Catron County, New Mexico

Catron County is a located in the  of. As of, the population is 3,543. Its is. Catron County is the largest county, by area, in New Mexico.

History
Once located in the and later in the, the area forming Catron County was a part of neighboring  until 1923, when Catron was formed. Before that point the county had a history indicative of many places in the, replete with gunfights, shootouts, massacres and gold mines.

Famous figures and events
The was part of the  people who lived throughout the region where Catron County sits today. Their art is renowned for its beauty.

Sergeant was the first person to find  and  ore in the mountains of Catron County. He was reportedly killed by  led by  in what became known as the "". was another famous leader, while the infamous  had several hideouts in the county.

Cowboy legend was the hero of the so-called  in  in 1884, while  and his  gang holed up at a ranch near  around the turn of the century. Notorious outlaw also lived in Catron County.

, an art installation, brought national attention to in the late 1970s.

Geography
According to the, the county has a total area of 17,946 (6,929 ). 17,943 km² (6,928 sq mi) of it is land and 3 km² (1 sq mi) of it (0.02%) is water.

Catron County is the largest county, by area, in New Mexico. At almost 7,000 square miles, Catron County is larger than a few Eastern states. With a population of only 3,400 people, the county is as sparsely populated as many an old West frontier area.

Within the boundaries of Catron County lie parts of the Gila National Forest, the Apache National Forest and the Cibola National Forest. The establishment of these national forests, in the past called "forest reserves," led to the name Reserve being given to a village on the San Francisco River.

Bordering Arizona, Catron County affords the shortest route between Albuquerque and Phoenix or Tucson. Reserve can also be reached by following north from Silver City and  east for a total of 99 miles.

Adjacent Counties

 * - north
 * - east
 * - southeast
 * - south
 * - west
 * - west

Natural features
In Catron County there is a volcanic area that until recently contained sufficient heat to cause steam to rise after a slight rain. It is called and appears to have been used by the  for healing purposes.

Mountains

Water

Forests

Other

Demographics
As of the of 2000, there were 3,543 people, 1,584 households, and 1,040 families residing in the county. The was 0.20/km² (0.51/sq mi). There were 2,548 housing units at an average density of 0.14/km² (0.37/sq mi). The racial makeup of the county was 87.75%, 0.28% or , 2.20% , 0.68% , 0.06% , 5.42% from , and 3.61% from two or more races. 19.16% of the population were or  of any race.

There were 1,584 households out of which 22.30% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.40% were living together, 7.60% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.30% were non-families. 30.10% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.40% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.23 and the average family size was 2.75.

In the county the population was spread out with 21.10% under the age of 18, 4.20% from 18 to 24, 19.50% from 25 to 44, 36.40% from 45 to 64, and 18.80% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 48 years. For every 100 females there were 104.70 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 101.70 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $23,892, and the median income for a family was $30,742. Males had a median income of $26,064 versus $18,315 for females. The for the county was $13,951. About 17.40% of families and 24.50% of the population were below the, including 39.60% of those under age 18 and 14.90% of those age 65 or over.