Gallup

The panel's population of 18,161 sits within six of the 1980 census count, which dates the board; the 2020 count was 21,899. The town took the paymaster's name because his office was where the money was: crews collecting wages said they were going to Gallup. In Navajo the place is Na'nízhoozhí, the bridge. Coal from the hills made it a division point on the railroad in 1895, and the road north out of town ran as US 666 until 2003, when it was renumbered 491.

What the plaque says

Official Scenic Historic Marker Gallup Population 18,161 - Elevation 6600 ft. Long a major trading center for the Navajo and Zuni Indians living in communities north and south of the town. Gallup emerged in 1881 from a railroad construction camp. It is named for David Gallup, who in 1880 was paymaster for the Atlantic & Pacific (now the Santa Fe) Railroad.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Window Rock — 24 mi
  Tségháhoodzání — the sacred arch, and the capital of the Diné

More markers nearby

• Emma Estrada (1933-1997) / Parteras of New Mexico — 3.2 mi
• Chaco Cliffs — 3.7 mi
• Fort Wingate — 8.5 mi
• Manuelito Area — 21 mi