Columbus, New Mexico

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Coordinates: 31°49′51″N 107°38′30″W / 31.83083, -107.64167
Columbus, New Mexico
Location of Columbus, New Mexico
Country	United States
State	New Mexico
County	Luna
Area
- Total	2.8 sq mi (7.2 km²)
- Land	2.8 sq mi (7.2 km²)
- Water	0.0 sq mi (0.0 km²)
Elevation	4,068 ft (1,240 m)
Population (2000)
- Total	1,765
- Density	635.3/sq mi (245.3/km²)
Time zone	Mountain (MST) (UTC-7)
- Summer (DST)	MDT (UTC-6)
ZIP code	88029
Area code(s)	505
FIPS code	35-17050
GNIS feature ID	0897342

Columbus is a village in Luna County, New Mexico, United States. The population was 1,765 at the 2000 census.

1 History
2 Geography
3 Demographics
4 Education
5 References
6 External links

[edit] History

On March 9, 1916, on the orders of Mexican revolutionary leader Francisco "Pancho" Villa, General Ramon Banda Quesada led more than five hundred in an attack against the town, which was garrisoned by a detachment of the U.S. 13th Cavalry Regiment. They seized 100 horses and mules, burned the town, killed 14 soldiers and 10 residents, and took much ammunition and weaponry before retreating back into Mexico. Quesada had five men captured and suffered the loss of 80 dead or mortally wounded, mostly from the U.S. machine gun emplacements.

United States President Woodrow Wilson responded to the Columbus raid by sending 10,000 troops under Brigadier General John J. Pershing to Mexico to pursue Villa. This was known as the Punitive Mexican Expedition or Pancho Villa Expedition. The expedition was eventually called off after failing to find Villa, who had successfully escaped.^[1]

[edit] Geography

Columbus is located at 31°49′51″N, 107°38′30″W (31.830760, -107.641558)^[2].

According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 2.8 square miles (7.2 km²), all of it land.

The village is approximately three miles north of the international border between the United States of America and Mexico and four miles north of the community of Border City, New Mexico. The Mexican village of Puerto Palomas, Chihuahua is on the opposite side of the border.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^[3] of 2000, there were 1,765 people, 536 households, and 411 families residing in the village. The population density was 635.3 people per square mile (245.1/km²). There were 720 housing units at an average density of 259.2/sq mi (100.0/km²). The racial makeup of the village was 70.42% White, 0.68% African American, 0.57% Native American, 0.06% Asian, 25.50% from other races, and 2.78% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 83.34% of the population.

There were 536 households out of which 50.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.8% were married couples living together, 10.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.3% were non-families. 20.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.29 and the average family size was 3.89.

In the village the population was spread out with 39.2% under the age of 18, 7.7% from 18 to 24, 22.0% from 25 to 44, 18.6% from 45 to 64, and 12.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 28 years. For every 100 females there were 100.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.6 males.

The median income for a household in the village was $13,773, and the median income for a family was $14,318. Males had a median income of $16,912 versus $12,344 for females. The per capita income for the village was $6,721. About 56.7% of families and 57.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 67.0% of those under age 18 and 20.2% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] Education

Columbus Elementary School of Deming Public Schools serves Columbus.

Students move on to Deming Middle School (6-7), Hofacket Mid-High School (8-9), and Deming High School (10-12) [1]. Deming Public Schools has plans to change the grade configuration so that grades K-6 in Columbus attend Columbus Elementary, 7-8 attend Red Mountain Middle School, and 9-12 attend Deming High School.

Deming Public Schools buses students residing in Mexico from the United States-Mexico border to Columbus Elementary [2] ("Mexican children cross border to go to school," Houston Chronicle, August 29, 2007).