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Please add profiles of those who were born, lived or died in Luna County, New Mexico.
Official Website
Before dawn on March 16, 1916, Mexican revolutionary Pancho Villa led several hundred of his rebel soldiers across the Mexican border into the southern county village of Columbus. The invaders raided and burned much of the town, causing many residents to flee to the desert. Although the raid completely surprised everyone in the town, it also awakened 350 United States Army soldiers at Camp Furlong at the edge of town, who defended the town with two machine guns. The fighting continued until dawn, when Villa fled back across the Mexican border, five hours after invading and approximately ninety minutes after attacking the town. Despite the U.S. Army's counter "Mexican Expedition" into Mexico, Villa was never caught; United States forces began engagement into The Great War and was unable to commit to Pancho Villas capture; he died seven years later at the hands of an assassin. Eighteen Columbus residents and U.S. soldiers were killed in the raid, while approximately seventy-five of Villa's soldiers were killed.
In 1917 striking copper miners from Bisbee, Arizona were deported to this county.
Construction of an improved barrier on the border with Mexico was expedited in 2019 with waivers of environmental and 27 other laws including protection of endangered species, archaeological sites, and historic places.
Today, Pancho Villa State Park is located in the village of Columbus. It features beautiful cacti and the ruins of "the U.S. Army's first greaserack".
Adjacent Counties
- Doña Ana County
- Sierra County
- Grant County
- Hidalgo County
- Chihuahua, Mexico
Cities, Towns, Villages & Communities
- City of the Sun
- Columbus
- Deming (County Seat)
- Gage
- Keeler Farm
- La Hacienda
- Mimbres
- Mountain View
- Mowry City
- Myndus
- Nutt
- Ojo de Vaca Station
- Old Town
- Pecan Park
- Polpotio Bareas
- Sunshine
- Ventura
Links