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Socorro is a city in Socorro County in the U.S. State of New Mexico . It stands in the Rio Grande Valley , at an elevation of 4579 feet (1396 m). The population was 8,879 at the 2000 census. It is the County Seat of Socorro County . HISTORY The Founding of Socorro In June 1598 , Juan De Oñate led a group of Spanish settlers through the Jornada Del Muerto , an inhospitable patch of desert that ends just south of the present day city of Socorro. As the Spaniards emerged from the desert, Piro Indians of the Pueblo of Teypana gave the Spaniards food and water. Therefore, the Spaniards renamed this pueblo Socorro, which means "help" or "aid." Later, the name "Socorro" would be applied to the nearby Piro pueblo of Pilabó . Marshal, Michael P. & Walt, Henry J., “Rio Abajo: Prehistory and History of a Rio Grande Province” (Santa Fe: New Mexico Historical Preservation Program, 1984), p 248 Nuestra Señora De Socorro , the first Catholic mission in the area, was probably established c. 1626 . Fray Augustin De Ventancurt would later write that around 600 people lived in the area during this period. Marshal & Walt, “Rio Abajo”, p 248. During the Pueblo Revolt of 1680 , Spanish refugees stopped in the pueblo of Socorro. A number of Piro Indians followed the Spaniards as they left the province to go south to safety. With no protection of Spanish troops, Socorro was destroyed and the remaining Piro were killed by the Apache and other tribes. Marshal & Walt, “Rio Abajo”, p 248-249 . The Spanish did not initially resettle Socorro when they re-conquered Socorro census lists over 400 residents, with a total of 1,774 people living within the vicinity of the village. Ramirez Alief, Teresa, et al., “New Mexico Census: Socorro” pp. 2-10; 32 The mission of San Miguel De Socorro was established soon after Socorro was resettled. The church was built on the ruins of the old Nuestra Señora de Socorro. Marshal & Walt, “Rio Abajo”, p 249. The 1800s In the late 1870s and into 1881 , noted lawman and Gunman Dallas Stoudenmire served as the town Marshal for Socorro. GEOGRAPHY AND GEOLOGY Socorro is located at (34.061759, -106.899424) at an average elevation of 4,605 feet. The town lies adjacent to the Rio Grande in a landscape dominated by the Rio Grande Rift and numerous extinct volcanos. The immediate region encompasses approximately 6000 feet of vertical relief between the Rio Grande and the Magdalena Mountains . Notable nearby locales include the Cibola National Forest , the BLM Quebradas Scenic Backcountry Byway, and the Bosque Del Apache and Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge s. According to the United States Census Bureau , the city has a total area of 37.4 Km&2 (14.4 Mi&2 ). 37.3 km&2 (14.4 mi&2) of it is land and 0.1 km&2 (0.04 mi&2) of it (0.21%) is water. DEMOGRAPHICS As of the Census of 2000, there were 8,877 people, 3,415 households, and 2,151 families residing in the city. The Population Density was 237.9/km&2 (615.8/mi&2). There were 3,940 housing units at an average density of 105.6/km&2 (273.3/mi&2). The racial makeup of the city was 66.16% White , 0.74% African American , 2.77% Native American , 2.24% Asian , 0.06% Pacific Islander , 23.24% from Other Races , and 4.79% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 54.50% of the population. There were 3,415 households out of which 31.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.5% were Married Couples living together, 14.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.0% were non-families. 29.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.44 and the average family size was 3.02. In the city the population was spread out with 25.4% under the age of 18, 16.9% from 18 to 24, 25.7% from 25 to 44, 20.4% from 45 to 64, and 11.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 106.6 males. The median income for a household in the city was $22,530, and the median income for a family was $33,013. Males had a median income of $31,517 versus $23,071 for females. The Per Capita Income for the city was $13,250. About 24.1% of families and 32.3% of the population were below the Poverty Line , including 44.4% of those under age 18 and 23.6% of those age 65 or over. NEW MEXICO TECH Socorro is home to the New Mexico Institute Of Mining And Technology (New Mexico Tech), a state undergraduate and graduate (Ph.D. granting) university specializing in science and engineering. New Mexico Tech hosts a number of major research centers, such as the Energetic Materials Research and Testing Center, the IRIS Consortium Program for Array Seismic Studies of the Continental Lithosphere (PASSCAL) Instrument Center, the New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources, and the Magdalena Ridge Observatory . Also located on the campus is the NRAO (National Radio Astronomy Observatory) Array Operations Center, the headquarters for the Very Large Array and Very Long Baseline Array Radiotelescope s. The Very Large Array itself is located west of Socorro, between Magdalena and Datil . The University of Texas at El Paso has their football camp here it been held for over 5 yrs already. ZAMORA UFO INCIDENT Socorro is famous as the site of a well-publicized UFO incident. On April 24, 1964 Lonnie Zamora , a local policeman, was chasing a speeder on Socorro's outskirts when he claimed he saw a bright flash and heard a loud roar coming from over a nearby hill. Believing that the noise may have come from the explosion of a Dynamite shack, Zamora drove over the hill. He claimed he saw a metallic, oval-shaped object with a strange symbol on it. He also claimed to see two "small men" in what looked like "white coveralls" walking around outside the craft. When they saw Zamora, the "men" boarded the craft and it took off with a load roar and flame that shook Zamora's patrol car. this same thing was reported a few weeks later and it is believed that 2 people were killed by the aliens (''The UFO Book'', ppgs.545-546) Zamora called for help on his radio. Sergeant M.S. Chavez of the . Philip Klass , the editor of ''Aviation Week'' magazine, would claim that Zamora and Socorro's then-mayor had hoaxed the event to bring tourists to Socorro. UFO researchers have disputed each of these explanations. (''UFO Book'', p.555) MEDIA SIGHTINGS Socorro was mentioned in the 1974 movie '' Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore ,'' though in a somewhat derogatory sense, as Ellen Burstyn 's character decided to leave the town for Tucson. The aftermath scene of Bustyn's character's husband's fatal accident at the beginning of the film, although implied as being in Socorro, was actually filmed in Tucson. The 1971 Roger Corman movie Gas-s-s-s was filmed in and around Socorro, including a hilarious scene using the New Mexico Tech golf carts. The actress Jodie Foster stayed in Socorro while filming the movie '' Contact '' at the Very Large Array fifty miles west of the city. ELFEGO BACA GOLF SHOOT The Elfego Baca Golf Shoot is named after a former mayor of Socorro who survived a gun battle near what is now Reserve, New Mexico involving over 4,000 bullets that were fired over the course of 36 hours. Teeing off from Socorro Peak, also known as M Mountain, at an altitude of 7,243 feet, golfers proceed down the side of the mountain some 2,550 vertical feet to the one hole almost three miles away. Surviving rattlesnakes, gnats, cacti, treacherous terrain and the New Mexican sun and heat, golfers have a chance at winning the title to what is considered one of the two most difficult golf courses in the world. Mike Stanley, an employee of the EMRTC , has won or tied for the win a record 18 times in the history of the shoot which dates back to 1960. POINTS OF INTEREST
ZAMORA UFO REFERENCE
FOOTNOTES EXTERNAL LINKS
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