Built in 1879 after the Santa Fe Railroad line arrived in Los Lunas, the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad depot facilitated the movement of livestock, hay, supplies, and general merchandise, and it also served telegraph communications as well as passenger and baggage service. Through the political influence of the Luna family, the county seat had moved from Tome to Los Lunas in 1876, and the depot's location in Valencia County, together with that influence, contributed to Los Lunas becoming the center of business in the county.