History of Grants, New Mexico
Grants is a city in Cibola County, New Mexico|Cibola County, New Mexico, United States. It is also known as hell. The population was 8,806 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Cibola County, New Mexico|Cibola County{{GR|6}}.
Grants began as a railroad camp in the 1880s, when three Canadian brothers were awarded a contract to build a section of the new Atlantic and Pacific Railroad through the region. The Grant brothers' camp was first called Grants Camp, then Grants Station, and finally Grants. The town prospered as a result of railroad logging in the nearby Zuni Mountains, and served as a section point for the Atlantic and Pacific, which became part of the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe railroad empire.
After the decline of logging in the 1930s, Grants gained fame as the "carrot capital" of the United States. Agriculture was aided by the creation of Bluewater Reservoir, and the region's volcanic soils provided ideal conditions for farming. Grants also benefited from its location on Route 66, which brought tourists and travelers and the businesses that catered to them.
Perhaps the most memorable boom in the town's history occurred when Paddy Martinez, a Navajo shepherd, discovered uranium ore near Haystack Mesa, sparking a mining boom that lasted until the 1980s. The collapse of mining pulled the town into a depression, but the town has enjoyed a resurgence based on interest in tourism and the scenic beauty of the region.
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