Otero County is a county located in the U.S. state of New Mexico. As of the 2010 census, the population was 63,797. Its county seat is Alamogordo. Its southern boundary is the Texas state line. It is named for Miguel Antonio Otero, the territorial governor when the county was created.
Alamogordo is the seat of Otero County, New Mexico, United States. A city in the Tularosa Basin of the Chihuahuan Desert, it is bordered on the east by the Sacramento Mountains and to the west by Holloman Air Force Base. The population was 30,403 as of the 2010 census. Alamogordo is known for its connection with the 1945 Trinity test, which was the first ever explosion of an atomic bomb.
Cloudcroft is a village in Otero County, New Mexico, United States, and is located within the Lincoln National Forest. The population was 674 at the 2010 census. Despite being located in an otherwise arid region, its high elevation allows for a mild summer that makes it a popular tourist attraction in west Texas and southern New Mexico. It was named by Fodor's in 2002 as the Number 3 "Most Overlooked and Underrated Destination Spot." Tourism remains the primary economic driver of the village.
La Luz is a census-designated place (CDP) in Otero County, New Mexico, United States. The population was 1,615 at the 2000 census. It is located immediately north of Alamogordo and lies in the eastern edge of the Tularosa Basin and on the western flank of the Sacramento Mountains. Until 1848, La Luz was a part of Mexico. The CDP gets its name from the Spanish word for "light."
Timberon is a census-designated place (CDP) in Otero County, New Mexico, United States, and is within the Sacramento Mountains at the southern edge of the Lincoln National Forest. The population was 309 at the 2000 census.
The Sacramento Mountains are a mountain range in the south-central part of the U.S. state of New Mexico, lying just east of Alamogordo in Otero County. From north to south, the Sacramento Mountains extend for 85 miles (137 km), and from east to west they encompass 42 miles (68 km).
Lincoln National Forest is a unit of the U.S. Forest Service located in southern New Mexico. Established by Presidential Proclamation in 1902 as the Lincoln Forest Reserve, the 1,103,897 acres (4,467.31 km2) forest begins near the Texas border and contains lands in parts of Chaves, Eddy, Lincoln, and Otero counties. The three Ranger Districts within the forest contain all or part of four mountain ranges, and include a variety of different environmental areas, from desert to heavily forested mountains and sub-alpine grasslands. Established to balance conservation, resource management, and recreation, the lands of the Lincoln National Forest include important local timber resources, protected wilderness areas, and popular recreation and winter sports areas. The forest headquarters is located in Alamogordo, N.M. with local offices in Carlsbad, Cloudcroft, and Ruidoso.
Hollywood is a neighborhood of Ruidoso, in Lincoln County, New Mexico, United States and is part of the Lincoln National Forest. It is a small community on U.S. Route 70, between Ruidoso Downs and the central part of the village of Ruidoso.
High Rolls is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Otero County, New Mexico, United States. It is nestled within the Lincoln National Forest at the southernmost tip of the Sacramento Mountains. Elevation is approximately 6,750 feet (2,060 m). High Rolls includes a general store, a post office, an elementary school, two churches, and sometimes a bar. High Rolls has many local attractions and festivities for the locals or first time visitor to enjoy. It is also home to two annual festivals, the Cherry Festival and the Apple Festival, both presented by The High Rolls/Mountain Park Lions Club.
Alamogordo Daily News, founded in 1898, is a daily newspaper published in Alamogordo, New Mexico. It carries local news as well as syndicated content from Associated Press and others.
Alamo National Forest is a disestablished National Forest in southern New Mexico. The Forest was established on July 2, 1908, by an Executive Order (908) signed by President Theodore Roosevelt that consolidated two existing U.S. Forest Service units, the Guadalupe National Forest, established on April 19, 1907, to protect a part of the Guadalupe Mountains north of the Texas border, and the Sacramento National Forest, established on April 24, 1907, to preserve the heavily forested Sacramento Mountains east of Alamogordo. The new forest encompassed approximately 800,000 acres of public land and was divided into a number of Ranger districts, including the Carson Seep district in the former Guadalupe forest and the Fresnal, La Luz, Mayhill and Weed districts in the former Sacramento forest. The Forest boundaries were enlarged on March 2, 1909, by Presidential Proclamation when Roosevelt removed timber-rich land from the adjacent Mescalero Apache Reservation and added them to the forest. These lands were returned to the Mescalero Apache three years later on March 1, 1912, by an Executive Order (1481) signed by President William Howard Taft, who noted his desire to “restore the Mescalero Apache Indian Reservation in all respects to the status existing prior to the said proclamation of March 2, 1909, as though the inclusion of the lands within the Alamo National Forest had not been ordered.” The final change of boundaries came on April 3, 1916, when President Woodrow Wilson issued a proclamation both adding to and eliminating lands from the forest area. A little over a year later the Alamo National Forest was disestablished by Executive Order (2633) and the forest’s lands transferred to the nearby Lincoln National Forest, a former Forest Reserve first established in 1902 to protect lands around Capitan and Lincoln. Under this new administration the Carson Seep Ranger District was renamed the Guadalupe Ranger District, and the Fresnal district was renamed the Cloudcroft district. The Mayhill and Weed districts retained their names until 1961 when the Cloudcroft, Mayhill, and Weed districts were consolidated into the current Sacramento Ranger District.
Guadalupe National Forest is a former National Forest in southern New Mexico. The Forest was originally established on April 19, 1907 by a Proclamation issued by President Theodore Roosevelt. Led by inaugural Supervisor J. H. Kinney, the forest was initially based in Carlsbad, New Mexico, but within a year the headquarters was moved to Alamogordo. Soon after, on July 2, 1908, President Roosevelt issued Executive Order 908. which consolidated the Guadalupe with the nearby Sacramento National Forest to create the Alamo National Forest. Arthur M. Neal, the last supervisor of the independent Guadalupe forest became the initial supervisor for the new Alamo National Forest, with his headquarters in Alamogordo. Under this new administrative scheme the former Guadalupe National Forest was renamed the Carson Seep Ranger District of the Alamo National Forest. On June 6, 1917, President Woodrow Wilson issued Executive Order 2633, which disestablished the Alamo National Forest and transferred all of its lands to the Lincoln National Forest. As a result of this order, the Carson Seep Ranger District was renamed to its current designation, the Guadalupe Ranger District of the Lincoln National Forest, with its headquarters in Carlsbad.
The El Paso and Northeastern Railway (EP&NE) was a short line railroad that was built around the beginning of the twentieth century to help connect the industrial and commercial center at El Paso, Texas, with physical resources and the United States' national transportation hub in Chicago. Founded by Charles Eddy, the EP&NE was the primary railroad in a system organized under the New Mexico Railway and Coal Company (NMRy&CCo), a holding company which owned several other railroads and also owned mining and industrial properties served by the lines.
Mayhill is an unincorporated community in Otero County, New Mexico, United States. It is surrounded by the Lincoln National Forest on the eastern slope of the Sacramento Mountains, at the confluence of James Canyon and Rio Penasco, approximately 17 miles east of Cloudcroft. The elevation is 6580 feet.
U.S. Route 82 (US 82) is a part of the U.S. Highway System that travels from Alamogordo, New Mexico, east to Brunswick, Georgia. In the U.S. state of New Mexico, US 82 extends from Alamogordo and ends at the Texas state line northeast of Lovington.
Queen is an unincorporated community in Eddy County in southeastern New Mexico, in the southwestern United States. Although it currently has a population of around 50, it was formerly considered a ghost town. Located in the foothills on the east side of the Guadalupe Mountains, in the southern Lincoln National Forest, it flourished in the early 20th century as a ranching center. Queen is located alongside NM Route 137, about 27 mi southwest of Carlsbad.
Piñon is an unincorporated ranching community in Otero County in southern New Mexico, in the southwestern United States. The town is in the pinon-juniper shrublands habitat with an altitude of 6,060 feet. It is located at the intersection of NM Route 24 and NM Route 506. The postoffice in Piñon opened in 1907. In 2014, Piñon was ranked as the most politically conservative town in New Mexico.
The Alamagordo Municipal School District No. 1, also the Alamogordo Public School District or Alamogordo Public Schools (APS), is a school district that serves the communities of Alamogordo, High Rolls, Holloman Air Force Base, Mountain Park, and La Luz and portions of unincorporated Otero County in the state of New Mexico.
State Road 244 (NM 244) is a 29.435-mile (47.371 km) state highway in northern Otero County, New Mexico, United States, that connects U.S. Route 82 (US 82) in Cloudcroft with U.S. Route 70 (US 70) northeast of Mescalero.
Cloudcroft Municipal Schools is a school district headquartered in Cloudcroft, New Mexico. It includes Cloudcroft Elementary/Middle School and Cloudcroft High School.
