Mountainair (2)

Historical marker location:

US 60, Mountainair, New Mexico

( west end of town)

Once known as the "Pinto Bean Capital of the World," the arrival of the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroad in 1903 eventually made Mountainair the shipping center for 15.7-million pounds of pintos each year. But by the late 1940s drought withered the crop, ending a long period of prosperity. Today, Mountainair hosts visitors exploring Salinas Pueblos National Monument and traveling US 60. Several historic sites in town are listed in the National Register of Historic Places including the Shaffer Hotel, the municipal auditorium and the AT&SF depot. .