Tularosa is a village in Otero County, New Mexico, United States. The town shares its name with the Tularosa Basin, in which the town is located. To the east, Tularosa is flanked by the western edge of the Sacramento Mountains. The population was 2,553 at the 2020 census. During the 1990s and early 2000s, the town, north of the much larger Alamogordo, experienced moderate growth and construction as a bedroom community, especially in the housing industry. Tularosa is noted for its abundance of cottonwood shade trees and its efforts to preserve the adobe-style architecture of its past.
History
Tularosa gets its name from the Spanish description for the red or rose colored reeds growing along the banks of the Rio Tularosa. The Rio Tularosa, which still exists along the north side of the village, attracted the original settlers as a water source in the desert. Settlers attempted to establish a settlement in 1860 but were unsuccessful due to Mescalero Apache raids. Two years later, after a battle at nearby Round Mountain, Mexican farmers from the Rio Grande valley succeeded in settling the area. The Mission Church, St Francis de Paula was built to honor a promise made to St Francis that if no one was killed in the battle at Round Mountain, the townspeople would build a church dedicated to him. In 1863, the Town of Tularosa was formally established and was mapped with 49 blocks and water rights distributed and recorded.
The original acequia (ditch irrigation system) remains virtually unchanged and provides the water for the trees lining the streets, private gardens, and landscaping that give Tularosa its unique character.
In 1979, the Tularosa Original Townsite District, consisting of the original 49 blocks on including 182 buildings, was declared a historic district and recorded in the National Register of Historic Places.
In 2008 Tularosa became an affiliate of Keep America Beautiful. The local branch of the program, Keep Tularosa Beautiful, received a grant in 2008 of $10,000 for beautification projects from Waste Management.
In December 2021, A woman named Jaime Granger was arrested at a speedway gas station in Tularosa, hiding in a bathroom stall, after taking off from a traffic stop. Granger then tried to bite the officer, and kicked him in the chest. In court, Granger pleaded guilty to DWI and 2 counts of battery on a peace officer.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the village The Coyote Hills are to the north-east of town, foothills of the Sacramentos.