Luna County, New Mexico

Luna County, New Mexico
Luna County Courthouse in Deming
Location in the U.S. state of New Mexico
New Mexico's location in the U.S.
Founded	March 16, 1901
Seat	Deming
Largest city	Deming
Area
• Total	2,965 sq mi (7,679 km2)
• Land	2,965 sq mi (7,679 km2)
• Water	0.2 sq mi (1 km2), 0.0%
Population
• (2010)	25,095
• Density	8.5/sq mi (3/km²)
Congressional district	2nd
Time zone	Mountain: UTC-7/-6
Website	lunacountynm.us

Luna County is a county located in the U.S. state of New Mexico. As of the 2010 census, the population was 25,095. Its county seat is Deming. This county abuts the Mexican border.

Luna County comprises the Deming, NM Micropolitan Statistical Area.

Before dawn on March 16, 1916, Mexican revolutionary Pancho Villa led several hundred of his rebel soldiers across the Mexican border into the southern county village of Columbus. The invaders raided and burned much of the town, causing many residents to flee to the desert. Although the raid completely surprised everyone in the town, it also awakened 350 United States Army soldiers at Camp Furlong at the edge of town, who defended the town with two machine guns. The fighting continued until dawn, when Villa fled back across the Mexican border, five hours after invading and approximately ninety minutes after attacking the town. Despite the U.S. Army's counter "Mexican Expedition" into Mexico, Villa was never caught; he died seven years later at the hands of an assassin.

Eighteen Columbus residents and U.S. soldiers were killed in the raid, while approximately seventy-five of Villa's soldiers were killed. This raid was the last invasion of American territory until the Japanese invasion of Attu Island during World War II.

Today, Pancho Villa State Park is located in the village of Columbus. It features beautiful cacti and the ruins of "the U.S. Army's first greaserack".