[4] Like the North Valley and Corrales, Los Ranchos is a mostly rural area with widely spaced large houses and dense vegetation.

marked a major turning point in the settlement of the region, causing the traditionally nomadic tribes of the area to adopt a more agricultural way of life.

"[6] The first colonizing expedition into New Mexico was led by Juan de Oñate in 1598, and the fertile valley between Alameda and Atrisco was gradually populated by settlers living on scattered farms.

In the face of growing demand for more housing, small subdivisions, land holdings and large country estates began to appear along Rio Grande Boulevard, new roads were constructed and existing ones were paved or removed.

"The 1930s marked a time when Albuquerque families began moving to the North Valley in greater numbers, some buying and restoring abandoned adobe homes, others proceeding to build large new houses.

"[7] United States Representatives Albert Simms and his wife Ruth Hanna McCormick were among these families and built two houses designed by Santa Fe architect John Gaw Meem on the site of the current-day Los Poblanos Ranch.

Rob Lee Meadows was built on the site of the old Los Ranchos plaza, the farmlands belonging to the Robert Dietz family were turned into the rows of houses of Dietz Farms and over 100 acres of farm owned by the Charles Mann family became the present day Meadows on Rio Grande and Thomas Village homes.

[8] This sudden influx of newcomers and development after the war caused alarm that Albuquerque proper would annex Los Ranchos, and residents sought incorporation to prevent such a fate.

People involved in incorporating the village included William Kitsch, Frederick O'Hara, Sam Hartnett, Paul Gillespie and Robert Nordhaus.

[9] Today Los Ranchos has been able to preserve much of its original rural agricultural nature and is one of the most desirable places of high-end residence in the entire Albuquerque area.