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Gallup, New Mexico

Gallup (Naʼnízhoozhí) is a city in McKinley County, New Mexico, United States. The population was 20,209 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of McKinley County.

Gallup was founded in 1891 as a railhead for the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad. The City was named after David Gallup, a paymaster for the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad. It is the most populous city between Albuquerque, New Mexico and Flagstaff, Arizona.

Gallup is sometimes called the "Indian Capital of the World", for its location in the heart of Native American lands, and the presence of Navajo, Zuni, Hopi and other tribes. One-third of the city's population have Native American roots. Gallup has references the huge impact of the Native American Cultures found in and around Gallup.

Route 66 runs through Gallup, and the town's name is mentioned in the lyrics to the song, Route 66. In 2003, the U.S. and New Mexico Departments of Transportation renamed US Highway 666, the city's other major highway to Route 491 since the number "666" is associated with Satan and devil worship, thus it was offensive to some people and local Navajos some who are superstitious felt it will lift the route from being "cursed".

Gallup was the subject of a 20/20 mini-documentary about the city's problems with alcohol. Gallup has a large socioeconomic poor population due to its proximity to Indian reservations and historic lack of economic development in addition to many mine closures in the 1970s and 1980s.

The Historic El Rancho Hotel has hosted a numerous aray of movie stars from John Wayne to Former President Ronald Reagan to Stars like Humphrey Bogart, Spencer Tracy, Katharine Hepburn and Kirk Douglas.

Gallup was the setting as the center of activity in a 2006 Sci Fi Channel mini-series The Lost Room starring Peter Krause. Rapper Akon filmed a music video in Gallup in 2005. The movie Natural Born Killers was filmed in part in Gallup in 1994 and starred Woody Harrelson, Juliette Lewis, Tom Sizemore, and was directed by Oliver Stone.

Gallup is a forerunner of racial diversity and civil rights issues. The city long opposed racial discrimination of its black residents; the majority of them lived in the city's West side in the 1940s before the US Civil rights movement took place. During World War II, the city fought successfully to prevent 800 Japanese American residents from being placed in wartime internment. A sizable Palestinian community of about 600 persons can be found; they first arrived from Palestine in the 1970s, and are found in the Southwestern arts and jewelry industries.

There is controversy surrounding this as it is widely believed that most of the "Indian Jewelry Shops and Southwestern arts and jewelry industries business" are exploiting the local Native American people. Most companies that deal with Jewelry from Native American's often buy the jewelry for as little as 10% of the worth but turn around and then sell the item's for hundreds of dollars with the artist only getting $20.00 to $50.00 for his/her work.

Geography

Gallup is located at (35.523750, -108.734088).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 13.4 square miles (34.6 km²), all of it land.

Climate

Gallup experiences four seasons with large daily temperature ranges. Winter mornings can be very cold, with temperatures in the 0s to low 10s F. However, by mid-afternoon, it is not uncommon for the temperature to be close to 45 F. Summer afternoons have temperatures near 90 F, and can fall into the 40s and 50s by dawn.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 20,209 people, 6,810 households, and 4,869 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,513.7 people per square mile (584.5/km²). There were 7,349 housing units at an average density of 550.5/sq mi (212.5/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 40.11% White, 36.64% Native American, 1.43% Asian, 1.08% African American, 0.09% Pacific Islander, 14.77% from other races, and 5.87% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 33.15% of the population.

There were 6,810 households out of which 41.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.3% were married couples living together, 19.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.5% were non-families. 23.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.85 and the average family size was 3.39.

In the city the population was spread out with 32.7% under the age of 18, 9.3% from 18 to 24, 28.8% from 25 to 44, 20.3% from 45 to 64, and 8.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females there were 91.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.2 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $34,868, and the median income for a family was $39,197. Males had a median income of $33,380 versus $24,441 for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,789. About 16.6% of families and 20.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 26.8% of those under age 18 and 16.8% of those age 65 or over.

Transportation

Airports

Gallup Municipal Airport, public airport with primarily private and charter flights. Aviation Identifier is GUP.

Albuquerque International Sunport, nearest public airport with scheduled passenger flights, 135 miles (217 km) east of Gallup.

Major highways

Train

Amtrak's Southwest Chief route stops at Gallup Train Station.

Sports

Gallup welcomed professional basketball to the city in 2004 when the Gallup Talons of the American Basketball Association (ABA) began playing home games in the Gallup Convention Arena. The team was renamed the Gallup Outlaws for the 2005-2006 season. (Note) as of 2-12-2008 the A.B.A has yet to play a game in Gallup for the 2007-08 season. It's rumored they may join the National Basketball Development League or NBDL whose closest opponent is the Albuquerque Thunderbirds.

Notable Residents

Onawa Lacy, Miss New Mexico USA 2006

Hiroshi H. Miyamura, Medal of Honor recipient in the United States Army, awarded for his actions during the Korean War.

Folk musician Bob Dylan claimed to have been raised in Gallup early in his career, although these claims were false (Dylan was actually born in Duluth and raised in Hibbing, both in Minnesota).