Vaughn, New Mexico

Vaughn, New Mexico
Town
Entering Vaughn from the west Entering Vaughn from the west
Location of Vaughn, New Mexico Location of Vaughn, New Mexico
Vaughn, New Mexico Location in the United States
Coordinates:
Country	United States
State	New Mexico
County	Guadalupe
Area
• Total	5.6 sq mi (14.5 km2)
• Land	5.6 sq mi (14.5 km2)
• Water	0.0 sq mi (0.0 km2)
Elevation	5,978 ft (1,822 m)
Population (2000)
• Total	539
• Density	96.3/sq mi (37.2/km2)
Time zone	Mountain (MST) (UTC-7)
• Summer (DST)	MDT (UTC-6)
ZIP code	88353
Area code(s)	575
FIPS code	35-82570
GNIS feature ID	0918400

Vaughn is a town in Guadalupe County, New Mexico, United States. The population was 539 at the 2000 census. According to Google public data, the population has dropped 17% to 438 as of July 2011.

Vaughn is located at an intersection of the Burlington Northern Santa Fe and Union Pacific railroad lines.

History

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.

This town was one of the shooting scenes for Bobbie Jo and the Outlaw starring Wonder Woman actress Lynda Carter.

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

Geography

Vaughn is located at (34.601253, -105.206410).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 5.6 square miles (14.5 km²). Vaughn lies on U.S. Route 285 roughly halfway between Santa Fe and Roswell.

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.		%±
1920	888		—
1930	968		9.0%
1940	1,331		37.5%
1950	1,356		1.9%
1960	1,170		−13.7%
1970	867		−25.9%
1980	737		−15.0%
1990	633		−14.1%
2000	539		−14.8%
2010	446		−17.3%
Est. 2014	423		−5.2%
U.S. Decennial Census

As of the census of 2000, there were 539 people, 232 households, and 154 families residing in the town. The population density was 96.3 people per square mile (37.2/km²). There were 338 housing units at an average density of 60.4 per square mile (23.3/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 52.69% White, 0.37% Native American, 43.97% from other races, and 2.97% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 87.01% of the population.

There were 232 households out of which 29.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.7% were married couples living together, 12.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.2% were non-families. 31.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.32 and the average family size was 2.88.

In the town the population was spread out with 25.4% under the age of 18, 7.8% from 18 to 24, 24.7% from 25 to 44, 25.4% from 45 to 64, and 16.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 83.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.7 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $23,083, and the median income for a family was $27,059. Males had a median income of $25,833 versus $14,444 for females. The per capita income for the town was $11,014. About 13.9% of families and 21.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 20.1% of those under age 18 and 17.7% of those age 65 or over.

Gallery

• Vaughn City Hall, NM.jpg

  City Hall

• Depot, Vaughn NM.jpg

  Depot

• St. Mary's Parish, Vaughn NM.jpg

  St. Mary's Parish

• First Baptist Church, Vaughn NM.jpg

  First Baptist Church

• 8th Street, Vaughn NM.jpg

  8th Street/US 54,60,285

• Western Motel, Vaughn NM.jpg

  Western Motel

• Travel Mart, Vaughn NM.jpg

  Travel Mart

• Cottonwoods, Vaughn NM.jpg

  cottonwoods