Truth or Consequences

Truth or Consequences is a city in, and the county seat of, Sierra County, New Mexico, United States. In 2010, the population was 6,475. It has frequently been noted on lists of unusual place names for having chosen to rename itself after the Truth or Consequences radio show. The name is often hyphenated for clarity, though the formal name contains no punctuation.

The area is noted for its hot springs, and the first public bath in the area was built at John Cross Ranch over Geronimo Springs in the late 1800s. However, major settlement did not begin until the construction of Elephant Butte Dam and Reservoir in 1912; the dam was completed in 1916. It was a part of the Rio Grande Project, an early large-scale irrigation effort authorized under the Newlands Reclamation Act of 1902. In 1916, the town was incorporated as Hot Springs. It became the Sierra County seat in 1937. By the late 1930s, Hot Springs was filled with 40 different natural-hot-spring spas – one per every 75 residents at the time .

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