Mountainair

Statistics

• Area: 1.58 square miles
• Incorporated: 1921
• Location: 35-miles east of Belen at the southern edge of the Manzano Mountains
• Population, 2015: 878

Economy

• Major private employers: P&M Signs, Central New Mexico Electric Cooperative, High Lonesome Wind Ranch (electricity generation).

History

Mountainair was founded in 1903 at Abo Pass, a long gentle rise between the Rio Grande and the Estancia Valley. Three men from Kansas decided that their town site should be on the Santa Fe Railway's Belen cut-off. This was a route east from Belen that would save 10-hours on the run to Chicago. When the cut-off was completed in 1906, homesteaders began to arrive and the town boomed. In 1923, folk artist Clem "Pop" Shaffer built a hotel and in 1932 added a dining room, which is itself a work of art. Once known as the "Pinto Bean Capital of the World," Mountainair had the world's largest pinto bean processing center. A drought in the 1940's ended bean farming, and ranching quickly took its place.

Demographics

Population

                   

    

Government

• Four councilors, elected to four-year staggered terms
• Mayor, elected every four years

Utilities

• Electric: Central New Mexico Electric Cooperative
• Natural Gas: Town of Mountainair
• Sewer: Town of Mountainair
• Solid Waste: Town of Mountainair
• Source: Ground water
• Telephone: CenturyLink or Plateau
• Water: Town of Mountainair

Transportation

• Air: Mountainair Municipal Airport (general aviation)
• Highways: U.S. 60 and New Mexico State Road 55
• Train, Freight: Burlington Northern and Santa Fe

Education

• Kindergarten to 12th grade: Mountainair School District

Amenities

• Entertainment: The Mountainair Activity Center has a 300-seat indoor concert hall, a full-service kitchen and dining room, a small chapel, bunk houses, a basketball gym, and an indoor swimming pool. Outside are a baseball diamond, basketball court, horseshoe rings and volleyball court.
• Hiking: The Manzano Mountains lie to the west. In the Mountainair Ranger District are eight campgrounds and many trails for hiking, cross-country skiing, and horseback riding. Hawkwatch International uses Capilla Peak to watch hawk and eagle migrations.
• National monument: Salinas National Monument preserves ruins of Indian pueblos and churches at three sites - Abo, Quarai, and Gran Quivira.
• Rodeo: The Mountainair Rodeo Grounds hosts events from March to September, including a PRCA rodeo in June.
• State parks: Manzano State Park, 13-miles northwest of Mountainair, offers trout fishing and camping. One of the oldest apple orchards in the United States overlooks Manzano Lake. ("Manzano" means "apple" in Spanish.)