Founded in 1956 as a branch of the New Mexico College of Agriculture and Mechanical Arts, San Juan College became an independent community college following a county election in 1981. San Juan College founded in 1956 as the Farmington Branch of the New Mexico College of Agriculture and Mechanical Arts. In 1958, the name was changed from Farmington Branch to San Juan Branch, NMSU. This name better indicated the area served by the branch. In July 1965, the Farmington Board of Education allowed the college use of a building on North Wall Avenue near downtown Farmington. This space provided for full-time day and evening instruction; however, laboratories and other special facilities at Farmington High School were still used for evening instruction. During the 1966-67 year, applications for a federal grant to assist in the construction of a separate facility for a branch campus were prepared and approved. Thus, San Juan Branch had a permanent site in the northern part of Farmington. From the first phase of construction in 1967 to 1981, campus facilities increased from 16,384 square feet (1,522.1 m) to 87,442 square feet (8,123.