Raton, New Mexico

Raton, New Mexico
City

Downtown Raton (2010)

Location within Colfax County and New Mexico
Coordinates: 36°53′49″N 104°26′24″W / 36.89694°N 104.44000°W / 36.89694; -104.44000Coordinates: 36°53′49″N 104°26′24″W / 36.89694°N 104.44000°W / 36.89694; -104.44000
Country United States
State New Mexico
County Colfax
Area
 • Total 8.0 sq mi (20.6 km2)
 • Land 8.0 sq mi (20.6 km2)
 • Water 0.0 sq mi (0.0 km2)
Elevation 6,680 ft (2,036 m)
Population (2010)
 • Total 6,885
 • Density 870/sq mi (330/km2)
Time zone Mountain (MST) (UTC-7)
 • Summer (DST) MDT (UTC-6)
ZIP code 87740
Area code 575
FIPS code 35-62060
GNIS feature ID 0902335
Website ratonnm.gov

Raton is a city and the county seat of Colfax County in northeastern New Mexico. The city is located just south of Raton Pass.

History

Santa Fe Trail in Raton
Amtrak station

Ratón is the Spanish term for "mouse" (literally "small rat"). The Raton Range and Raton Peak are located immediately north of the town. The Raton Range is a 75-mile-long (121 km) ridge that extends east from the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. Raton Pass and the Raton Basin are also named for the Raton Range.

Raton Pass had been used by Spanish explorers and Indians for centuries to cut through the rugged Rocky Mountains, but the trail was too rough for wagons on the Santa Fe Trail.

The post office at this location was named Willow Springs from 1877 to 1879, Otero from 1879 to 1880, then renamed Raton in 1880.[1]:286

Raton was founded at the site of Willow Springs, a stop on the Santa Fe Trail. The original 320 acres (129.5 ha) for the Raton townsite were purchased from the Maxwell Land Grant in 1880. In 1879, the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway bought a local toll road and established a busy rail line. Raton quickly developed as a railroad, mining and ranching center for the northeast part of the New Mexico territory, as well as the county seat and principal trading center of the area.

The city is mentioned in Jack Kerouac's novel On the Road.

Geography

Raton is located at 36°53′49″N 104°26′24″W / 36.89694°N 104.44000°W / 36.89694; -104.44000 (36.897082, -104.439912).[2] According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 8.0 square miles (20.6 km2), all land.[3]

Geology

Iridium Layer sign at the rocks of the K-T Boundary, in Climax Canyon Park, City of Raton.
Solano's Boot & Western Wear, a family-owned enterprise at 101 South Second Street in Raton, began in 1956 as a small boot repair business operated by Andy Solano.[4]
First Christian Church, in dark pink adobe architecture, is located near the municipal building in Raton; pastor Cleve Bishop (2010).
Raton sign located on a hill above the city (summer 2010)
Downtown Raton (1972)

Raton is one of the famous sites for viewing the K-T Boundary, also known as the K-Pg Boundary or Cretaceous-Paleogene Boundary, or the Iridium Layer.[5] There is a well-preserved sequence of rocks spanning the Cretaceous–Paleogene boundary in Climax Canyon Park, a Raton city park to the west of town.[5][6] Geographic Coordinates: 36°54′13.99″N 104°27′0.75″W / 36.9038861°N 104.4502083°W / 36.9038861; -104.4502083

The rocks have been studied for evidence of the iridium anomaly cited as evidence of a large meteorite impact at the end of the Cretaceous.[5][7] It is interpreted to have caused the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event which killed off non-avian dinosaurs, as well as many other species of flora and fauna 65 million years ago.[7] The K-T Boundary is represented in the rock strata by a 1-cm thick tonstein clay layer which has been found to contain anomalously high concentrations of iridium.[5]

Demographics

Historical population
Census Pop. %±
18901,255—
19003,540182.1%
19104,53928.2%
19205,54422.1%
19306,0909.8%
19407,60724.9%
19508,2418.3%
19608,146−1.2%
19706,962−14.5%
19808,22518.1%
19907,372−10.4%
20007,282−1.2%
20106,885−5.5%
Est. 20156,187[8]−10.1%
U.S. Decennial Census[9]

As of the census[10] of 2000, there were 7,282 people, 3,035 households, and 1,981 families residing in the city. The population density was 992.4 people per square mile (383.1/km²). There were 3,472 housing units at an average density of 473.2 per square mile (182.6/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 78.04% White, 0.23% African American, 1.59% Native American, 0.40% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 16.19% from other races, and 3.53% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 56.96% of the population.

There were 3,035 households out of which 30.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.0% were married couples living together, 12.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.7% were non-families. 30.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.35 and the average family size was 2.92.

In the city the population was spread out with 25.1% under the age of 18, 7.8% from 18 to 24, 24.9% from 25 to 44, 23.9% from 45 to 64, and 18.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 94.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.1 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $27,028, and the median income for a family was $31,762. Males had a median income of $24,946 versus $18,433 for females. The per capita income for the city was $14,223. About 14.8% of families and 17.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 25.2% of those under age 18 and 10.4% of those age 65 or over.

Transportation

Road

Rail

Air

Recreation

Sugarite Canyon State Park is located 12 miles (19 km) northeast of Raton at an elevation of 8,800 feet (2,700 m). Activities there include camping, fishing, and hiking.

The NRA Whittington Center is located 15 miles (24 km) southwest of Raton. It is the largest NRA shooting range in the US. It hosts national competitions. High-powered rifle and skeet shooting are possible.

Raton was the site of New Mexico's first horse racetrack, La Mesa Park, which closed in 1992.

Notable people

Notable group

See also

References

  1. ↑ Julyan, Robert (1998). The Place Names of New Mexico (Revised ed.). Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press. ISBN 0-8263-1689-1.
  2. ↑ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2011-02-12. Retrieved 2011-04-23.
  3. ↑ "Geographic Identifiers: 2010 Demographic Profile Data (G001): Raton city, New Mexico". U.S. Census Bureau, American Factfinder. Retrieved October 21, 2014.
  4. ↑ "The Solano Family Tradition". solanowesternwear.com. Retrieved August 28, 2010.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Pillmore, C.L.; Fleming, R. Farley (1990). "The Cretaceous-Tertiary Boundary in the Raton Basin, New Mexico and Colorado" (PDF). New Mexico Geological Society Guidebook. 41st Field Conference, Souther Sangre de Cristo Mountains, New Mexico (Southern Sangre de Cristo Mountains): 327–331. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
  6. ↑ Raton, City Manager (2014). Old Raton Pass City Park Map and Brochure (Paper Re-Print ed.). Raton, New Mexico: Raton Visitor Center. p. 1-2.
  7. 1 2 Asimov, Isaac (14 April 1989). "Theory Has Impact on Dinosaur Doom". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
  8. ↑ "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Incorporated Places: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2015". Retrieved July 2, 2016.
  9. ↑ "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
  10. ↑ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2008-01-31.

Further reading

Conway, Jay T., (1930). - A brief community history of Raton, New Mexico, 1880-1930: Commemorating Her Fiftieth Birthday. - Raton, New Mexico: Gazette Print. OCLC 21705239. 

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