Historical Marker
Socorro
The Piro Indian pueblo Teypana was visited by Juan de Oñate in 1598. The people of the village reportedly supplied corn to Oñate who bestowed the name Socorro (“aid” in Spanish) on the pueblo. In 1626, the mission of Nuestra Señora de Socorro was built at the nearby pueblo of Pilabó. Abandoned during the Pueblo Revolt of 1680, the present town was founded in 1815.
New Mexico was one of the last territories to become a state, gaining statehood in 1912. Before that, it had been part of the Spanish Empire, Mexico, and the United States Territory of New Mexico.