Pastura, New Mexico
| Pastura | |
|---|---|
| Unincorporated community | |
| Coordinates: 34°46′56″N 104°56′40″W / 34.78222°N 104.94444°WCoordinates: 34°46′56″N 104°56′40″W / 34.78222°N 104.94444°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | New Mexico |
| County | Guadalupe |
| Elevation | 5,295 ft (1,614 m) |
| Time zone | Mountain (UTC-7) |
| • Summer (DST) | DST (UTC-6) |
| ZIP codes | 88435 |
| Area code(s) | 575 |
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.[1] 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 community.
The Chicano author, Rudolfo Anaya, was born in Pastura in 1937.