Socorro, New Mexico

Socorro, a community of about 9,000 in the Rio Grande Valley, is the county seat of Socorro County. It's one of the oldest settlements in the Southwest.

The Spaniards built a church here which in 1627 was expanded into the San Miguel Mission. The present San Miguel Mission was built from 1819 to 1821 on the ruins of the earlier mission.

Socorro remained an agricultural center until the 1880's when the Santa Fe Railroad arrived and mining became possible. By the 1890's mining had declined and Socorro returned to agriculture. Many people moved away, leaving behind a legacy of Victorian homes and business buildings.

In 1889 the New Mexico School of Mines (now called New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology) was established.