The name "Embudo", meaning "funnel" in Spanish, was given to the area by early Spanish settlers because the spot where the Rio Embudo flowed between two distinctive cone shaped hills reminded them of a funnel.
Embudo was founded in 1881 when the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad opened a station (depot) there on its Chili Line. The station was named after the village San Antonio de Embudo,[3] located two miles up the Embudo Creek, and until 1902 the communities shared a post office and were known jointly as Embudo. In 1900, anticipating a separate post office in the village, San Antonio de Embudo changed its name to Dixon after the Presbyterian missionary Dixon, who established a mission there. When the Dixon post office opened in 1902, however, Embudo lost its post office. Embudo got a post office again in 1905, only to lose it in 1909. In 1914, Embudo once again had its own post office,[3] zip code 87531, but the building was removed in 2016, and mailboxes were transferred to the Dixon post office.
Transport links
Today, from the state road a concrete bridge, replacing the old wooden bridge, crosses the Rio Grande to the "Embudo Historic District" which consists of the old railway station and associated buildings. The United States Geological Survey (USGS) gauging station at Embudo, to measure the flow of the Rio Grande, was the first (USGS) stream gauging station and was established by John Wesley Powell in 1888. Embudo was also the first USGS training center for hydrographers.[4]
Embudo was originally on U.S. Route 64 (US 64), a major national east-west highway and the main route between Santa Fe and Taos. In 1974 US 64 was realigned to end at Tonopah, Arizona rather than Santa Fe bypassing Embudo.
^ abJulyan, Robert Hixson (1998). The place names of New Mexico (2nd ed.). Albuquerque, New Mexico: University of New Mexico Press. p. 123. ISBN0-8263-1688-3. "Embudo" The place names of New Mexico