| 
Taos is located in Taos County in
the north-central region of New Mexico, incorporated in 1934. As of
the 2000 census, its population was 4,700. Other nearby communities
include Ranchos de Taos, Cañon, Taos Canyon, Ranchitos, and El
Prado. The town is close to Taos Pueblo, the Native American village
and tribe from which it takes its name.
Taos is also the county seat of
Taos County. The name is also referred to by the nearby ski resort
of Taos Ski Valley. The English name Taos derives from the native
Taos language meaning "place of red willows".
Taos Pueblo
The Taos Pueblo, that borders the
town of Taos on its north side, has been occupied for nearly a
millennium. It is estimated that the pueblo was built between 1000
and 1450 A.D., with some later expansion, and is considered to be
the oldest continuously inhabited community in the United States.
Located in a tributary valley off
the Rio Grande, it is the most northern of the New Mexico pueblos.
The Pueblo, at some places five stories high, is a combination of
many individual homes with common walls. There are over 1,900 people
in the Taos pueblo community. Some of them have modern homes near
their fields and stay at their homes on the pueblo during cooler
weather. There are about 150 people who live at the pueblo
year-around. The Taos Pueblo was added as an UNESCO World Heritage
Site in 1992 as one of the most significant historical cultural
landmarks in the world; Other sites include the Taj Mahal, Great
Pyramids and the Grand Canyon in the United States.
Spanish Colonization
Taos was established c. 1615 as
Fernandez de Taos, following the Spanish conquest of the Indian
Pueblo villages. Initially, relations of the Spanish settlers with
Taos Pueblo were amicable, but resentment of meddling by
missionaries, and demands by encomenderos for tribute, led to a
revolt in 1640; Taos Indians killed their priest and a number of
Spanish settlers, and fled the pueblo, not returning until 1661.
In 1680, Taos Pueblo joined the
widespread Pueblo Revolt. After the Spanish Reconquest of 1692, Taos
Pueblo continued armed resistance to the Spanish until 1696, when
Governor Diego de Vargas defeated the Indians at Taos Canyon.
During the 1770s, Taos was
repeatedly raided by Comanches who lived on the plains of what is
now eastern Colorado. Juan Bautista de Anza, governor of the
Province of New Mexico, led a successful punitive expedition in 1779
against the Comanches.
Taos Art Colony
Beginning in 1899, artists began
to settle in Taos; six formed the Taos Society of Artists in 1915.
In time, the Taos art colony developed. Many paintings were made of
local scenes, especially of Taos Pueblo and activities there, as the
artists often modeled Native Americans from the pueblo in their
paintings. Some of the artists' studios have been preserved and may
be viewed by visitors to Taos. These include the Ernest L.
Blumenschein House, the Couse/Sharp Historic Site, and the Nicolai
Fechin house, all of which are listed on the National Register of
Historic Places. Influential later 20th-century Taos artists include
R. C. Gorman and Agnes Martin.
Many of the historic sites are
homes and studios of artists, including the Mabel Dodge Luhan House,
Eanger Irving Couse House and Studio—Joseph Henry Sharp Studios, the
Nicolai Fechin House, the Leon Gaspard House, and the Ernest Martin
Hennings House. On Ledoux street, just south of the Taos Plaza, is
the Ernest L. Blumenschein House and Harwood House.
Other Historic Sites
The center of the Taos Downtown
Historic District is the Taos Plaza. Just west of that is the La
Morada de Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe. North of the Taos Plaza is
the Governor Charles Bent House and the Taos Inn. Further north in
Taos the The Bernard Beimer House. On the southwestern edge of the
Taos Historic district is La Loma Plaza Historic District. East of
the plaza on Kit Carson Road is the Kit Carson House. North of Taos
is the Turley Mill and Distillery Site and the Rio Grande Gorge
Bridge. Just outside of Taos in Ranchitos is the Martinez Hacienda,
the home turned museum of the late Padre Antonio José Martínez.
South of Taos is the Ranchos de Taos Plaza with the San Francisco de
Asis Mission Church.
Tourism
Art
There are many ways to explore art
in Taos. There are three Art Museums in Taos: Harwood Museum of Art,
Taos Art Museum and Millicent Rogers Museum that provide art from
the pueblo Native Americans, Taos Society of Artists and modern and
contemporary artists of the Taos art colony. The town has more than
eighty art galleries and there are several houses of the Taos
Society of Artists.
Performing Arts
There are several local venues for
the performing arts in Taos. The Taos Center for the Arts (TCA)
draws nationally renowned and local performers at the Taos Community
Auditorium. They also presents independent film series. Three
chamber music groups perform at TCA: Taos School of Music, Taos
Chamber Music Group, and Music from Angel Fire. The Harwood Museum
of Art is site of other performances and lectures. The Town of Taos
Convention Center offers a venue for other local performances.
Recreation
Summer Activities
The Taos valley, Rio Grande and
Taos mountains provide many opportunities for recreation, such as
fly fishing, horse back riding, golfing, hot air ballooning, llama
trekking, rafting, mountain biking and more. Nearby, the Cumbres &
Toltec Scenic Railroad provides a ride through the Toltec Gorge and
Rocky Mountain passes in authentic narrow-gauge steam railroads.
Winter Activities
In the winter many people come to
Taos to ski. Wheeler Peak, at 13,161 feet, is the highest peak in
New Mexico. The Taos area has four ski areas - Taos Ski Valley, Red
River ski area, Sipapu (ski area) and Angel Fire ski area. Other
winter activities include hot air ballooning, horseback riding,
snow-shoeing, cross-country skiing, ice fishing and snowmobiling.
Taos Hum
An ongoing low frequency noise,
audible only to some, is thought to originate somewhere near this
town and is consequently sometimes known as the Taos Hum. Those who
have heard the Hum usually hear it west of Taos near Tres Orejas.
The Taos Hum was featured on the TV show Unsolved Mysteries, and it
was also briefly mentioned in an episode of The X-Files.
|
P.O. Box 1798
Ranchos de Taos, New Mexico 87557
|
