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Hillsboro, New Mexico

11 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1935 and the latest in 1996. It stands in the Truth or Consequences West census division. It lies in ZIP code area 88042. It stands on North Percha Creek. The Survey maps it on the Hillsboro quadrangle. 140 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 5,253 feet above sea level.

Research this city

Hillsboro within Sierra County

On record in Hillsboro

Buildings and businesses the archive holds for this place. Each opens its own page, with the source record it came from.

On the National Register 10 records

Surveyed buildings and structures 1 record

Population over time

2 figures

Hillsboro grew from 124 to 140 between 2010 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.

YearPeople Change
2010124
2020140+16 (+13%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

8 surveys from 11 printed sheets

Matched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.

Photographs

3 photographs, 2021

Taken for the Office of War Information and the Farm Security Administration, who photographed the country between 1935 and 1944. Works of United States government photographers, with no known restriction on use. Each opens its catalogue record.

The small Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church in Hillsboro, near the town of Truth or Consequences in southern New Mexico
The small Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church in Hillsboro, near the town of Truth or Consequences in southern New Mexico
Highsmith, Carol M, 2021. Library of Congress
A "forever" line of power poles near Hillsboro in Sierra County, New Mexico
A "forever" line of power poles near Hillsboro in Sierra County, New Mexico
Highsmith, Carol M, 2021. Library of Congress
Town of Hillsboro, Hillsboro, Sierra County, NM
Town of Hillsboro, Hillsboro, Sierra County, NM
Photographer not recorded. Library of Congress

Fires near this place

5 since 2003

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 5 fires within 5 miles of Hillsboro between 2003 and 2017, burning about 463 acres in total. 2 started naturally. None was recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause Fires
Missing data/not specified/undetermined2
Natural2
Equipment and vehicle use1

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
23 July 2003Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreNew Mexico State Forestry DivisionCOX
7 June 2017Natural1.0 acresSocorro DistrictTRUJILLO
24 May 2009Natural46 acresLas Cruces Field OfficeHILLSBORO
14 April 2011Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreNew Mexico State Forestry DivisionCOTTONWOOD
14 March 2011Missing data/not specified/undetermined416 acresLas Cruces Field OfficeHIGHWAY 27

Every fire recorded in Sierra County

Mines and quarries near this place

10 of 113 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 113 workings within 5 miles of Hillsboro: 37 past producers, 31 prospects, 25 occurrences, 16 producers. 16 still produce. What was taken out: Gold, Copper, Zinc, Gold, Silver, Copper. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Copper FlatCopper, Silver, Molybdenum, GoldPast Producer1877, 1982
Garfield - ButlerCopper, Silver, GoldPast Producer
Hall MineVanadium, Lead, Copper, ZincPast ProducerDescloizite, Endlichite, Vanadinite, Wulfenite
Hall MineLead, Zinc, Vanadium, Silver, CopperProspect
Hillsboro DistrictSilver, Gold, Copper, Manganese, Iron, LeadPast Producer1877
Las Animas PlacersGold, Silver, Platinum, Iridium, OsmiumProducer1877, 1975
Lilliput Group 1910'sLead, Silver, Copper, GoldPast Producer1935
Mary RichmondZinc, Lead, Gold, CopperPast Producer
Mary Richmond Mine 1880'sCopper, Lead, Gold, Silver, ZincProducer1885, 1940
Morning Glory Mine 1880'sSilver, Copper, GoldPast Producer1885, 1938

Every working recorded in Sierra County

Storms near this place

15 since 1997

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Hillsboro in 15 storm reports between 1997 and 2022: 7 hail, 6 flash flood, 2 thunderstorm wind. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
August 2004Flash FloodHillsboro$10,000Heavy thunderstorm rains estimated at more than 3 inches fell on the northeastern slope of the Black Mountains and caused excessive runoff and flash flooding in and around Hillsboro. All roads were flooded during the peak of the storm. Access to a nearby youth camp was cut off for days.
July 2008Thunderstorm WindHillsboro$5,000A Skywarn Spotter relayed a report from a rancher of trees blown down on his ranch.
June 2002HailHillsboro$5,000A severe thunderstorm produced hail up to quarter size which accumulated to a depth of 8 inches in Lake Valley. The weight of the hail partially collapsed the roof of a new home in the area.
June 2022Flash FloodHillsboro-Mud and debris were across Highway 28 at mile marker 22. Hillsboro during the overnight hours received around 1.50 inches of rain.
April 2016HailHillsboro-Largest stones were three-quarters of an inch in diameter.
November 2016Flash FloodHillsboro-All the low water crossings south of Hillsboro were flowing across Highway 27.
September 2007Flash FloodHillsboro-Two vehicles were stuck near mile marker on Highway 27 south of Hillsboro. The road was closed due to rocks, debris and high water in low water crossings.
July 2006Flash FloodHillsboro-Percha Creek rose out of its banks and on to Highway 152. Dikes in town were very close to breaking through.
August 1999Flash FloodHillsboro-Thunderstorms produced heavy rains which caused serious flash flooding in the Hillsboro area. The heavy rains sent a wall of water down Percha Creek into the town of Hillsboro. Many roads were flooded, including highway 152 at the intersection of interstate 25 as well as highway 152 east of Kingston. The heavy rains also washed a vehicle up against a bridge guard rail when the wall of water caused the vehicle to stall while attempting to cross.
July 1997HailHillsboro-Severe thunderstorm with large hail was accompanied by heavy rain and minor flooding to about one foot in depth along main street.
February 2020HailHillsboro-no account filed
October 2017HailHillsboro-no account filed
June 2003Thunderstorm WindHillsboro-no account filed
June 2003HailHillsboro-no account filed
August 2002HailHillsboro-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Sierra County

Nearest settlements

The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.

Map PlaceDistance Sheets
Kingston7.4 miles11
Oasis13.2 miles9
Lake Valley14.0 miles9
Arrey14.0 miles8
Caballo14.2 miles9
Las Palomas17.3 miles11
Derry17.7 miles8
Hermosa18.5 miles10

Elsewhere

Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.

Wikipedia article on HillsboroAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q3472399The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0).

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 890016. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.

Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.