Socorro, New Mexico
14 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1906 and the latest in 1979. It stands in the Socorro census division. It lies in ZIP code area 87801. It lies in Socorro Canyon. The Survey maps it on the Socorro quadrangle. 8,707 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 4,603 feet above sea level.
Research this city
On record in Socorro
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 12 of 19 shown
A. B. Baca Houselisted 1991
Brown Halllisted 1989
Bursum Houselisted 1975
Captain Michael Cooney Houselisted 1991
Anthony Cortesy Houselisted 1991
Nestor P. Eaton Houselisted 1991
Fitch Halllisted 1989
James Gurden Fitch Houselisted 1991
Fort Craiglisted 1970
Garcia Opera Houselisted 1974
August Holver Hilton Houselisted 1991
House at 303 Eaton Avenuelisted 1991
Every listing in Socorro County
Surveyed buildings and structures 4 records
- Baca Store, Socorrofederal building survey, 2 photographs
- Opera House, Socorrofederal building survey, 1 photograph
- Park Hotel, Socorrofederal building survey, 1 photograph
- San Miguel Mission, Socorrofederal building survey, 2 photographs
Population over time
2 figuresSocorro fell from 9,051 to 8,707 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.
| Year | People | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 9,051 | |
| 2020 | 8,707 | -344 (-4%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
9 surveys from 14 printed sheetsMatched 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.
- 1906 USGS Socorro quadrangle1:62500, 3 printings
- 1916 USGS La Joya quadrangle1:125000
- 1954 USGS Socorro quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1958 USGS Socorro quadrangle1:250000
- 1959 USGS Socorro quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
- 1959 USGS Socorro quadrangle1:62500
- 1962 USGS Socorro quadrangle1:250000
- 1979 USGS Socorro quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
- 1979 USGS Socorro quadrangle1:24000
Photographs
8 of 20 photographs shown, 1940 to 2021Taken 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.
Lee, Russell, 1940. Library of Congress
Highsmith, Carol M, 2021. Library of Congress
Lee, Russell, 1940. Library of Congress
Lee, Russell, 1940. Library of Congress
Highsmith, Carol M, 2021. Library of Congress
Highsmith, Carol M, 2021. Library of Congress
Highsmith, Carol M, 2021. Library of Congress
Highsmith, Carol M, 2021. Library of Congress
Every photograph of Socorro County
Fires near this place
89 since 1992Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 89 fires within 5 miles of Socorro between 1992 and 2020, burning about 2,018 acres in total. 8 started naturally. 6 were 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/undetermined | 44 |
| Debris and open burning | 12 |
| Natural | 8 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 8 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 6 |
| Smoking | 4 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 3 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 2 |
| Fireworks | 1 |
| Other causes | 1 |
The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.
| Date | Cause | Size | Reported by | Name on the report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 September 2003 | Natural | 1.0 acres | Socorro Field Office | ESCONDIDO |
| 9 September 2003 | Natural | under an acre | New Mexico State Forestry Division | not named |
| 8 September 2000 | Smoking | under an acre | New Mexico State Forestry Division | MM143-I25 |
| 21 September 2013 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | under an acre | Socorro Field Office | POWER LINE 2 |
| 12 September 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 2.0 acres | New Mexico State Forestry Division | CONFLUENCE |
| 3 August 2011 | Natural | under an acre | New Mexico State Forestry Division | RHODES |
| 24 August 2001 | Recreation and ceremony | under an acre | New Mexico State Forestry Division | RUSSIAN |
| 24 August 1999 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | New Mexico State Forestry Division | MONSOON |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
10 of 26 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 26 workings within 5 miles of Socorro: 9 past producers, 8 prospects, 4 producers, 4 unknowns. 4 still produce. What was taken out: Silver, Sand and Gravel, Construction, Perlite, Fluorine-Fluorite. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Where | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blue Canyon Well | Geothermal | Unknown | ||
| Merritt Mine Prior To 1870 | Silver, Gold, Lead, Zinc, Copper, Barium-Barite, Manganese, Fluorine-Fluorite, Vanadium, Molybdenum, Arsenic | Past Producer | 1880, 1923 | |
| Socorro Mountain | Kaolin | Past Producer | Residual | |
| Socorro Peak District | Silver, Barium-Barite, Manganese | Past Producer | 1867 | |
| State of New Mexico Lease M-20347 To Bureau of Reclamation | Stone, Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Torrance | Barium-Barite | Prospect | ||
| Torrence Mine 1880 | Gold, Silver, Copper, Zinc, Lead, Arsenic, Molybdenum, Vanadium, Manganese, Fluorine-Fluorite, Barium-Barite | Past Producer | 1880, 1923 | |
| Martinez Prospect | Fluorine-Fluorite | Past Producer | Fluorite | |
| Martinez Prospect | Fluorine-Fluorite | Occurrence | ||
| Great Lakes Carbon Corp. Socorro Deposit | Perlite | Producer |
Storms near this place
24 since 1996Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Socorro in 24 storm reports between 1996 and 2023: 13 hail, 5 flash flood, 3 thunderstorm wind, 1 heavy rain. 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.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October 2004 | Hail | Socorro | $40,000,000 | no account filed |
| September 1997 | Heavy Rain | Socorro | $200,000 | no account filed |
| July 1999 | Flash Flood | Socorro | $150,000 | Heavy rain near Socorro filled arroyos with runoff during the late evening. Several levees along Arroyo Matanza failed as additional strong runoff from the Magdalena Mountains overwhelmed a 90 degree turn in the arroyo just south of Socorro. Water flooded nearly 800 acres of farmland washing away fresh cut alfalfa hay and covering about 300 acres in heavy mud. An adjacent railroad bed was also undercut least 5 times along 2 miles of track. |
| July 1997 | Thunderstorm Wind | Socorro | $60,000 | A mobile home overturned and landed on a car, and power lines were downed as a brief, but strong storm moved over Socorro. |
| July 2013 | Thunderstorm Wind | Socorro | $20,000 | The metal roof of the Socorro County annex building was partially peeled off and significantly damaged. |
| September 2013 | Flood | Socorro | $5,000 | Franklin Street flooded and closed due to high water. Other streets in western Socorro also flooded out from heavy rainfall. |
| July 1998 | Flash Flood | Socorro | $5,000 | Isolated heavy rain of near 1 inch an hour produced heavy street flooding in Socorro. Several small arroyos, filled with weeds and other debris overflowed and caused damage to several homes. |
| July 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | Socorro | $3,000 | Several tree branches larger than 2 inches in diameter were broken off of trees from wind gusts estimated around 60 mph. In addition, high winds knocked the roof off of an abandoned single wide trailer, which fell onto the roof a neighboring house on Blue Canyon Dr. |
| May 2023 | Hail | Socorro | - | The county emergency manager estimated quarter size hail in Socorro. |
| June 2020 | Hail | Socorro | - | A trained spotter reported quarter size hail with a severe thunderstorm that moved through Socorro. |
| May 2018 | Hail | Socorro | - | Penny size hail and heavy rain reported on the NM Tech campus. |
| July 2017 | Lightning | Socorro | - | A 93-year old woman died from a lightning caused fire at her home of 80 years. She died from smoke inhalation. |
| October 2015 | Hail | Socorro | - | One inch accumulation of pea to nickel size hail. |
| July 2006 | Flash Flood | Socorro | - | Heavy street flooding was reported in Socorro and Sixmile Canyon just south of town filled 8 to 10 foot deep with roaring water during heavy rain. |
| August 2006 | Flash Flood | Socorro | - | Heavy rain of 2 to 3 inches on the west water shed area of Water Canyon caused flash flooding that moved east to Interstate 25 at Escondida. Some road and irrigation ditch repairs were wiped out by this fresh flooding. |
| July 1999 | Flash Flood | Socorro | - | Heavy rain continued to flood roads north of Socorro with at least 2 State Police vehicles trapped on high ground between flooded arroyos. |
| September 2023 | Hail | Socorro | - | no account filed |
| July 2015 | Hail | Socorro | - | no account filed |
| October 2015 | Hail | Socorro | - | no account filed |
| August 2008 | Hail | Socorro | - | no account filed |
| September 2006 | Hail | Socorro | - | no account filed |
| July 2002 | Hail | Socorro | - | no account filed |
| September 2002 | Hail | Socorro | - | no account filed |
| September 1996 | Hail | Socorro | - | no account filed |
Newspapers printed here
2,484 digitised pages3 papers published in this town, digitised by the Library of Congress and free to read: 593 issues, 2,484 pages. Every page is searchable, so a name or a street can be looked for directly in what the town printed about itself at the time.
| Newspaper | Published |
|---|---|
| The Socorro Chieftain | 1902 to 1959 |
| The Chieftain | 1890 to 1901 |
| The Socorro Chieftain | 1884 to 1890 |
What the paper printed
28,346 wordsFront pages of the local paper, read from the Library of Congress scans: 13 issues spread across its run from 1884 to 1908, 28,346 words in total. Each is reproduced on its own page, exactly as the recogniser returned it.
These pages read less well than anything else here, and the number is worth stating: about three words in four come through cleanly, against nine in ten for the building records. An 1896 broadsheet sets eight-point type in seven columns on microfilm, which is the hardest thing in this archive to read by machine. We tested our own recognisers against the Library's and they were not better, so the Library's text is what appears, with the wholly unreadable columns removed. Read it as a guide to what the paper covered, and follow the link to the scan before quoting anything.
| Issue | Paper | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1902-02-22 | The Socorro Chieftain | 3,399 words |
| 1902-05-10 | The Socorro Chieftain | 2,071 words |
| 1902-08-02 | The Socorro Chieftain | 1,836 words |
| 1902-10-18 | The Socorro Chieftain | 1,547 words |
| 1908-12-26 | The Socorro Chieftain | 3,699 words |
| 1891-11-27 | The Chieftain | 1,864 words |
| 1891-12-04 | The Chieftain | 2,120 words |
| 1891-12-18 | The Chieftain | 2,539 words |
| 1901-12-28 | The Chieftain | 1,473 words |
| 1884-05-29 | The Socorro Chieftain | 1,854 words |
| 1884-06-19 | The Socorro Chieftain | 1,949 words |
| 1884-07-03 | The Socorro Chieftain | 287 words |
| 1884-09-04 | The Socorro Chieftain | 3,708 words |
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 | Place | Distance | Sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florida | 2.3 miles | 14 | |
| Tajo (historical) | 2.3 miles | 15 | |
| Escondida | 3.0 miles | 14 | |
| Pueblito | 4.4 miles | 14 | |
| Luis Lopez | 4.8 miles | 10 | |
| Bosquecito | 6.0 miles | 10 | |
| Lemitar | 7.1 miles | 13 | |
| Laborcita | 7.9 miles | 10 |
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 Socorro | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q503818 | The 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 938832. 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.








