Pastura, New Mexico

Infobox Settlement
official_name = Pastura
settlement_type = Unincorporated Area
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subdivision_type = Country
subdivision_type1 = State
subdivision_type2 = County
subdivision_name = United States
subdivision_name1 = New Mexico
subdivision_name2 = Guadalupe
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elevation_m =
elevation_ft = 5295
latd = 34 |latm = 46 |lats = |latNS = N
longd = 104 |longm = 59 |longs = |longEW = W
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timezone = Mountain
utc_offset = -7
timezone_DST = DST
utc_offset_DST = -6
latitude = longitude =
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postal_code_type = ZIP codes
postal_code = 88435
area_code = 575
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Pastura, New Mexico is a small, unincorporated community on New Mexico Highway 54, approximately equidistant between Santa Rosa and Vaughn in Guadalupe County. It was established in 1901 as a watering spot for steam trains on the Southern Pacific Railroad. [ [http://www.nenewmexico.com/counties.php?p=88 Northeast New Mexico - Pastura ] ] In 1903 the US Postal Service built a post office in Pastura in response to its growth, and in 1907, The Southern Pacific railroad built a 142 mile wooden pipeline from the Sierra Blanca mountain range to Pastura.

The small town began to decline when it was bypassed by Route 66, which passed 20 miles to the north. When the steam locomotives were replaced by diesel locomotives in the 1940s, the railroad no longer needed to use Pastura as a watering stop, and the town declined even further. Today the area is a small farming communtity.

The Chicano author, Rudolfo Anaya, was born in Pastura in 1937.

References