Unattended Death and Biohazard Cleanup in Manzano, NM

Manzano is a census-designated place (CDP) in Torrance County, New Mexico, at the eastern base of the Manzano Mountains; it is a different community from Manzano Springs, another Torrance County CDP to its north.

The 2020 census counted 26 residents in Manzano, down from 29 in the 2010 census and 54 in the 2000 census.

Manzano takes its name from the Spanish word for "apple tree," and both the village and the Manzano Mountains are named for the apple trees found growing there.

Hispanic settlers re-established Manzano in the early 19th century, and an early history of New Mexico noted that the Spaniards had found apple trees already growing at the site when they settled there more than a century before.

A 1926 Manzano Forest Reserve survey identified an apple tree at Manzano believed to have been planted before 1676, which would make it among the oldest apple trees in the United States, although later studies suggest the oldest surviving trees date to after 1800.

Manzano was a fortified village: its adobe torreón, a defensive tower believed to have been built about 1840, sheltered settlers during raids, with homes clustered around it, and the neighboring community of Torreon was named for Manzano's towers.

The Quarai Ruins of Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument, a 17th-century Tiwa pueblo and mission complex, are located near Manzano.

The center of population of the state of New Mexico is located in Manzano.

Despite its tiny size and rural setting, Manzano is part of the Albuquerque, New Mexico, metropolitan statistical area.

The CDP covers 1.69 square miles of land at an elevation of about 7,195 feet.