Founding
town in and seat of Taos County, New Mexico, United States
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Taos is a town in Taos County, in the north-central region of New Mexico. Situated between the Rio Grande Gorge and the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, it is located roughly 50 miles (80 km) south of the Colorado border. Taos serves as the county seat of Taos County, of which it is the largest municipality, with an estimated population of 6,567 as of 2021.
The town of Taos was incorporated in 1934, although humans have lived in the adjacent Taos Pueblo—a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the town's namesake—for roughly a millennium; the town's name derives from the native Taos language meaning "(place of) red willows". Initially founded by Spanish colonists in 1615 as Don Fernando de Taos, it was only intermittently occupied until the late 18th century, due to recurring conflict between European and indigenous peoples, most notably the Pueblo Revolt.
Taos was formally established as a permanent settlement in 1795 by Nuevo México Governor Fernando Chacón, serving as a fortified plaza and trading outpost for the neighboring Taos Pueblo and Hispano communities, including Ranchos de Taos, Cañon, Taos Canyon, Ranchitos, El Prado, and Arroyo Seco. During the Mexican–American War, the region was occupied by the United States, triggering a rebellion among Hispanics and American Indians known as the Taos Revolt.
Following U.S. annexation of Nuevo México, Taos became a stopover for American and European settlers along the vast western frontier. During this period, the town developed its existing reputation as a cultural enclave, with the first artist colony being established in 1898 by painters Ernest Blumenschein and Bert Phillips. Taos has since developed a reputation as a "counterculture mecca" and "beacon for artists", attracting the likes of painter Georgia O'Keeffe, English poet and writer D.H. Lawrence, and actor Dennis Hopper.
The Taos Pueblo, which borders the north boundary of the town of Taos, has been occupied for nearly a millennium. It is estimated that the pueblo was built between 1000 and 1450 AD, with some later expansion. The pueblo is considered to be one of the oldest continuously inhabited communities 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 Taos Puebloans living within the greater pueblo-area community. Many of them have modern homes near their fields and live there in the summer months, only staying at their homes within the main North or South pueblo buildings during cooler weather. About 150 people live within the main pueblo buildings year-round. The Taos Pueblo was added as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1992.
Taos was established c.1615 as Don Fernando 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 subsequently 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.
Between 1780 and 1800, Don Fernando de Taos (now simply Taos) was established. Between 1796 and 1797, the Don Fernando de Taos land grant gave land to 63 Spanish families in the Taos valley. It was built as a fortified plaza with adobe buildings and is now a central plaza surrounded by residential areas. Mountain men who trapped beaver nearby made Taos their home in the early 1800s.
The U.S. took control of New Mexico in 1847 during the Mexican–American War. In response, Hispanics and American Indians in Taos staged a rebellion known as the Taos Revolt, in which the newly appointed U.S. Governor, Charles Bent, was killed. Mexico subsequently ceded the region to the U.S. pursuant to the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848. New Mexico was a territory of the United States beginning in 1850 and became a state in 1912.
For historical reasons, the American flag is displayed continuously at Taos Plaza (both day and night). This derives from the time of the American Civil War, when Confederate sympathizers in the area attempted to remove the flag. Union officer Kit Carson sought to discourage this activity by having guards surround the area and fly the flag 24 hours a day.
Anton Docher, the "Padre of Isleta", first served as a priest in Taos before leaving for Isleta in 1891.
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 modelled Native Americans from the pueblo in their paintings. Some of the artists' studios have been preserved and may be viewed. These include the Ernest L. Blumenschein House, the Eanger Irving Couse House and Studio—Joseph Henry Sharp Studios, 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. A number of foundations host artist residencies in Taos, including the Helene Wurlitzer Foundation, which began hosting painters, writers, composers, sculptors, poets and filmmakers at Casa Encantado in 1954.
Taos is home to more than twenty sites on the National Register of Historic Places.
About 3 miles (4.8 km) north of Taos is Taos Pueblo. Picuris Pueblo is located about 25 miles (40 km) south.
The Fiestas de Taos is an annual community celebration in the Taos Plaza honoring the feast of the two patron saints of Taos, Santa Ana and Santiago. It is normally celebrated the third weekend of July. A commemorative mass and procession from Our Lady of Guadalupe Church officially opens the event on Friday evening, followed by the crowning of the Fiestas Queen. The celebration continues with musical and dance performances scheduled on the plaza every hour. Two parades are staged, a children's parade on Saturday and the larger Fiesta Parade on Sunday.
Located just north of the Taos Plaza, this street was the location of Governor Charles Bent's home. Bent was scalped and killed by Pueblo warriors during the Taos Revolt on January 19, 1847.
The Helene Wurlitzer Foundation is a non-profit organization based in Taos that provides free residency to eleven artists, with each year divided into three residency sessions of three months apiece at Casa Encantado.
Abbie Conant, former principal trombonist of the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra and seasonal Taos resident, runs a studio three blocks from the plaza. The studio can seat 60, and there is also a two-bedroom living space. In addition to her and her husband's own performances, the studio has hosted poetry readings, presentations, and performances from local Taoseñas and fellows from the Wurlitzer Foundation.
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.
Doc Martin's restaurant in the historic Taos Inn was previously the office of Thomas "Doc" Martin, while other parts of the inn served as his home and the birthplace of the Taos Society of Artists. On Ledoux Street, just south of the Taos Plaza, is the Ernest L. Blumenschein House and Harwood House.
The center of the Taos Downtown Historic District is the Taos Plaza. Just west of that is the Our Lady of Guadalupe Church. North of the Taos Plaza is the Governor Charles Bent House and the Taos Inn. Further north in Taos is 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 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.
About 20 miles (32 km) northwest is the D. H. Lawrence Ranch (originally known as the Kiowa Ranch and now owned by the University of New Mexico), the home of the English novelist in the 1920s. It is believed that his ashes are buried there at the D. H. Lawrence Memorial.
There are three art museums in Taos: Harwood Museum of Art, Taos Art Museum, and Millicent Rogers Museum. They contain art by Pueblo Native Americans, Taos Society of Artists, and modern and contemporary artists of the Taos art colony. The town has more than 80 art galleries, and there are several houses of the Taos Society of Artists.
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 present 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 also hosts performances and lectures. The Town of Taos Convention Center offers a venue for other local performances.
The Taos Talking Pictures Film Festival was a film festival held in the town from the mid-1990s to 2003. The festival's top prize was 5 acres (2.0 ha) of land.
The Carson National Forest and Rio Grande del Norte National Monument provide many opportunities for recreation, such as hiking, skiing, fly fishing, horseback riding, golfing, hot air ballooning, llama trekking, rafting, and mountain biking. The South Boundary National Recreation Trail, east of town in Carson National Forest, is consistently ranked the best mountain bike trail in New Mexico.
There are also numerous hot springs along the Rio Grande and in the Taos Mountains. Ojo Caliente offers locations where visitors can enjoy access to mineral springs as well as massages and other spa treatments. Among hot springs in the area is a historical site called Stage Coach, which used to double as a brothel during the times of the Old West. Nearby, the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad provides a ride through the Toltec Gorge and Rocky Mountain passes in an authentic narrow-gauge steam railroad.
In the winter, many people come to Taos to ski in the mountains. Nearby Wheeler Peak, at 13,161 feet (4,011 m), is the highest peak in New Mexico. The Taos area has four ski areas – Taos Ski Valley, Red River ski area, Sipapu and Angel Fire ski area. Other winter activities include hot air ballooning, horseback riding, snow-shoeing, cross-country skiing, ski skating, ice skating, ice fishing and snowmobiling.
Taos is the principal town of the Taos, NM, Micropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of Taos County.
As of the 2020 census, Taos had a population of 6,474. The median age was 50.4 years. 17.1% of residents were under the age of 18 and 30.2% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 87.2 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 83.7 males age 18 and over.
98.7% of residents lived in urban areas, while 1.3% lived in rural areas.
There were 3,165 households in Taos, of which 22.5% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 28.8% were married-couple households, 22.7% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 40.4% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 42.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 21.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
There were 3,812 housing units, of which 17.0% were vacant. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.3% and the rental vacancy rate was 7.4%.
As of the 2010 census Taos had a population of 5,716. The median age was 44. The ethnic and racial composition of the population was 40.1% non-Hispanic white, 0.7% African American, 1% Asian, 5.3% Native American, 0.3% non-Hispanics reporting some other race, 5.4% reporting two or more races and 51.9% Hispanic or Latino of any race.
As of the census of 2000, there were 4,700 people, 2,067 households, and 1,157 families residing in the town. The population density was 874.5 inhabitants per square mile (337.6/km2). There were 2,466 housing units at an average density of 458.8 per square mile (177.1/km2). The racial makeup of the town was 68.04% White, 0.53% African American, 4.11% Native American, 0.62% Asian, 0.11% Pacific Islander, 21.66% from other races, and 4.94% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 54.34% of the population.
There were 2,067 households, out of which 27.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 34.7% were married couples living together, 16.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 44.0% were non-families. 37.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.18 and the average family size was 2.87.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Taos, New Mexico”, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.