Pleasanton 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 the Williams Valley of Catron County

Catron County, New Mexico

-2010:Whereas according to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau:*89.8% White*0.4% Black*2.7% Native American*0.2% Asian*0.0% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander*3.1% Two or more races*3.7% Other races*19.0% Hispanic or Latino -2000:...

, south of Glenwood

Glenwood, New Mexico

Glenwood is an unincorporated community in Catron County, New Mexico, United States. Founded in 1878 as Bush Ranch, today the town is home to approximately 300 residents. Located near the San Francisco River, Glenwood is 65 miles northwest of Silver City on U.S...

 and north of Cliff

Cliff, New Mexico

Cliff is an unincorporated community in Grant County, New Mexico, United States.-History:Cliff and the nearby town of Gila were settled in 1884, in the Gila River Valley. The area was and is primarily a ranching and farming community...

, in the U.S. state

U.S. state

A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...

 of 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...

. It was renowned as a safehaven for Mormon polygamists for several years.

History

Pleasanton was founded by Mormons in 1882. The 24th child of Mormon

Mormon

The term Mormon most commonly denotes an adherent, practitioner, follower, or constituent of Mormonism, which is the largest branch of the Latter Day Saint movement in restorationist Christianity...

 polygamist Jacob Hamblin

Jacob Hamblin

Jacob Vernon Hamblin was a Western pioneer, Mormon missionary, and diplomat to various Native American Tribes of the Southwest and Great Basin. During his life, he helped settle large areas of southern Utah and northern Arizona where he was seen as an honest broker between Mormon settlers and the...

 was born there in 1884. Hamblin died of malarial fever in 1886. Other polygamists, including William Maxwell

William Maxwell

William Maxwell may refer to:*William Maxwell , Irish-born American soldier from New Jersey in the American Revolutionary War*General Sir William Maxwell, 7th Baronet of Calderwood...

, made their home in Pleasanton specifically to evade the law.

In 1885 a band of Chiricahua

Chiricahua

Chiricahua are a group of Apache Native Americans who live in the Southwest United States. At the time of European encounter, they were living in 15 million acres of territory in southwestern New Mexico and southeastern Arizona in the United States, and in northern Sonora and Chihuahua in Mexico...

 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...

 killed a group of U.S. Army in a triple cross-fire trap near Pleasanton.