Biohazard and Crime Scene Remediation in Velarde, NM

Velarde is a census-designated place in southern Rio Arriba County, on the Rio Grande between Española and Taos.

The community was settled in 1750 by Juan Matías Velarde and was originally called La Joya, a name connected to a 1712 land grant to Sebastián Martín in the area.

The village's later name honors Velarde's ancestor Juan Antonio Pérez Velarde, who had settled near El Paso del Norte in 1725.

Velarde's Tewa names include Tsígubúu'ú, meaning "greasewood dell," and Phahu'bu'u.

The 2020 census counted 514 residents in Velarde, edging up from 502 residents in the 2010 census.

The 2010 census counted 222 households in the CDP, and the 2020 census recorded 257 housing units within its roughly two and a half square miles of land.

Velarde stands at about 5,906 feet of elevation along New Mexico State Road 68, at the mouth of the Rio Grande Gorge on the riverside route between Española and Taos.

Velarde was the scene of the Battle of Embudo Pass on January 29, 1847, during the Taos Revolt, when local defenders were routed by Colonel Sterling Price's Missouri Mounted Volunteers; crosses etched into rocks near the site mark where about 20 local fighters fell.

A United States post office opened in Velarde in 1855, the first recorded appearance of the Velarde name, and the village still has its own post office under ZIP code 87582.

The village's mission church is the Iglesia de la Virgen de Guadalupe.