History of Los Lunas
Los Lunas has a rich and colorful history. Located on the San Clemente Grant, it was given to Don Felix Candelaria in 1716, two years after his mother petitioned for the land. Shortly after Don Candelaria received the grant, the Luna family made claim to the grant and then took possession. Antonio Jose Luna was born in 1808 and is sometimes referred to as the father of Los Lunas. He became a civic and political leader and married Isabella Baca, daughter of a prominent family from Belen, a community ten miles south of Los Lunas. Antonio & Isabella's son, Salomon, married Adelaida Otero, granddaughter of Antonio Jose Otero of Valencia. This formed a union of two powerful and rich Republican families who controlled and dominated the future of Valencia County for almost a century.
Through the influence of the Luna family, the county seat moved from Tome to Los Lunas in 1876. When the Santa Fe Railroad line arrived in Los Lunas, the railroad depot was built which facilitated the movement of livestock, hay, supplies and general merchandise. The depot was also used for telegraph communications as well as passenger and baggage service.
In 1928, the Village of Los Lunas incorporated with Antonio J. Archuleta as the first mayor. Electricity arrived in the Los Lunas area in the early 1930's. Water and sewer facilities came to the village in the late 1930's when the population was listed as 513. Los Lunas Village Hall was located for many years in the building which is now the public library. In the mid-1990s, the village administration and police department moved into a new building which has enough room to accommodate these departments plus the Los Lunas Village Council Chambers.
Valencia County was one of the seven counties comprising New Mexico prior to 1850. The county boundaries of the state have been through no less than a dozen changes since New Mexico became part of the United States. Valencia County once stretched from Texas to California. The most recent change in Valencia County was in 1981 when Cibola County was created from the western half of Valencia County.
During the Civil War, Confederate and Union forces fought a skirmish at Peralta, an unincorporated community north of Los Lunas. After the April 15, 1862 event, the Confederate Army retreated southward. Another light skirmish was fought near La Joya, south of Belen, in that same period.
Area Statistics
Valencia County (of which Los Lunas is the county seat) ranks fifth in the state of New Mexico in median household income. Los Alamos County, home of Los Alamos National Laboratories, ranks first with $67,200; Sandoval is second, $42,300; Santa Fe, third, $37,400; Bernalillo, Albuquerque’s county, fourth, $34,000; and Valencia County, $31,900.
Valencia County population 60,214 (1996). Los Lunas population 10,034 (2000 Census).
Valencia County
Valencia County is populated by several communities. Incorporated areas are the Villages of Los Luna, Bosque Farms and the City of Belen. Unincorporated areas include Rio Communities, Tome', Adelino, Meadow Lake, El Cerro, Peralta, Valencia, El Cerro Mission, Las Maravillas and a few others.
Estimated 1996 Valencia County Population was 60,214, a 33 percent increase over the 1990 census. In 1995, Valencia County was the fastest growing county in the state. In 1996, it was the second fastest growing.
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