Hondo is an unincorporated community

Unincorporated area

In law, an unincorporated area is a region of land that is not a part of any municipality.To "incorporate" in this context means to form a municipal corporation, a city, town, or village with its own government. An unincorporated community is usually not subject to or taxed by a municipal government...

 in Lincoln County

Lincoln County, New Mexico

-2010:Whereas according to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau:*85.1% White*0.5% Black*2.4% Native American*0.4% Asian*0.0% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander*2.5% Two or more races*9.1% Other races*29.8% Hispanic or Latino -2000:...

, New Mexico

New Mexico

New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...

, United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. It is located about five miles downstream (east) from Ruidosos Downs

Ruidoso Downs, New Mexico

Ruidoso Downs is a city in Lincoln County, New Mexico, United States, located within the Lincoln National Forest. The population was 1,824 at the 2000 census, at which time it was a village; the change was made in May 2002...

, where the Rio Bonito

Rio Bonito (New Mexico)

The Rio Bonito is a small river in the Sierra Blanca Mountains of southern New Mexico, USA. The headwaters of the river start in the Lincoln National Forest on the slopes of Sierra Blanca and travel eastward until they merge with the south fork of the Rio Bonito just west of Bonito Lake, a man-made...

 and Rio Ruidoso

Rio Ruidoso

The Rio Ruidoso is a long river located in the Sierra Blanca and Sacramento Mountains in Lincoln County and Otero County, New Mexico in the United States and is part of the Rio Ruidoso Watershed...

 rivers join together to form the Rio Hondo

Rio Hondo (Southern New Mexico)

The Rio Hondo is a river in southern New Mexico which begins at the confluence of the Rio Bonito and Rio Ruidoso rivers near the town of Hondo, New Mexico. The river flows eastward through the Hondo Valley in the foothills of the Sierra Blanca and Capitan Mountains, roughly paralleling the route...

. It is located at the point where U.S. Route 70

U.S. Route 70

U.S. Route 70 is an east–west United States highway that runs for 2,385 miles from eastern North Carolina to east-central Arizona. As can be derived from its number, it is a major east–west highway of the Southern and Southwestern United States...

 is joined by U.S. Route 380

U.S. Route 380

U.S. Route 380 is an east–west United States highway. The highway's eastern terminus is in Greenville, Texas at an intersection with Interstate 30, of which the easternmost 3–4 miles are co-located with US 69 in a loop around the west and south sides of Greenville. Its western terminus is at...

, which conjoined route continues eastward. It has had a post office since 1900.

History

The community was founded by Spanish settlers from the Rio Grande valley

Rio Grande

The Rio Grande is a river that flows from southwestern Colorado in the United States to the Gulf of Mexico. Along the way it forms part of the Mexico – United States border. Its length varies as its course changes...

 in the 1880s after the U.S. Army

United States Army

The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...

 had controlled the Apache

Apache

Apache is the collective term for several culturally related groups of Native Americans in the United States originally from the Southwest United States. These indigenous peoples of North America speak a Southern Athabaskan language, which is related linguistically to the languages of Athabaskan...

in the area. It was originally called La Junta (the junction) because of the joining of the Rio Bonito and the Rio Ruidoso. Later it was called Hondo (deep) after the river.

External links

• "Coe Ranch in Hondo, New Mexico" America's Byways, photograph