Grants, New Mexico
| Grants, New Mexico | |
|---|---|
| City | |
| Nickname(s): Uranium Capital of the World | |
| Motto: "City of Spirit" | |
 Location of Grants, New Mexico |
|
 Grants, New Mexico
|
|
| Coordinates: 35°9′19″N 107°50′32″W / 35.15528°N 107.84222°WCoordinates: 35°9′19″N 107°50′32″W / 35.15528°N 107.84222°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | New Mexico |
| County | Cibola |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Martin "Modey" Hicks |
| Area | |
| • Total | 14.9 sq mi (38.5 km2) |
| • Land | 14.9 sq mi (38.5 km2) |
| • Water | 0.0 sq mi (0.0 km2) |
| Elevation | 6,460 ft (1,969 m) |
| Population (2010) | |
| • Total | 9,182 |
| • Density | 618/sq mi (238.6/km2) |
| Time zone | Mountain (MST) (UTC-7) |
| • Summer (DST) | MDT (UTC-6) |
| ZIP code | 87020 |
| Area code(s) | 505 |
| FIPS code | 35-30490 |
| GNIS feature ID | 0933386 |
| Website | www |
Grants is a town in Cibola County, New Mexico, United States. It is located about 78 miles (126 km) west of Albuquerque. The population was 9,182 at the 2010 Census. It is the county seat of Cibola County.
It is on the Trails of the Ancients Byway, one of the designated New Mexico Scenic Byways.
Grants began as a railroad camp in the 1880s, when three Canadian brothers – Angus A. Grant, John R. Grant, and Lewis A. Grant – were awarded a contract to build a section of the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad through the region. The Grant brothers' camp was first called Grants Camp, then Grants Station, and finally Grants. The new city enveloped the existing colonial New Mexican settlement of Los Alamitos and grew along the tracks of the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad.
The town prospered as a result of railroad logging in the nearby Zuni Mountains, and it served as a section point for the Atlantic and Pacific, which became part of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway. The Zuni Mountain Railroad short line had a roundhouse in town (near present-day Exit 81 off Interstate 40) and housed workers in a small community named Breecetown. Timber from the Zuni Mountains was shipped to Albuquerque, where a large sawmill converted the timber to wood products that were sold around the west.
After the decline of logging in the 1930s, Grants gained fame as the "carrot capital" of the United States. Agriculture was aided by the creation of Bluewater Reservoir, and the region's volcanic soils provided ideal conditions for farming. Grants also benefited from its location, both being an airway beacon and later by U.S. Route 66, which brought travelers and tourists and the businesses that catered to them. Today the beacon and FSS building on the airport (KGNT) is being restored as museum.
...
Wikipedia