The name may be based upon a Piro name for the place,[4] but altered in form because polvareda means dusty in Spanish, which, as US Army Lt. Emory noted in 1846,[5] it certainly is.

[7] The church in Polvadera was dedicated to San Lorenzo and his feast day, August 10, is the local fiesta.

[10] It was subsequently rebuilt, but was abandoned as a result of the Pueblo Revolt of 1680, and because of further Apache raiding after the reconquest was not resettled again until the early 19th century after Governor Fernando Chacón reopened the area for settlement.

Apache and Navajo raids continued until after the American Civil War when the US Army began a strenuous interdiction policy.

Nearby, to the west of the community, is San Lorenzo Canyon, a popular hiking and picnic spot.