Tawapa

Tawapa was a hippie commune that operated north of Placitas, New Mexico.^[1] It was founded around 1970 and dissolved in the 1990s. It was located along Las Huertas Creek near the Sandia Mountains.^[1][2] A spring flowed through Tawapa. Watercress grew by the spring.^[3]

Tawapa
Hippie commune
Coordinates: 35.324865°N 106.425678°W / 35.324865; -106.425678
Country	United States
State	New Mexico
County	Sandoval County
Established	c. 1970
Dissolved	1990s
Government
• Type	Commune

History

Lower Farm

At the commune of Lower Farm one Donald Waskey^[3][4][5] called himself Ulysses, claiming to be the reincarnation of Ulysses S. Grant.^[5] He also claimed to be the reincarnation of Vulcan and Jesus Christ.^[6] He made a tongue-in-cheek attempt to run for governor of New Mexico in 1969,^[7] and murdered two people^[3][4][6] in 1970.^[7] He was the commune's self-proclaimed leader.^[3]

Tawapa

In the late 1960s or early 1970s, due to problems at Lower Farm, several couples left and founded Tawapa^[8] along Las Huertas Creek.^[1] Many people, especially youth, settled in Tawapa in the 1970s. The commune grew by word of mouth and through magazine articles.^[2] They constructed houses there.^[1] The commune appeared on a map of hippie communes, drawing more people.^[8] Several other communes were founded in the area, such as Sun Farm^[9] and Dome Valley.^[2] The people living in Tawapa claimed adverse possession over the land.^[1] However, they were ultimately evicted by people holding legal title.^[1] Housing developments in the 1990s forced people to leave Tawapa.^[10]

Post-disestablishment

Later, environmental damage was caused by the increasing number of houses, as well as groundwater mining.^[11][12][13] The spring mostly ran dry, while Sun Farm experienced a water shortage in the late 2010s and early 2020s.^[11][12]