New Mexico Directories

United States U.S. Directories  New Mexico  Directories

Record Synopsis
A directory is defined as a “book containing names, addresses, and occupations of inhabitants.” It may also be “any list or compilation, usually in book or pamphlet form, of persons, professional organizations, firms or corporations.” Several types of directories have been published in the United States over the last two hundred years including: city directories, telephone directories, county and regional business directories, professional, organizational, and religious directories, post office directories, and street directories. Directories have tremendous value to genealogists as both an original record and as a reference aid.

The sections below provide information about New Mexico directories. For further information about directories in general, see United States Directories.

Business Directories

 * 1882. A Complete Business Directory of New Mexico and Gazetteer of the Territory for 1882. Santa Fe, New Mexico: New Mexican Printing and Publishing Company, 1882. Digital version at Google Books.


 * 1883-84. McKenney, L.M. Pacific Coast Directory, for 1883-84. Giving name, business, and address of business and professional men of California, Oregon, Washington, British Columbia, Alaska, Nevada, Utah, Idaho, Montana, Arizona, and New Mexico. Together with sketches of the different towns, giving location, population, Etc. San Francisco: L.M. McKenney &amp; Co., 1882. Digital version at Internet Archive.


 * 1884-85. Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, Nevada, Wyoming and Arizona Gazetteer and Business Directory 1884-5. Volume 1. R.L. Polk &amp; Co. and A.C. Danser, 1884. Digital versin at Google Books.


 * 1938. New Mexico State Business Directory, 1938: Including El Paso, Texas Department and Denver, and Western Cities Classification. Denver: Gazetteer Pub. and Printing Co., 1938..

City Directories
Typically, city directories are published on a local level, hence the name "city" directory. There are no statewide “city” directories for New Mexico. To find local New Mexico city directories, check the appropriate New Mexico city Wiki page. Researchers may also find the following resources helpful:

Online Resources

 * Ancestry.com ($) has New Mexico directories available online in their U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989 collection. The following cities are currently included: Albuquerque, Artesia, Carlsbad, Gallup, Hobbs, Roswell, and Santa Fe.
 * US City Directories identifies printed, microfilmed, and online directories and their repositories.

The Family History Library (FHL)
The Family History Library has an excellent collection of New Mexico city directories on microfilm up through 1935. The cities of Albuquerque, Roswell, and Santa Fe are well represented. The Library also has printed directories for some select New Mexico cities that range from the 1950s to the 1990s.

To find out what records are available at the Library, do a "Place-names" seach in the Family History Library Catalog. Search for:


 * New Mexico - Directories
 * New Mexico, [County] - Directories
 * New Mexico, [County], [City] - Directories

Libraries, Archives and Societies
"Most libraries, historical societies, and archives at the state level have fairly extensive collections of in-state directories and may also have directories from major out-of-state cities." The New Mexico History Museum's Fray Angelico Chavez History Library has a good collection of city directories.