Arroyo Seco, New Mexico

Arroyo Seco
Census-designated place
Welcome sign in Arroyo Seco
Etymology: Spanish for "Dry Creek"
Arroyo Seco Location of Arroyo Seco in New Mexico and in the United States Show map of New Mexico Arroyo Seco Arroyo Seco (the United States) Show map of the United States
Coordinates: 36°30′50″N105°36′34″W / 36.51389°N 105.60944°W / 36.51389; -105.60944
Country	United States
State	New Mexico
County	Taos
Settled	1806
Government
• Type	unincorporated community
Area [1]
• Total	6.83 sq mi (17.68 km2)
• Land	6.83 sq mi (17.68 km2)
• Water	0.00 sq mi (0.00 km2)
Elevation [2]	7,582 ft (2,311 m)
Population  (2020) [3]
• Total	1,979
• Density	289.92/sq mi (111.94/km2)
Time zone	UTC−7 (Mountain (MST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC−6 (MDT)
ZIP code	87514
Area code	575
FIPS code	35-05150
GNIS feature ID	2629104 [2]

Arroyo Seco is a census-designated place in Taos County near Taos, New Mexico. Arroyo Seco's economy is based on tourism and services to residents of retirement and vacation homes.

Arroyo Seco has a post office, with the ZIP code 87514. The 87514 ZIP Code Tabulation Area had a population of 1,310 at the 2000 census, with 996 housing units, a land area of 53.63 sq. miles, a water area of 0.05 sq. mile, and a population density of 24.43 people per sq. mile at Census 2000. Arroyo Seco's elevation is 7,634 feet. ^[4]

History

Arroyo Seco was settled in 1804, on a Spanish land grant made on October 7, 1745. The Church of the Most Holy Trinity was completed in 1834 and has recently been restored. ^[5]

Overlooking Arroyo Seco stands Lucero Peak, a 10,780 feet (3,290 m) rock formation. Housed in the Peak is a cave that is sacred to the local Native American population of Taos Pueblo. The cave inspired D.H. Lawrence's short story "The Woman who Rode Away" after he visited it in May 1924 with Mabel Dodge Luhan, her husband Tony, and Lawrence's wife Frieda.

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
2010	1,785		—
2020	1,979		10.9%
U.S. Decennial Census [6]

Racial Makeup

Race (NH = Non-Hispanic)	% 2020 [7]	% 2010 [8]	Pop. 2020	Pop. 2010
White Alone (NH)	50.8%	51.5%	1,005	920
Black Alone (NH)	0.2%	0.3%	3	5
American Indian Alone (NH)	1.1%	0.9%	21	16
Asian Alone (NH)	1%	0.3%	20	6
Pacific Islander Alone (NH)	0.1%	0%	1	0
Other Race Alone (NH)	1.2%	0%	24	0
Multiracial (NH)	3.4%	1.5%	68	26
Hispanic (Any race)	42.3%	45.5%	837	812

As of the 2020 Census, there were 1,979 people, 924 households, and 1,148 housing units. The median age of the CDP were 55.2, with men being 55.8 and women being 54. ^[9] The most reported ancestries were Mexican (17.6%), English (13.2%), Spanish (including Spaniard and Spanish American) (11.2%), German (8.9%), Irish (8.8%), and Scottish (3.8%). ^[10]

Education

It is within Taos Municipal Schools, ^[11] which operates Taos High School.

Events

Arroyo Seco's annual Fourth of July parade is locally popular.

In culture

The words "She wrote her name there on my windshield, Just to remind me where she was from' Tina Louise, Arroyo Seco, New Mexico, 1971" in the Commander Cody and the Lost Planet Airmen song "Tina Louise" from their 1976 album Tales from the Ozone . Arroyo Seco is also mentioned in the title of the Fleet Foxes song "I Am All That I Need / Arroyo Seco / Thumbprint Scar" from their 2017 album Crack-Up.

Gallery

• 
  La Santisima Trinidad Catholic Church, March 2021
• 
  Welcome sign, 2011
• 
  Abe's Cantina y Cocina, Arroyo Seco, c. 2009
• 
  Lucero Peak, outside of Arroyo Seco
• 
  Pitching hay to roof of outbuilding, 1941
• 
  Mass at Arroyo Seco, 1941
• 
  Mass at Arroyo Seco, 1941
• 
  Small field at Arroyo Seco, 1941
• 
  "The road to Arroyo Seco; in the distance, the Sange de Cristo Mountains, from whose melting snow comes most of the water of the area," December 1941
• 
  "Arroyo Seco. Note road, transportation by horse, typical structure of outbuildings," December 1941

References

1. "ArcGIS REST Services Directory". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved October 12, 2022.
2. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Arroyo Seco, New Mexico
3. "Census Population API". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved October 12, 2022.
4. 87514 ZCTA data
5. Arroyo Seco history Archived 2011-03-21 at the Wayback Machine , by Larry Torres, UNM Taos
6. "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2016.
7. "HISPANIC OR LATINO, AND NOT HISPANIC OR LATINO BY RACE (2020)". data.census.gov. U.S. Census Bureau.
8. "HISPANIC OR LATINO, AND NOT HISPANIC OR LATINO BY RACE (2010)". data.census.gov. U.S. Census Bureau.
9. "PROFILE OF GENERAL POPULATION AND HOUSING CHARACTERISTICS (2020)". data.census.gov. U.S. Census Bureau.
10. "TOTAL POPULATION". data.census.gov. U.S. Census Bureau.
11. "2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Taos County, NM" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau . Retrieved July 12, 2022.

External links

• Arroyo Seco village website
• Arroyo Seco profile at Sangres.com, with photo gallery