Vaughn, New Mexico

Vaughn is a town in Guadalupe County, New Mexico, United States. The population was 446 at the 2010 census,[2] down from 539 at the 2000 census. It is located at an intersection of the Burlington Northern Santa Fe and Union Pacific railroad lines.

Vaughn was established in the early 20th century as a Southern Pacific Railroad town. The town's importance grew when a second railroad, the Eastern Railway of New Mexico (an Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe line from Belen to Clovis), was completed in 1907 with Vaughn as a division point. A large two-story depot, a roundhouse, and a Harvey House hotel were constructed shortly thereafter. Vaughn was incorporated in 1919 and in 1920 had a population of 888, according to the U.S. census.

The Guadalupe County Sheriff's Department, New Mexico Rangers,[3] the New Mexico State Police and Motor Transportation Police and the Vaughn Police Department[4] (presently a one-man agency) all patrol the town, which, according to the United States Homeland Security, is a known drug-smuggling route.

Raven Villanueva

Villanueva played as Cris in T.G.I.S. (Thank God It's Sabado), youth-oriented drama series aired on GMA Network from 1995 to 1997, together with Angelu de Leon, Bobby Andrews, Onemig Bondoc, Ciara Sotto, among others, and continued sequel Growing Up from 1997 to 1999. She did movie with Rica Peralejo and Mark Anthony Fernandez in Erik Matti's Dos Ekis (2001) under Viva Films.

Waterflow, New Mexico

Waterflow is an unincorporated community in San Juan County, New Mexico, United States on the north side of the San Juan River. It is immediately west of Fruitland and north across the river from the Navajo Nation. It is east of Shiprock.[1]

The area now known as Waterflow is traditional Navajo territory. This place was called Chʼį́įdii Łichííʼ (Red Devil) in reference to Walter Stallings who operated a trading post in the area;[3] nowadays, Tséyaa Akʼahí (beneath-rock oil) seems to be another designation in reference to the nearby oil fields, as can be seen on billboards in the area (pictured).

The early Anglo settlers in this area named the place "Jewett Valley", and established Jewett Valley Cemetery as early as 1886. Although some reports say these pioneers were predominantly Catholic, one of the earliest families to be buried in this cemetery, the Hunts, have long been LDS.[4]

Watrous (La Junta)

Watrous, also named La Junta, is a National Historic Landmark District near Watrous, New Mexico. It encompasses the historic junction point of the two major branches of the Santa Fe Trail, a major 19th-century frontier settlement route between St. Louis, Missouri and Santa Fe, New Mexico. La Junta, marked this junction point, as well as the first major indications of civilization before westbound travelers reached Santa Fe. The district includes a large area west of the modern community of Watrous, encompassing the confluence of the Mora and Sapello Rivers. Surviving buildings include the houses of early ranchers, as well as a stagecoach mailstop and inn. The district was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1963.[2][3]

The Santa Fe Trail was one of the major routes by which the American West was settled. It had two major branches: the Mountain Branch, which skirted north of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains and crossed southward at Raton Pass, and the Cimarron Cutoff, which ran a more direct route south of mountains but across desert that was also populated by hostile Native Americans. These two routes came together to the west of the confluence of the Mora and Sapello Rivers, which is just north of present-day Watrous. The Santa Fe Trail remained in use until the 1870s, when it was supplanted by Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway, whose route roughly follows the Cimarron Cutoff route. The railroad established the present-day community of Watrous east of the trail junction, after which the small community there was largely abandoned.[3]

The community at the trail junction was known as La Junta ("the junction" in Spanish), Tiptonville, or Watrous, the latter two based on the names of two early ranchers in the area, Samuel Watrous and William Tipton. There are 21 surviving structures or foundational remains in the district, most of which were built before 1870. Important surviving structures include the ranch house and store of Samuel Watrous (now on the Watrous Valley Ranch), a similar building belonging to William Tipton, and the rancho house of William Koenig. The Koenig House, built in the 1860s on what is now known as the Phoenix Ranch, is one of the state's finest examples of Territorial architecture. There are also three small cemeteries, and the remains of three structures associated with a horse corral managed by Fort Union.[3]

Zuni Pueblo, New Mexico

Zuni Pueblo (Zuni: Shiwinna, also Zuñi Pueblo and Pueblo de Zuñi) is a census-designated place (CDP) in McKinley County, New Mexico, United States. The population was 6,302 as of the 2010 Census.[1] It is inhabited largely by members of the Zuni people.

The first contact with Europeans occurred in 1539 in the ancient village of Hawikku when Esteban, an Arab/Berber of Moroccan origin, entered Zuni territory seeking the fabled "Seven Cities of Cibola."[2]

As of the census[5] of 2000, there were 6,367 people, 1,488 households, and 1,334 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 720.0 people per square mile (278.1/km²). There were 1,622 housing units at an average density of 183.4 per square mile (70.8/km²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 97.03% Native American, 2.12% White, 2.01% Hispanic or Latino, 0.03% African American, 0.03% Asian, 0.30% from other races, and 0.49% from two or more races.

Raton, New Mexico

Raton (ra-TONE)[2] is a city and the county seat of Colfax County in northeastern New Mexico. The city is located just south of Raton Pass. The city is also located approximately 6.5 miles south of the New Mexico/ Colorado border and 85 miles west of Texas.

Ratón is the Spanish term for "mouse" (literally "small rat"). The Raton Range and Raton Peak are located immediately north of the town. The Raton Range is a 75-mile-long (121 km) ridge that extends east from the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. Raton Pass and the Raton Basin are also named for the Raton Range.

Raton was founded at the site of Willow Springs, a stop on the Santa Fe Trail. The original 320 acres (129.5 ha) for the Raton townsite were purchased from the Maxwell Land Grant in 1880. In 1879, the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway bought a local toll road and established a busy rail line. Raton quickly developed as a railroad, mining and ranching center for the northeast part of the New Mexico territory, as well as the county seat and principal trading center of the area.

Silver City, New Mexico

Silver City is a town in Grant County, New Mexico, United States. It is the county seat[3] and the home of Western New Mexico University. As of the 2010 census the population was 10,315.[4] In 2015 the population was estimated to be 10,004.[5]

The valley that is now the site of Silver City once served as an Apache campsite. With the arrival of the Spaniards, the area became known for its copper mining. After the American Civil War, a settlement developed and became known as "La Ciénega de San Vicente" (the Oasis of St. Vincent). With a wave of American prospectors, the pace of change increased, and Silver City was founded in the summer of 1870. The founding of the town occurred shortly after the discovery of silver ore deposits at Chloride Flat, on the hill just west of the farm of Captain John M. Bullard and his brother James. Following the silver strike, Captain Bullard laid out the streets of Silver City, and a bustling tent city quickly sprang to life. Although the trajectory of Silver City's development was to be different from the hundreds of other mining boom towns established during the same period, Captain Bullard himself never lived to see even the beginnings of permanence, as he was killed in a confrontation with Apache raiders less than a year later, on February 23, 1871.

The town's violent crime rate was substantial during the 1870s. However, Grant County Sheriff Harvey Whitehill was elected in 1874, and gained a sizable reputation for his abilities at controlling trouble. In 1875, Whitehill became the first lawman to arrest Billy the Kid, known at the time under the alias of Henry Antrim. Whitehill arrested him twice, both times for theft in Silver City (Sheriff Whitehill testified to the Justice of the Peace that he believed Henry Antrim did not do the actual stealing the second time arrested, but assisted in the hiding of the property stolen by Sombrero Jack. Whitehill would later claim that the young man was a likeable kid, whose stealing was a result more of necessity than criminality. His mother is buried in the town cemetery. In 1878, the town hired its first town marshal, "Dangerous Dan" Tucker, who had been working as a deputy for Whitehill since 1875. Butch Cassidy and his Wild Bunch were also reported to frequent the Silver City saloons in the late 1800s.[6]

Red River, New Mexico

Red River is a resort town in Taos County, New Mexico, United States, located in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. The population was 477 at the 2010 census. Red River is a prime spot for tourism on the Enchanted Circle Scenic Byway, and is 36 miles (57.9 kilometres) from Taos, New Mexico.

The town of Red River began in late in the 19th century, when miners from nearby Elizabethtown in the Moreno Valley were drawn in by gold strikes in the area and trappers sought game. It was named after the perennial stream, Red River, that flowed through the town, coming from the northern slopes of Wheeler Peak. By 1895, Red River was a booming mining camp, with gold, silver and copper in some abundance, and a population estimated at three thousand. Mining hit its peak in 1897, and by 1905 the mining and the population dwindled but the town survived, gaining a reputation as a great getaway from hot weather and as a trout fishing paradise. The last serious mining efforts extended until 1931. By that time tourism had become the principal economic childhood.[2]

Red River is located at 36°42′23″N 105°24′19″W / 36.70639°N 105.40528°W / 36.70639; -105.40528 (36.706311, -105.405271).[3] Red River is located in the southern Rocky MountainsSangre de Cristo Mountains and is surrounded by the Carson National Forest.

Socorro, New Mexico

Socorro is a city in Socorro County in the U.S. state of New Mexico. It is in the Rio Grande Valley at an elevation of 4,579 feet (1,396 m). In 2012 the population was 8,906. It is the county seat of Socorro County.[3] Socorro is located 74 miles (119 km) south of Albuquerque and 146 miles (235 km) north of Las Cruces.

In June 1598, Juan de Oñate led a group of Spanish settlers through the Jornada del Muerto, an inhospitable patch of desert that ends just south of the present-day city of Socorro. As the Spaniards emerged from the desert, Piro Indians of the pueblo of Teypana gave them food and water. Therefore, the Spaniards renamed this pueblo Socorro, which means "help" or "aid". Later, the name "Socorro" would be applied to the nearby Piro pueblo of Pilabó.[4]

Nuestra Señora de Perpetuo Socorro, the first Catholic mission in the area, was probably established c. 1626. Fray Agustín de Vetancurt would later write that around 600 people lived in the area during this period.[5] Mines in the Socorro mountains were opened by 1626.[6]

Abraham Zelmanov

Abraham Zelmanov (May 15, 1913 – February 2, 1987), was a prominent scientist working in the General Theory of Relativity and cosmology. He first constructed, in 1944, the complete mathematical method to calculate physical observable quantities in the General Theory of Relativity (the theory of chronometric invariants). Applying the mathematical apparatus, in the 1940s, he established the basics of the theory of inhomogeneous anisotropic universe, where he determined specific kinds of all cosmological models — scenarios of evolution — which could be theoretically conceivable for a truly inhomogeneous and anisotropic Universe in the framework of Einstein's theory.

Abraham Leonidovich Zelmanov was born on May 15, 1913, in Poltava Gubernya of the Russian Empire. His father was a Judaic religious scientist, a specialist in comments on Torah and Kabbalah. In 1937 Zelmanov completed his education at the Mechanical Mathematical Department of Moscow University. After 1937 he was a research-student at the Sternberg Astronomical Institute in Moscow, where he presented his dissertation in 1944. In 1953 he was arrested for "cosmopolitism" in Joseph Stalin's campaign against Jews. However, as soon as Stalin died, Zelmanov was set free, after some months of imprisonment. For several decades Zelmanov and his paralyzed parents lived in a room in a flat shared with neighbours. He took everyday care of his parents, so they lived into old age. Only in the 1970s did he obtain a personal municipal flat. He was married three times. Zelmanov worked on the academic staff of the Sternberg Astronomical Institute all his life, until his death on the winter's day, 2 February 1987.

He was very thin in physique, like an Indian yogi, rather shorter than average, and a very delicate man. From his appearance it was possible to think that his life and thoughts were rather ordinary or uninteresting. However, in acquaintance with him and his scientific discussions in friendly company one formed another opinion about him. Those were discussions with a great scientist and humanist who reasoned in a very unorthodox way. Sometimes we thought that we were not speaking with a contemporary scientist of the 20th century, but some famous philosopher from Classical Greece or the Middle Ages. So the themes of those discussions are eternal — the interior of the Universe, the place of a human being in the Universe, the nature of space and time.