. For example, in June 2011, a fire started by lightning burned over 1,300 acres (about 560 hectares) just west of the town.
History of Piñon
The land where Piñon is located was first settled around 200 CE. The Jornada Mogollon people lived here. They were farmers and also hunted for food. Around 1450, other groups like the Apache arrived, and the Jornada Mogollon people moved on.
The community got its name in 1907 from a local school teacher named John W. Nations. He chose the name "Piñon" because of the many piñon pine trees growing in the area. The post office in Piñon also opened in 1907. In 2014, Piñon was known as the most politically conservative town in New Mexico. This means that most people in the town held traditional views about government and society.
Economy and Services
Piñon is a small community, and some services have changed over time. For example, the last gas station in Piñon closed its doors in 2004.
Population of Piñon
| Historical population | |||
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| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 2020 | 24 | — | |
| U.S. Decennial Census | |||
According to the 2020 census, only 24 people live in Piñon. This makes it a very small and quiet place.
Education in Piñon
Students in Piñon attend schools within the Cloudcroft Municipal Schools district.
For a time, in 1958, the Piñon area joined the Alamogordo Public Schools district instead of Cloudcroft. The Cloudcroft school board was not happy about this. They even voted not to accept students from Piñon or Weed, even if those areas offered to pay for their schooling. At that time, younger students went to elementary school in Piñon, and older students went to high school in Weed.
In 1959, the Alamogordo school board decided to close the school in Piñon. Residents of Piñon tried to stop the closure, but the board went ahead with it in December 1959.
Later, in November 1992, the Cloudcroft district decided to take back parts of the Alamogordo district, including Piñon. By then, the Alamogordo district had closed both the schools in Weed, and students from that area were already going to Cloudcroft schools.
See also
In Spanish: Piñón (Nuevo México) para niños
