Lordsburg, New Mexico

For the town in California, see La Verne, California.

Lordsburg, New Mexico
City
Hidalgo County Courthouse in Lordsburg
Location of Lordsburg in New Mexico
Lordsburg, New Mexico Location in the United States
Coordinates:
Country	United States
State	New Mexico
County	Hidalgo
Founded	1880
Government
• Mayor	Arthur Clark Smith
Area
• Total	8.4 sq mi (21.7 km2)
• Land	8.4 sq mi (21.7 km2)
• Water	0.0 sq mi (0.0 km2)
Elevation	4,250 ft (1,295 m)
Population (2000)
• Total	3,379
• Density	400/sq mi (160/km2)
Time zone	MST (UTC-7)
• Summer (DST)	MDT (UTC-6)
ZIP codes	88009, 88045
Area code(s)	575
FIPS code	35-42180
GNIS feature ID	0891335

Lordsburg is a city in and the county seat of Hidalgo County, New Mexico, United States. The population was 3,379 at the 2000 census.

History

Lordsburg was founded in 1880 on the route of the Southern Pacific Railroad.

New Mexico state song

Lordsburg is the birthplace of the official New Mexico State song, O Fair New Mexico. It was written by Lordsburg resident Elizabeth Garrett, the blind daughter of famed sheriff Pat Garrett. In 1917, Governor Washington Ellsworth Lindsey signed the legislation making it the official state song. In 1928, John Philip Sousa presented Governor Arthur T. Hannett and the people of New Mexico an arrangement of the state song embracing a musical story of the Indian, the cavalry, the Spanish and the Mexican.

Lordsburg Municipal Airport

In December 1938, the Lordsburg Municipal Airport (KLSB) began operation. It was the first airport in New Mexico. In 1927, Lordsburg was one of the stops on Charles Lindbergh's transcontinental "Spirit of Saint Louis" air tour. In the early 1950s the airport was served by the original Frontier Airlines (1950-1986) which flew DC-3's on a route from El Paso to Phoenix that included stops at Las Cruces, Deming, and Lordsburg, NM as well as Clifton, Safford, and Tucson, AZ. It is owned by the City of Lordsburg and is southeast, about one mile outside the city limits.

World War II

Main article: Lordsburg Killings

Lordsburg held as many as 1,500 Japanese Americans in a Japanese American internment camp operated by the U.S. Army during World War II. On July 27, 1942, shortly after the Lordsburg Internment Camp was opened, Private First Class Clarence Burleson, a sentry at the facility, allegedly shot two Japanese American internees under questionable circumstances. One of the victims, Hirota Isomura, apparently died instantly. The other, Toshiro Kobata, died before dawn. After a military investigation and courtmartial, Burleson was found to have lawfully killed the two men. The camp operated until July 1943. The incident inspired an episode of the new Hawaii 5-0 series, "Ho'oani Makuakane," Episode 4/9 (original air date December 13, 2013).

The camp at Lordsburg also held captured German and Italian soldiers.

Rest stop

For many years, Lordsburg has been a popular rest stop for people traveling to and from the West Coast by car on Interstate 10 and its precursor highway, U.S. Route 80. At just over 600 miles from Los Angeles, Lordsburg can comfortably be reached by car in less than one day. As Lordsburg had one of the few motels in the Southwest that would accept black guests (El Paso being a notable exception), it was especially popular with African American travelers in the mid-20th century during the end of legal segregation.

There are currently twelve motels and hotels located in Lordsburg. Over 300 rooms are available to guests.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 8.4 square miles (22 km²), all land.

Climate

Climate data for Lordsburg, New Mexico
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Average high °F (°C)	59 (15)	64 (18)	70 (21)	78 (26)	87 (31)	95 (35)	94 (34)	91 (33)	88 (31)	79 (26)	67 (19)	58 (14)	77.5 (25.3)
Average low °F (°C)	26 (−3)	30 (−1)	34 (1)	40 (4)	49 (9)	58 (14)	64 (18)	62 (17)	56 (13)	44 (7)	33 (1)	27 (−3)	43.6 (6.4)
Average precipitation inches (mm)	0.65 (16.5)	0.58 (14.7)	0.47 (11.9)	0.24 (6.1)	0.25 (6.4)	0.62 (15.7)	3.20 (81.3)	2.39 (60.7)	1.01 (25.7)	0.80 (20.3)	0.76 (19.3)	1.08 (27.4)	12.05 (306.1)

|source 1 =

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.		%±
1920	1,325		—
1930	2,069		56.2%
1940	3,101		49.9%
1950	3,525		13.7%
1960	3,436		−2.5%
1970	3,429		−0.2%
1980	3,195		−6.8%
1990	2,951		−7.6%
2000	3,379		14.5%
2010	2,797		−17.2%
Est. 2014	2,609		−6.7%
U.S. Decennial Census

As of the census of 2000, there were 3,379 people, 1,220 households, and 854 families residing in the city. The population density was 403.1 people per square mile (155.7/km²). There were 1,414 housing units at an average density of 168.7 per square mile (65.1/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 80.70% White, 0.56% African American, 0.77% Native American, 0.50% Asian, 13.97% from other races, and 3.49% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 74.43% of the population.

There were 1,220 households out of which 36.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.5% were married couples living together, 18.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.0% were non-families. 27.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.70 and the average family size was 3.31.

In the city the population was spread out with 31.9% under the age of 18, 8.5% from 18 to 24, 25.6% from 25 to 44, 18.9% from 45 to 64, and 15.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 94.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.4 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $21,036, and the median income for a family was $28,026. Males had a median income of $25,952 versus $18,177 for females. The per capita income for the city was $10,877. About 28.6% of families and 32.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 47.5% of those under age 18 and 19.3% of those age 65 or over.

Cultural References

Lordsburg is the final destination in "Stagecoach," the 9th greatest Western film of all time according to the American Film Institute, starring John Wayne in his breakthrough role as the Ringo Kid, and directed by John Ford.

In 1995, this film was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the United States Library of Congress and selected for preservation in their National Film Registry.

The town of Lordsburg is mentioned some 20 times in the movie "Comanche Station", but not visited once.

Education

Lordsburg High School's mascot is the Maverick. Its school colors are orange and black. Students compete in football, volleyball, boy's basketball, girl's basketball, cheer, and boy's and girl's track and field.

Transportation

Airports

• Lordsburg Municipal Airport, private, charter and military. (First airport in NM)
• El Paso International Airport, 160 miles (260 km) east of Lordsburg, is the nearest public airport with scheduled passenger flights.
• Tucson International Airport, 155 miles (249 km) west of Lordsburg.

Major highways

• I-10
• I-10 Bus.

Rail

• Amtrak's Sunset Limited and Texas Eagle routes stop at Lordsburg Train Station.
• The Union Pacific Railroad's mainline and the Arizona Eastern Railway with its branch to Clifton, Arizona serve Lordsburg.

External links

• History of Lordsburg, New Mexico Shown on Postcards
• Lordsburg Chamber of Commerce