RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
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Welcome to Thoreau ...

Thoreau is located in northwest New Mexico.

Thoreau is located in McKinley County<1>.

While we don't have a date for the founding of Thoreau, you might consider that their post office opened in 1899.

Thoreau is 7,140 feet [2,176 m] above sea level.<2> In other words, the elevation of Thoreau is about 1¼ mile [or ~2¼ km] above sea level.

Time Zone: Thoreau lies in the Mountain Time Zone (MST/MDT) and observes daylight saving time

Note: If you leave Thoreau and travel west, you will leave Mountain Time and cross into the Mountain Standard Time Zone (MST). In addition, you will be moving from an area that observes daylight saving time to one that does not.

Area Code for Thoreau: 505

The ZIP code for Thoreau: 87323<3>

Communities near Thoreau ...

We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Thoreau.

To Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

We have a couple of sections for those tracing their genealogy.

We created a list of cemeteries that are in the area around Thoreau. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Thoreau.

We have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Thoreau. See our Newspapers Page for Thoreau.

TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Thoreau ...

Looking for more information about Thoreau? A wonderful source is the TripAdvisor website. We always start with the TripAdvisor Tourism page, where you can read an overview with links that will help you find lodging, restaurants and attractions.

In addition to the Tourism page for Thoreau, there are neighboring communities that also have Tourism pages. More information about those communities can be found on our TripAdvisor Page for Thoreau.

Adding Thoreau to Our Gazetteer ...

We originally found mention of Thoreau in both the FIPS-55 and the GNIS. For more information, see the FIPS and GNIS Codes sections on our Miscellaneous Page.

From our notes, the earliest published mention we've found (so far) for Thoreau was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<5>

From that list, the Thoreau post office opened in 1899.

For more details, see References and Mentions for Thoreau.

Footnotes ...

<1>If you're interested in how the shape of New Mexico's counties, including McKinley, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
<2>The elevation is an estimate for the area around Thoreau - it will be higher in some places and lower in others.
<3>ZIP Codes have been created by the United States Postal Service (USPS) as a way of grouping addresses to make delivery more efficient. The boundaries of the ZIP Code can be changed, re-assigned, eliminated or overlapped with other ZIP Codes. So keep in mind that any given ZIP Code is only 'loosely' associated with a community (such as Thoreau). When looking for a ZIP Code, whether Thoreau or elsewhere, it's always best to check the website of the United States Postal Service (USPS).
<4>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<5>A copy of the Blevins & Helbock Post Office list with background information can be found at:

      https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/