Luna County, New Mexico
Encyclopedia : L : LU : LUN : Luna County, New Mexico
Luna County is a county located in the U.S. state of New Mexico. As of 2000, the population was 25,016. Its county seat is Deming6.
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 7,680 km² (2,965 mi²). 7,680 km² (2,965 mi²) of it is land and 0 km² (0 mi²) of it (0.01%) is water. The bulk of the county is flat lowland, either grassland or desert scrub, but it also contains three mountain ranges: Cooke's Range in the north, the Florida Mountains on the southeastern side of Deming near the center of the county, and the Tres Hermanas Mountains in the southern part of the county near Columbus.
Pancho Villa's Raid
In the dawn of day on March 16, 1916 Mexican revolutionary Pancho Villa led a 1,100 memer band of followers from the Mexican border state of Chihuahua into the southern county village of Columbus. The invaders shot up the town buildings and killed 17 citizens and soldiers posted to Camp Furlong. After 30 to 45 minutes of mischief and larceny, Villa fled across the adjacent border back into his Chihuahua, Mexico homeland. Despite the U.S. Army's counter Punitive Expedition into Mexico, Villa was never arrested.
This raid was the last invasion of the an American state until the September 11, 2001 attacks.
Pancho Villa State Park is in the village of Columbus. It features beautiful cacti and the ruins of "the U.S. Army's first greaserack". The Punitive Expedition was a major stimulator of the Army's transition from horse to mechanized combat weapons.
Adjacent Counties
- Hidalgo County, New Mexico - southwest
- Grant County, New Mexico - west, northwest
- Sierra County, New Mexico - north
- Doña Ana County, New Mexico - east
Demographics
As of the census² of 2000, there were 25,016 people, 9,397 households, and 6,596 families residing in the county. The population density was 3/km² (8/mi²). There were 11,291 housing units at an average density of 1/km² (4/mi²). The racial makeup of the county was 74.30% White, 0.94% Black or African American, 1.11% Native American, 0.34% Asian, 20.23% from other races, and 3.08% from two or more races. 57.70% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.There were 9,397 households out of which 33.90% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.60% were married couples living together, 12.40% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.80% were non-families. 26.40% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.00% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.64 and the average family size was 3.20.
In the county the population was spread out with 30.00% under the age of 18, 7.60% from 18 to 24, 22.70% from 25 to 44, 21.50% from 45 to 64, and 18.20% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 95.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.20 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $20,784, and the median income for a family was $24,252. Males had a median income of $25,008 versus $16,883 for females. The per capita income for the county was $11,218. About 27.20% of families and 32.90% of the population were below the poverty line, including 46.80% of those under age 18 and 15.80% of those age 65 or over.
Cities and towns
From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.