Trementina, New Mexico

Trementina is an unincorporated area in San Miguel County, New Mexico, United States.[1] There were 184 people living there in 2010.[2] The ZIP Code for Trementina is 88439.[3]

Trementina means turpentine in Spanish. The area was named this because of the pinon pine trees nearby. The trees were used by the Spanish Americans as a medicine and an alternative to chewing gum. Trementina is mostly ranch property. People live far away from each other. Some people call Trementina a ghost town because it has many empty and old buildings.

Spanish-American start

Structure near the Cañon Largo in the Sabinoso Wilderness

Trementina was a Spanish American village made after the American Civil War. It was built by people who bring sheep together into a group (herd) called sheepherders. The sheepherders let their sheep eat in thegrasslands close to the area. They decided build a village near their sheep. The first people who moved to Trementina claimed their land based on things like trees and rocks. In 1880, the area was checked by the United States Geological Survey. Many people who lived there lost their land because they did not understand the new laws and did not apply to get new homesteads. Some people from the east of the United States understood the new laws and moved to Trementina. They were called the "homesteaders" because they lived in homesteads. The Spanish American people who lived there from the start lived peacefully with the homesteaders. After some time, the two types of people married each other and had children. The children grew up in the area.

The homesteaders leave

Many of the homesteaders left after a drought between 1918 and 1923. They sold their homesteads to the people who stayed in Trementina. Larger ranches were built after the homesteaders left. The ranchers started to keep cattle instead of sheep. Even though the homesteaders left Trementina, many other families lived there until the mid-1950s. A Presbyterian missionary called Alice Blake lived in Trementina for about 40 years. She brought many innovations to the area and she encouraged education. People moved out of Trementina after World War II. This is because the soldiers who came back from war move to the cities close to Trementina to get jobs and support their families. Every year on Memorial Day, the families of the soldiers hold an event to honor the many soldiers from Trementina.[4]

References

  1. ↑ "Geographic Names Information System". edits.nationalmap.gov. Retrieved April 28, 2026.
  2. ↑ "Trementina NM Demographics data". www.towncharts.com. Retrieved April 28, 2026.
  3. ↑ "ZIP Code 88439 - Trementina, New Mexico | Map, Demographics, Income, Schools and More". Zipdatamaps.com. Retrieved April 28, 2026.
  4. ↑ Foote, Cheryl J. (1982). "Alice Blake of Trementina: Mission Teacher of the Southwest". Journal of Presbyterian History. 60 (3): 228–242. ISSN 0022-3883.

35°28′11″N 104°31′40″W / 35.46972°N 104.52778°W / 35.46972; -104.52778

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