- Columbus, New Mexico
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Columbus, New Mexico — Village — View of Columbus from Pancho Villa State Park
Location of Columbus, New Mexico
Coordinates: 31°49′51″N 107°38′30″W / 31.83083°N 107.64167°WCoordinates: 31°49′51″N 107°38′30″W / 31.83083°N 107.64167°W Country United States State New Mexico County Luna Founded 1891 Government - Mayor Eddie Espinoza Area - Total 2.8 sq mi (7.2 km2) - Land 2.8 sq mi (7.2 km2) - Water 0.0 sq mi (0.0 km2) Elevation 4,068 ft (1,240 m) Population (2000) - Total 1,765 - Density 635.3/sq mi (245.3/km2) Time zone Mountain (MST) (UTC-7) - Summer (DST) MDT (UTC-6) ZIP code 88029 Area code(s) 505 FIPS code 35-17050 GNIS feature ID 0897342 Website http://www.columbusnewmexico.com Columbus is a village in Luna County, New Mexico, United States. The population was 1,765 at the 2000 census. The town is named after 15th century explorer Christopher Columbus.
Contents
History
Main article: Battle of Columbus (1916)On March 9, 1916, on the orders of Mexican revolutionary leader Francisco "Pancho" Villa, (Colonel) Francisco Beltrán, (Colonel) Candelario Cervantes, (General) Nicolás Fernández, (General) Pablo López and others led five hundred men in an attack against the town, which was garrisoned by a detachment of the U.S. 13th Cavalry Regiment.[1] Villa's army burned a part of the town and killed seven or eight soldiers and 10 residents before retreating back into Mexico.
United States President Woodrow Wilson responded to the Columbus raid by sending 10,000 troops under Brigadier General John J. Pershing to Mexico to pursue Villa. This was known as the Punitive Mexican Expedition or Pancho Villa Expedition. The expedition was eventually called off after failing to find Villa, who had successfully escaped.[2]
In July 2011, Columbus dissolved its police force, due to a gun smuggling scandal that involved its village officials and others.[3][4] The Mayor, a village trustee, a former police chief, and nine other people were indicted in the scandal.[3][4] The case is being prosecuted by the United States Attorney from El Paso, Texas, but the case will be tried starting October 3, 2011 before United States District Court Judge Robert Brack in Las Cruces, New Mexico.[4]
Geography
Columbus is located at 31°49′51″N 107°38′30″W / 31.83083°N 107.64167°W (31.830760, -107.641558)[5].
According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 2.8 square miles (7.3 km2), all of it land.
The village is approximately three miles north of the international border between the United States of America and Mexico. The Mexican village of Puerto Palomas, Chihuahua is on the opposite side of the border.
Demographics
As of the census[6] of 2000, there were 1,765 people, 536 households, and 411 families residing in the village. The population density was 635.3 people per square mile (245.1/km²). There were 720 housing units at an average density of 259.2 per square mile (100.0/km²). The racial makeup of the village was 70.42% White, 0.68% African American, 0.57% Native American, 0.06% Asian, 25.50% from other races, and 2.78% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 83.34% of the population.
There were 536 households out of which 50.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.8% were married couples living together, 10.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.3% were non-families. 20.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.29 and the average family size was 3.89.
In the village the population was spread out with 39.2% under the age of 18, 7.7% from 18 to 24, 22.0% from 25 to 44, 18.6% from 45 to 64, and 12.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 28 years. For every 100 females there were 100.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.6 males.
The median income for a household in the village was $13,773, and the median income for a family was $14,318. Males had a median income of $16,912 versus $12,344 for females. The per capita income for the village was $6,721. About 56.7% of families and 57.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 67.0% of those under age 18 and 20.2% of those age 65 or over.
Education
Columbus Elementary School is part of the Deming Public Schools District.
Columbus Elementary School is located 30 miles south of Deming and 3 miles north of Palomas, Mexico. The current enrollment at Columbus Elementary School consists of 441 students.[7]
90% of the students come from homes where Spanish is the dominant language. The staff at Columbus Elementary are required to be bilingually endorsed or working toward bilingual endorsement. The mission of Columbus Elementary School is to build on the students' bicultural and bilingual environment; they work in partnership with the parents and the community to enable students to reach their full potential.[7]
Students from Columbus and Puerto Palomas, Chihuahua Mexico attend Columbus Elementary from pre-school up to sixth grade. Students then move on to attend Red Mountain Middle School (6-8) in Deming, NM. Hofacket Mid-High School (9-12), and Deming High School(9-12).[8]
Deming Public Schools buses students residing in Mexico from the United States-Mexico border to Columbus Elementary .[9]
See also
- Village of Columbus and Camp Furlong, a U.S. National Historic Landmark District
References
- ^ "The March Of Events: Making Mexico Understand". The World's Work: A History of Our Time XXXI: 584–593. April 1916. http://books.google.com/?id=09_Sr9emceQC&pg=PA584. Retrieved 2009-08-04.
- ^ "U.S. Army Campaigns: Mexican Expedition". United States Army Center of Military History. http://www.history.army.mil/html/reference/army_flag/mexex.html.
- ^ a b Liz Goodwin (July 12, 1011). "New Mexico town dissolves police dept after gun smuggling scandal". Yahoo. http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/mexico-town-dissolves-police-dept-gun-smuggling-scandal-184408968.html#more-13679. Retrieved July 12, 1011.
- ^ a b c Ashley Meeks (June 30, 1011). "El Paso office to work on Columbus gun case". Las Cruces Sun-News. http://www.lcsun-news.com/las_cruces-news/ci_18382826. Retrieved July 12, 1011.
- ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2011-02-12. http://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/gazette.html. Retrieved 2011-04-23.
- ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
- ^ a b "Columbus Elementary School - Columbus School Report Card". http://columbus.demingps.org/site_res_view_template.aspx?id=7db3dcca-556d-4d10-87d3-364cb2b02be0.
- ^ "Growth/Enrollment Analysis 2006-2017 Deming Public Schools". http://www.demingps.org/www/demingps/site/hosting/Deming%20GE%20Final.pdf.
- ^ Viren, Sarah (August 29, 2007). "Mexican children cross border to go to school". Houston Chronicle. http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/special/immigration/4758501.html.
External links
Municipalities and communities of Luna County, New Mexico City 
Village Columbus
Ghost towns Categories:- Battlefields in the United States
- Populated places in Luna County, New Mexico
- Villages in New Mexico
- Populated places in New Mexico with Hispanic majority populations
- 1916 in Mexico
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