BlockBefore

Vaughn, New Mexico

6 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1954 and the latest in 1984. It stands in the Vaughn census division. It lies in ZIP code area 88353. The Survey maps it on the Vaughn quadrangle. 286 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 5,978 feet above sea level.

Vaughn within Guadalupe County

Population over time

3 figures

Vaughn fell from 539 to 286 between 2000 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
2000539
2010446-93 (-17%)
2020286-160 (-36%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

4 surveys from 6 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

8 of 34 photographs shown, 1943

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.

Vaughn, New Mexico. The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad meets the Southern Pacific Railroad as the streamliner passes near the town
Vaughn, New Mexico. The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad meets the Southern Pacific Railroad as the streamliner passes near the town
Delano, Jack, 1943. Library of Congress
Iden, New Mexico. Assistant foreman George Zamora of Mountainair, New Mexico, on a section job in the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad yard between Clovis and Vaughn, New Mexico
Iden, New Mexico. Assistant foreman George Zamora of Mountainair, New Mexico, on a section job in the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad yard between Clovis and Vaughn, New Mexico
Delano, Jack, 1943. Library of Congress
Iden, New Mexico. One of the bunk cars for section workers of a train on the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad between Clovis and Vaughn, New Mexico
Iden, New Mexico. One of the bunk cars for section workers of a train on the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad between Clovis and Vaughn, New Mexico
Delano, Jack, 1943. Library of Congress
Vaughn, New Mexico. Train inspector at work in the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad yard, between Clovis and Vaughn, New Mexico
Vaughn, New Mexico. Train inspector at work in the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad yard, between Clovis and Vaughn, New Mexico
Delano, Jack, 1943. Library of Congress
Vaughn, New Mexico. A caboose on the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad yard converted from an old box car
Vaughn, New Mexico. A caboose on the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad yard converted from an old box car
Delano, Jack, 1943. Library of Congress
Iden, New Mexico. Joe Melende, left, and E. Argonne of Mountainair, New Mexico. Section workers on a job in the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad yard, between Clovis and Vaughn, New Mexico
Iden, New Mexico. Joe Melende, left, and E. Argonne of Mountainair, New Mexico. Section workers on a job in the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad yard, between Clovis and Vaughn, New Mexico
Delano, Jack, 1943. Library of Congress
Iden, New Mexico. The last few workers have breakfast in the dining car of work train on the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe yard, between Clovis and Vaughn, New Mexico
Iden, New Mexico. The last few workers have breakfast in the dining car of work train on the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe yard, between Clovis and Vaughn, New Mexico
Delano, Jack, 1943. Library of Congress
Iden, New Mexico. Jacob Chaves of Torion, New Mexico, left, and Louis Bocca of Willard, New Mexico. Section workers on a job in the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad yard between Clovis and Vaughn, New Mexico
Iden, New Mexico. Jacob Chaves of Torion, New Mexico, left, and Louis Bocca of Willard, New Mexico. Section workers on a job in the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad yard between Clovis and Vaughn, New Mexico
Delano, Jack, 1943. Library of Congress

Every photograph of Guadalupe County

Fires near this place

7 since 2002

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 7 fires within 5 miles of Vaughn between 2002 and 2018, burning about 10,401 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
Railroad operations and maintenance2
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
14 September 2010Natural300 acresLas Vegas DistrictCABALLEO
24 July 2005Railroad operations and maintenance2,500 acresNew Mexico State Forestry DivisionDOUBLE V V
29 June 2018Missing data/not specified/undetermined138 acresLas Vegas DistrictNIGHT
25 June 2002Natural7,420 acresNew Mexico State Forestry DivisionTEJON
17 April 2013Equipment and vehicle use10 acresNew Mexico State Forestry DivisionTEJON
30 March 2009Railroad operations and maintenance30 acresNew Mexico State Forestry DivisionTUNNEL
27 October 2002Missing data/not specified/undetermined3.0 acresNew Mexico State Forestry DivisionSMALL

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Guadalupe County

Mines and quarries near this place

2 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 2 workings within 5 miles of Vaughn: 2 past producers. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction. 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
Materials Pit 66-3-SSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Materials Pit 72-18-SSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer

Every working recorded in Guadalupe County

Storms near this place

35 since 1996

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Vaughn in 35 storm reports between 1996 and 2026: 22 hail, 6 thunderstorm wind, 5 tornado, 1 flash flood. 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
July 2009Thunderstorm WindVaughn$5,000A two foot diameter, 60 foot tall tree was blown down in the front of a police station. Winds were estimated at 60 to 70 mph.
August 2007Thunderstorm WindVaughn$4,000A bow echo caused damaging winds which blew down a small tree, caused roof damage to city buildings and blew down a sign at a gas station.
July 2009HailVaughn$500A wind shield was damaged on a vehicle.
April 2026Tornado (EFU)Vaughn-Workers looking east from a wind farm field team near Corona observed a brief tornado.
May 2025Thunderstorm WindVaughn-The mesonet station a few miles southeast of Vaughn measured a 61 mph wind gust as showers moved through the area.
May 2025Thunderstorm WindVaughn-The mesonet station a few miles southeast of Vaughn measured a peak wind gust surpassing the limits of their instrumentation of 67 mph with another wind gust of 61 mph shortly thereafter as showers moved through the area.
May 2025Thunderstorm WindVaughn-A public station along the Union Pacific Railroad east of Vaughn measured a wind gust of 60 mph as virga showers moved through the area.
May 2023Tornado (EFU)Vaughn-Storm chasers shared video of a brief tornado in a very remote area just north of Vaughn, NM.
July 2023Thunderstorm WindVaughn-A mesonet station just southeast of Vaughn reported a 67 mph wind gust from a dry thunderstorm.
May 2021HailVaughn-A trained spotter estimated nickel size hail from a strong thunderstorm near Vaughn. A travel camera indicated that hail had accumulated along U.S. Highway 285, but no impacts were reported.
May 2021HailVaughn-A trained spotter reported penny size hail from a strong thunderstorm tracking eastward near Vaughn.
June 2021HailVaughn-A storm chaser southeast of Vaughn reported nickel size hail from a strong thunderstorm tracking southward through the area.
June 2020HailVaughn-A storm chaser in the Vaughn area reported nickel size hail with a strong thunderstorm that moved through the area.
June 2019HailVaughn-Penny size hail in Vaughn.
September 2016Funnel CloudVaughn-Funnel cloud reported via local media on Twitter south of Vaughn.
September 2016Tornado (EF0)Vaughn-A distant tornado was spotted approximately 13 miles south-southwest of Vaughn by the COOP observer near Pedernal. Tornado appeared on the ground for around 3 to 5 minutes with no damage reported.
June 2015HailVaughn-New Mexico Department of Transportation reported penny size hail near Vaughn.
September 2008Tornado (EF0)Vaughn-A tropical funnel briefly touched down near Vaughn.
June 1999HailVaughn-State Police reported hail, strong wind and heavy rain at the scene of an accident on Highway 285.
September 2014HailVaughn-no account filed
September 2014HailVaughn-no account filed
May 2010HailVaughn-no account filed
July 2009HailVaughn-no account filed
July 2009HailVaughn-no account filed
June 2007HailVaughn-no account filed
August 2007HailVaughn-no account filed
June 2007HailVaughn-no account filed
June 2007HailVaughn-no account filed
June 2005HailVaughn-no account filed
July 2004HailVaughn-no account filed
October 2004HailVaughn-no account filed
July 2002Flash FloodVaughn-no account filed
April 2000HailVaughn-no account filed
June 1999Tornado (F0)Vaughn-no account filed
July 1996HailVaughn-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Guadalupe 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
Tony1.7 miles6
Tejon4.2 miles6
Leoncito6.1 miles6
Joffre11.7 miles6
Pastura18.7 miles6
Sombrio (historical)19.3 miles6
Pintada20.7 miles6
Milagro23.3 miles6

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 VaughnAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q2376326The 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 918400. 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.