Formed March 4, 1921 (31st county)
Harding County (655), Mosquero (98), Roy (193)
The stucco courthouse in the middle of this small community is perfect for the surrounding environment. The facility is located on Pine Street between 3rd and 4th avenues. New Mexico State Highway 39 is 2 blocks north of the site. It was built in 1905 as a school and renovated in 1921 to become the courthouse. The architect of the Modified Greek Revival building is unknown. The county was created on March 4, 1921 from Colfax County as the 31st county with Mosquero as the only county seat. Mosquero is Spanish for “a swarm of mosquitoes or flies.” United States President Warren Harding inspired the county’s name.
Harding County government consists of a manager, a sheriff, a treasurer, an attorney, an assessor, and a clerk (executive). It has 3 Commissioners (legislative.) One District Court Judge serves Harding, DeBaca, and Quay counties (judicial.) Harding County is in the northeast part of New Mexico east of Santa Fe, New Mexico and northwest of Amarillo, Texas. The Canadian River forms its northwest border and the Ute River flows through the middle of the county. The county center is 18 miles Northeast of Mosquero nearer Albert. The county is surrounded clockwise by Union, Quay, San Miguel, Mora, and Colfax counties.
The area of the county is 2126 square miles. It is 27 out of 33 in the state. It ranks 33 out of 33 in population in the state. It has a density of 0.3 persons per square mile making it 33 out of 33 in the state. Harding County has 44.4% of its population in its incorporated areas. There are no Interstates or United States Highways in the county. The overall shape of the county is a plow pointing to the southeast. Mosquero is near the geographical center to the county but the southwestern county border is at Mosquero. Roy is in the northwest quarter of the county. Mosquero is the county seat and Roy is the largest city. Mosquero is 15.0% of the county population while Roy is 29.5% of the county population. The county seat is pronounced MOS-KWAE-RO.
