Otero County, New Mexico
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Otero County is a
county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...
located in the
U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...
of
New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...
. As of the 2010 census, the population was 63,797. Its
county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...
is
Alamogordo Alamogordo () is the seat of Otero County, New Mexico, United States. A city in the Tularosa Basin of the Chihuahuan Desert, it is bordered on the east by the Sacramento Mountains and to the west by Holloman Air Force Base. The population was ...
. Its southern boundary is the
Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
state line. It is named for Miguel Antonio Otero, the territorial governor when the county was created. Otero County includes the Alamogordo Micropolitan Statistical Area.


History

The county declared a state of emergency in April 2019 when the federal inspection stations on U.S. Route 70 and U.S. Route 54 were left unstaffed by
U.S. Customs and Border Protection United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is the largest federal law enforcement agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security. It is the country's primary border control organization, charged with regulating and facilit ...
as part of the temporary closure of all six checkpoints in the El Paso Sector, which covers West Texas and New Mexico. The county was concerned about the possibility of illegal narcotics flowing north unchecked since the checkpoint agents had been shifted to the border to help process migrant asylum-seekers. The inspection stations reopened August 5, 2019. On Monday June 13, 2022, the county commissioners attracted nationwide attention by refusing to certify the results of the local 2022 primary election on June 7, 2022. *Morgan Le
(18 June 2022) Building anger in rural New Mexico erupts in election crisis
*Otero Count
(13 June 2022) Otero County Special Meeting June 13, 2022 1:22:24
Commisioners District 1: Gerald Matherly; District 2: Couy Griffin; District 3: Vickie Marquardt;
In response, the New Mexico Secretary of State filed a lawsuit and
writ of mandamus (; ) is a judicial remedy in the form of an order from a court to any government, subordinate court, corporation, or public authority, to do (or forbear from doing) some specific act which that body is obliged under law to do (or refrain from ...
against the commissioners for their refusal. By Friday June 17, 2022, two of the three commissioners agreed to certify the election results, which defused the crisis. *Fredreka Schoute
(17 Jun 2022) Election standoff ends in New Mexico county after false fraud claims threw primary certification into question
*Andrew Beal
(16 Jun 2022) NM Supreme Court steps in after Otero County refuses to certify primary results
*Adrian Hedden ''Alamogordo Daily News'
(16 Jun 2022) New Mexico may open criminal investigation if Otero County doesn't certify election results


Geography

According to the
U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...
, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.2%) is water. It is the third-largest county in New Mexico by area.


Adjacent counties

*
Doña Ana County Don (; ; pt, Dom, links=no ; all from Latin ', roughly 'Lord'), abbreviated as D., is an honorific prefix primarily used in Spain and Hispanic America, and with different connotations also in Italy, Portugal and its former colonies, and Croatia ...
– west * Sierra County – northwest * Lincoln County – north *
Chaves County Chaves County is a county in New Mexico, United States. As of the 2019 census, the population was 64,615. Its county seat is Roswell. Chaves County was named for Colonel Jose Francisco Chaves, a military leader there during the Civil War and ...
– east * Eddy County – east *
Culberson County, Texas Culberson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 2,188. The county seat is Van Horn. Culberson County was founded in 1911 and organized the next year. It is named for David B. Culberson ...
– southeast *
Hudspeth County, Texas Hudspeth County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,202. Its county seat is Sierra Blanca, and the largest community is Fort Hancock. The county is named for Claude Benton Hudspeth, a s ...
– south *
El Paso County, Texas El Paso County is the westernmost county in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, the population was 865,657, making it the ninth-most populous county in the state of Texas. Its seat is the city of El Paso, the sixth-most populous ...
– southwest


National protected areas

*
Lincoln National Forest Lincoln National Forest is a unit of the U.S. Forest Service located in southern New Mexico. Established by Presidential Proclamation in 1902 as the Lincoln Forest Reserve, the forest begins near the Texas border and contains lands in parts of ...
(part) *
White Sands National Park White Sands National Park is an American national park located in the state of New Mexico and completely surrounded by the White Sands Missile Range. The park covers in the Tularosa Basin, including the southern 41% of a field of white sand dun ...
(part)


Demographics


2000 census

As of the 2000 census, there were 62,298 people, 22,984 households, and 16,801 families living in the county. The
population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...
was 9 people per square mile (4/km2). There were 29,272 housing units at an average density of 4 per square mile (2/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 73.71%
White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...
, 3.92%
Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...
or
African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
, 5.80% Native American, 1.17%
Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...
, 0.13%
Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe the original p ...
, 11.67% from
other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...
, and 3.60% from two or more races. 32.16% of the population were
Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...
or
Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...
of any race. There were 22,984 households, out of which 37.10% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.50% were
married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...
living together, 11.80% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.90% were non-families. 23.30% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.66 and the average family size was 3.14. In the county, the population was spread out, with 29.50% under the age of 18, 9.30% from 18 to 24, 28.60% from 25 to 44, 21.00% from 45 to 64, and 11.70% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 99.00 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.80 males. The median income for a household in the county was $30,861, and the median income for a family was $34,781. Males had a median income of $27,657 versus $18,470 for females. The
per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...
for the county was $14,345. About 15.60% of families and 19.30% of the population were below the
poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...
, including 27.90% of those under age 18 and 12.80% of those age 65 or over.


2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 63,797 people, 24,464 households, and 16,641 families living in the county. The population density was . There were 30,992 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 72.7% white, 6.7% American Indian, 3.5% black or African American, 1.2% Asian, 0.2% Pacific islander, 11.5% from other races, and 4.2% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 34.5% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 13.4% were
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...
, 8.1% were
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...
, 8.0% were
Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
, and 4.4% were
American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...
. Of the 24,464 households, 33.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.2% were married couples living together, 12.7% had a female householder with no husband present, 32.0% were non-families, and 27.1% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.51 and the average family size was 3.05. The median age was 36.5 years. The median income for a household in the county was $39,615 and the median income for a family was $46,210. Males had a median income of $32,939 versus $25,965 for females. The per capita income for the county was $19,255. About 15.2% of families and 20.0% of the population were below the
poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...
, including 28.0% of those under age 18 and 13.5% of those age 65 or over.


Education

School districts in the county include: *
Alamogordo Public Schools The Alamagordo Municipal School District No. 1, also the Alamogordo Public School District or Alamogordo Public Schools (APS), is a school district that serves the communities of Alamogordo, High Rolls, Holloman Air Force Base, Mountain Park, and ...
*
Cloudcroft Municipal Schools Cloudcroft Municipal Schools is a school district headquartered in Cloudcroft, New Mexico. It includes Cloudcroft Elementary/Middle School and Cloudcroft High School. In addition to Cloudcroft it serves Mayhill, Piñon, Sacramento, Timberon, ...
*
Gadsden Independent Schools The Gadsden Independent School District (GISD) is a New Mexico school district headquartered in Sunland Park. Gadsden ISD's superintendent is currently Travis Dempsey who was appointed by the board of education after Efren Yturralde's resignation ...
*
Tularosa Municipal Schools Tularosa Municipal Schools is a public school district in Otero County, New Mexico, United States. In addition to Tularosa its boundary includes Bent and Mescalero Mescalero or Mescalero Apache ( apm, Naa'dahéńdé) is an Apache tribe of ...
While the southeast portion of the county is in the Alamogordo district, that district contracts education of residents there to the
Dell City Independent School District Dell City Independent School District (DCISD) is a public school district based in Dell City, Texas (USA). The district operates Dell City School, which covers grades Kindergarten through 12 and serves students in northern Hudspeth County. De ...
of
Dell City, Texas Dell City is a city in Hudspeth County, Texas. The population was 365 at the time of the 2010 census, down from 413 at the time of the 2000 census. It is near the former location of Paulville, a failed Ron Paul-inspired Libertarian cooperativ ...
, due to the distances involved, as the mileage to Alamogordo from the former Cienega School was while the distance to Dell City is .
Clipping of whole article
an
focus on the Dell City part
from
Newspapers.com Ancestry.com LLC is an American genealogy company based in Lehi, Utah. The largest for-profit genealogy company in the world, it operates a network of genealogical, historical records, and related genetic genealogy websites. In November 2018, ...
.
Tribal schools affiliated with the
Bureau of Indian Education The Bureau of Indian Education (BIE), headquartered in the Main Interior Building in Washington, D.C., and formerly known as the Office of Indian Education Programs (OIEP), is a division of the U.S. Department of the Interior under the Assistant S ...
(BIE): * Mescalero Apache Schools State-operated schools: *
New Mexico School for the Blind and Visually Impaired The New Mexico School for the Blind and Visually Impaired (Braille: ⠝⠍⠎⠃⠧⠊) is a state special education school with a residential campus in Alamogordo, New Mexico and a preschool in Albuquerque, New Mexico. It operates outreach pro ...
Schools operated by foreign governments: * Deutsche Schule Alamogordo (closed) Tertiary: *
New Mexico State University Alamogordo New Mexico State University Alamogordo (NMSU-A) is a public Community colleges in the United States, community college in Alamogordo, New Mexico. It is a branch campus of New Mexico State University at Las Cruces, New Mexico, Las Cruces and is a ...
Public libraries: *
Alamogordo Public Library Alamogordo Public Library is the public library serving Alamogordo, New Mexico and Otero County, New Mexico. The library has extensive collections of Spanish-language and German-language books and of materials related to the Western writer Eugene ...


Communities


City

*
Alamogordo Alamogordo () is the seat of Otero County, New Mexico, United States. A city in the Tularosa Basin of the Chihuahuan Desert, it is bordered on the east by the Sacramento Mountains and to the west by Holloman Air Force Base. The population was ...
(county seat)


Villages

* Cloudcroft * Tularosa


Census-designated places

* Bent * Boles Acres *
Chaparral Chaparral ( ) is a shrubland plant community and geographical feature found primarily in the U.S. state of California, in southern Oregon, and in the northern portion of the Baja California Peninsula in Mexico. It is shaped by a Mediterranean c ...
* High Rolls *
Holloman AFB Holloman Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base established in 1942 located six miles (10 km) southwest of the central business district of Alamogordo, and a census-designated place in Otero County, New Mexico, United States. Th ...
* La Luz *
Mayhill Mayhill is a district of Swansea, Wales, at the top of a steep hill of the same name just north west of the Swansea city centre, city centre, partly separated from Townhill, Swansea, Townhill to the west. Mayhill Garden City started in 1914 as a ...
*
Mescalero Mescalero or Mescalero Apache ( apm, Naa'dahéńdé) is an Apache tribe of Southern Athabaskan–speaking Native Americans. The tribe is federally recognized as the Mescalero Apache Tribe of the Mescalero Apache Reservation, located in south-cen ...
* Orogrande * Piñon *
Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...
* Timberon * Twin Forks *
Weed A weed is a plant considered undesirable in a particular situation, "a plant in the wrong place", or a plant growing where it is not wanted.Harlan, J. R., & deWet, J. M. (1965). Some thoughts about weeds. ''Economic botany'', ''19''(1), 16-24. ...


Other communities

* Hortonville * Mountain Park *
Newman Newman is a surname of English origin and may refer to many people: The surname Newman is widespread in the core Anglosphere. A *Abram Newman (1736–1799), British grocer *Adrian Newman (disambiguation), multiple people *Al Newman (born 1960) ...
*
Sunspot Sunspots are phenomena on the Sun's photosphere that appear as temporary spots that are darker than the surrounding areas. They are regions of reduced surface temperature caused by concentrations of magnetic flux that inhibit convection. Sun ...
* Three Rivers


Other places

* Mescalero Apache Indian Reservation *
White Sands National Park White Sands National Park is an American national park located in the state of New Mexico and completely surrounded by the White Sands Missile Range. The park covers in the Tularosa Basin, including the southern 41% of a field of white sand dun ...
*
National Solar Observatory The National Solar Observatory (NSO) is a United States public research institute to advance the knowledge of the physics of the Sun. NSO studies the Sun both as an astronomical object and as the dominant external influence on Earth. NSO is headq ...
*
Otero County Prison Facility The Otero County Prison Facility is a privately managed prison for men located in Chaparral, Otero County, New Mexico, operated by the Management and Training Corporation. The facility opened in 2003, and has a capacity of 1420. Otero County is ...


Politics and government

Governance of the county is under a three-member
county commission A county commission (or a board of county commissioners) is a group of elected officials (county commissioners) collectively charged with administering the county government in some states of the United States; such commissions usually comprise ...
.


County commissioner Couy Griffin

In early 2021 Commissioner
Couy Griffin Couy Dale Griffin (born 1973) is a former politician who served from 2019 to 2022 as a county commissioner for District 2 of Otero County, New Mexico, which covers Tularosa, New Mexico, Tularosa, Three Rivers, New Mexico, Three Rivers, La Luz, Ne ...
, a former street preacher, was banned from entering the sizable
Mescalero Apache Reservation Mescalero or Mescalero Apache ( apm, Naa'dahéńdé) is an Apache tribe of Southern Athabaskan–speaking Native Americans. The tribe is federally recognized as the Mescalero Apache Tribe of the Mescalero Apache Reservation, located in south-c ...
in his own jurisdiction, because he participated in the storming of the United States Capitol on January 6. On January 19 the other two commissioners called for his resignation. In a bench trial on March 21, 2022, Griffin was convicted of trespassing, but acquitted on the more serious charge of disorderly conduct. In 2022, the county commission refused to certify primary election results. After a court order from the New Mexico state Supreme Court, the commission eventually did certify the election results, but Commissioner Griffin continued with his refusal, voting "No". Commissioner Griffin justified his refusal by saying, "My vote to just remain a no isn't based on any evidence. It's not based on any facts, it's only based on my gut feeling and my own intuition, and that's all I need". On September 6, 2022, Griffin became the first public official in more than a century to be debarred from office under the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. The debarment from holding public office is "for life". Stephanie Dubois, the Democratic candidate for Otero County District 2 Commission, was appointed by Governor Michelle Lynn Lujan Grisham and sworn in October 28, 2022. Dubois was facing Republican Amy Barela and the appointment took place in the final weeks of the election to replace Couy Griffin for the District 2, Otero County, New Mexico Commission Seat. The County leans heavily Republican. Barela won the November general election.


See also

*
National Register of Historic Places listings in Otero County, New Mexico This is a list of the National Register of Historic Places listings in Otero County, New Mexico. This is intended to be a complete list of the properties and districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Otero County, New Mexico, Uni ...


References


Further reading

* {{authority control 1899 establishments in New Mexico Territory Populated places established in 1899