Pie Town, New Mexico

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Pie Town, New Mexico
Pie town homesteader dugout.jpg
Homesteader with dugout house in Pie Town, 1940 photograph by Russell Lee.
Motto: 
America's Friendliest Little Town
USA New Mexico location map.svg
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Pie Town
Location within New Mexico
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Pie Town
Pie Town (the United States)
Coordinates: 34°20′24″N108°10′15″W / 34.34000°N 108.17083°W / 34.34000; -108.17083 [1]
Country United States
State New Mexico
County Catron County
Area
  Total57.3 sq mi (148.4 km2)
  Land57.3 sq mi (148.3 km2)
  Water0.04 sq mi (0.1 km2)
Elevation
[1]
7,536 ft (2,297 m)
Population
 (2020)
  Total111
  Density3/sq mi (1.3/km2)
Time zone UTC−7 (MST)
  Summer (DST) UTC−6 (MDT)
ZIP Code
87827
Area code 575
GNIS feature ID2584176 [1]

Pie Town is an unincorporated community and census-designated place located along U.S. Highway 60 in Catron County, New Mexico. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 186. [2] Pie Town's name comes from an early bakery that specialized in dried-apple pies, established by Clyde Norman in the early 1920s.[ citation needed ] Pie Town has been noted for its colorful place name. [3] Pie Town is the location of a "Pie Festival" on the second Saturday of each September. [4] Pie Town is located immediately north of the Gila National Forest and not very far west of the Plains of San Agustin, the location of the Very Large Array radio telescope, which is also located along U.S. 60. In addition, one of the ten large radio antennas that form the Very Long Baseline Array of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory can be seen from U.S. 60, just east of Pie Town.

Contents

Depictions in media

Pie Town and its people were photographed in 1940 by Russell Lee, a photographer for the Farm Security Administration of the U.S. government. Pie Town, Lee's photos, and the local restaurant, the Daily Pie Cafe, were the subject of an article in Smithsonian magazine in February 2005. [5] In 2014, a feature-length documentary, Pie Lady of Pie Town, was produced. [6] CBS News Sunday Morning aired a story about the town in 2015.

Education

The school district is Quemado Schools. [7]

Tourism

Pie Town is located along U.S. 60, 83 miles (134 km) west of Socorro and approximately 290 miles (470 km) east of Phoenix, Arizona. [8] [9] Albuquerque is 136 miles (219 km) to the northeast by other highways.

The center of Pie Town is 2 miles (3 km) west of where US 60 crosses the Continental Divide, and some visitors arrive by way of the Continental Divide Trail (CDT) that provides a respite between Silver City and Grants, New Mexico. For cyclists, equestrians, motorcyclists, and hikers, Pie Town provides a number of services, including lodging, supplies, and unique flavors of pie on request. In June 2007, three residents of Pie Town, Nita Larronde, Don Kearney, and Kathy Knapp, were awarded the Curry Trail Angel Award by the Adventure Cycling Association in recognition for their kindness and generosity. [10]

The area of Pie Town is rich in relics of the Native Americans. Many Anasazi and Acoma pottery shards have been found in the area, along with grinding slicks, an ancient axe head, and petrified wood. Some fossilized bones have been found on the ground. The ruins of Native American communities, which consist of one to a few dozen structures, are found here.

The Pie Town Annual Pie Festival includes a pie-baking contest, games and races, music, food, and arts and crafts. [11]

See also

Related Research Articles

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Reserve is a village in Catron County, New Mexico, United States. The population was 289 as of the 2010 census, down from 387 in 2000. It is the county seat of Catron County. Currently the village has two grocery stores, a hardware store, a bar, fairgrounds, and a health clinic. It is the site where Elfego Baca held off a gang of Texan cowboys who wanted to kill him for arresting cowboy Charles McCarty.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aragon, New Mexico</span> Census-designated place in New Mexico, United States

Aragon is a census-designated place on the Tularosa River in Catron County, New Mexico, United States. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 94. It is located 7 miles (11 km) northeast of Apache Creek.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Datil, New Mexico</span> Census-designated place in New Mexico, United States

Datil is a census-designated place in Catron County, New Mexico, United States. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 54. Located at the intersection of U.S. Route 60 and New Mexico State Road 12, Datil is on the edge of the Cibola National Forest. The Very Large Array is also nearby.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plains of San Agustin</span>

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Mogollon, also called the Mogollon Historic District, is a former mining town located in the Mogollon Mountains in Catron County, New Mexico, United States. Located east of Glenwood and Alma, it was founded in the 1880s at the bottom of Silver Creek Canyon to support the gold and silver mines in the surrounding mountains. The "Little Fannie" mine became the most important employer for the town. During the 1890s, Mogollon had a transient population of between 3,000 and 6,000 miners. Because of its isolation, it had a reputation as one of the wildest mining towns in the West. Today Mogollon is listed as Fannie Hill Mill and Company Town Historic District on the National Register of Historic Places.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Quemado, New Mexico</span> Census-designated place in New Mexico, United States

Quemado is a census-designated place in Catron County, New Mexico, United States. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 228. Walter De Maria's 1977 art installation, The Lightning Field, is between Quemado and Pie Town, New Mexico.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">U.S. Route 60 in New Mexico</span> Segment of American highway

U.S. Route 60 (US 60) is an east–west United States Highway within New Mexico. It begins at the Arizona state line and continues east to the Texas state line.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Mexico State Road 603</span> State highway in New Mexico, United States

State Road 603 (NM 603) is a 22.7-mile-long (36.5 km) state highway in the US state of New Mexico. NM 603's southern terminus is at U.S. Route 60 (US 60) in Pie Town, and the northern terminus is at NM 36 north of Quemado.

Quemado Independent Schools is a school district headquartered in Quemado, New Mexico, U.S. Shelby Perea of the Albuquerque Journal described the district, located in a rural area, as being "small".

Alegres Mountain is located on the Colorado Plateau in Catron County, New Mexico. Alegres Mountain is found in the Mangas Mountains and is the 180th highest peak in New Mexico and ranked 30th by prominence.

References

  1. 1 2 3 U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Pie Town, New Mexico
  2. "Geographic Identifiers: 2010 Demographic Profile Data (G001): Pie Town CDP, New Mexico". U.S. Census Bureau, American Factfinder. Archived from the original on February 12, 2020. Retrieved October 16, 2014.
  3. Symons, Mitchell (November 8, 2012). The Bumper Book For The Loo: Facts and figures, stats and stories – an unputdownable treat of trivia. Transworld. p. 270. ISBN   978-1-4481-5271-1.
  4. "Pie Town, New Mexico, Pie Festival USA". Pie Town Festival USA. Pie Town Festival USA. Retrieved July 28, 2018.
  5. Hendrickson, Paul (February 2005). "Savoring Pie Town". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved March 14, 2018.
  6. Rosemont, Jane (June 3, 2014), Pie Lady of Pie Town , retrieved August 26, 2016
  7. "2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Catron County, NM" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau . Retrieved July 12, 2022.
  8. "pietown.com". Archived from the original on February 8, 2009. Retrieved April 23, 2018.
  9. "A bit about the Pie-o-neer Cafe". Pie-O-Neer Pies. February 13, 2016. Retrieved July 28, 2018.
  10. "Past Bicycle Travel Award Winners - Awards". September 11, 2015. Retrieved April 23, 2018.
  11. "Pie Town New Mexico". Pie Town. Archived from the original on June 15, 2012. Retrieved June 19, 2012.