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City Tour of Taos
Some 6,000 years ago, nomadic hunter-gatherers passed through the Taos
area, leaving behind arrowheads, potsherds, and pictographs. In the early
20th Century, Doc Martin, Taos' beloved country doctor, said, "God's in
charge of everything that happens in Taos!" As you visit, you'll see that
Taos is a place where history is honored and continues to be made every
day. Some dates relating to human habitation and activities in Taos and
its environs include:
900A.D. Settlements throughout the Taos valley. Some ruins can be seen
today south of Abiquiu.
1000 Present villages of Taos Pueblo and Picuris Pueblo were inhabited by
this date.
1500s - 1540 Some rooms at Taos Pueblo set aside for visiting Kiowa,
Apache, and Comanche traders. Captain Alvarado leads first European explorers,
the Coronado expedition, into the area.
1598 Don Juan de Oate comes as official colonizer of Spain's province,
Nuevo Mexico, and assigns Fray Francisco de Zamora to serve Taos and Picuris
Pueblos.
1613-1690 Numerous Spaniards have settled in Taos Valley and more than
50 missions constructed throughout New Mexico.
1680 The Pueblo Revolt initiated at Taos, when growing conflicts escalated
and all Spaniards were either killed or driven from the province. This
uprising was the most successful on the North American continent, and
it was 13 years before the Spanish returned.
1692 Diego de Vargas reconquers New Mexico for Spain, and in 1693 begins
resettlement of the province.
1696 Second Taos Pueblo revolt; de Vargas puts down the rebellion.
Population of the area grows. Acequias (irrigation ditches) are built;
some remain in operation today.
1725 Ranchos de Taos (originally Las Trampas de Taos) becomes a permanent
Spanish settlement.
1739 The first French traders, led by the Mallete brothers, attend
the Taos Fair. Such trade fairs were considered important; leaders of
the annual caravan to Chihuahua, Mexico, planned its schedule so as not
to miss the Taos Fair.
1760 Chronic attacks by the Plains Indians lead to a decline in population
of the Valley. Spanish settlers sometimes move into Taos Pueblo for protection
from the raiders.
1779 Colonel del Anza passes through Taos on his return from Colorado,
where he decisively defeated Comanches led by Cuerno Verde. De Anza named
the Sangre de Cristo Pass, as well as the road between Taos and Santa
Fe, designating it part of El Camino Real.
1796-1797 Land given to 63 Spanish families as the Don Fernando de
Taos Land Grant.
1800s By the early part of the century, Taos had become the headquarters
for a number of mountain men who trapped beaver nearby. In 1826, Christopher
"Kit" Carson (1809-1868) moved to Taos. A soft-spoken man with a gift
for languages, he bought the house (built in 1825), which is now the Kit
Carson Museum, as a wedding present for his bride, Maria Josefa Jaramillo.
They lived in it until their deaths in 1868.
1804 Severino Martin (later Martinez) builds La Hacienda de los Martinez,
which still exists as a museum. It becomes an important trade center and
the headquarters of an extensive ranching operation. Martinez's eldest
son is Padre Antonio Martinez, who fought Bishop Lamy in an attempt to
preserve the Hispanic character of the Catholic Church. He also created
the first coeducational school in New Mexico (1833), brought the first
printing press to Taos (1834), and founded "El Crepusculo," a weekly newspaper,
in 1835.
1815 The mission church, San Francisco de Asis at Ranchos de Taos, begun
about 1772, is finished.
1821-1846 Numerous land grants by Mexico lead to additional settlement.
1846-1848 Mexican-American War. General Stephen Kearney and his troops
occupy the province.
1847 U.S. takes possession of New Mexico. Some former Mexican citizens
and Taos Natives rebel, killing the first territorial governor, Charles
Bent, in his Taos home. U.S. Army retaliates against the Pueblo, killing
more than 150 people and destroying the original San Geronimo Mission.
1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo is signed, ending the Mexican-American
War.
1850 Official designation of the Territory of New Mexico, which includes
Arizona
1866 Gold dicovered in the Moreno Valley; many new settlers enter the area.
1880 A narrow-gauge railroad, the Denver and Rio Grande Western, built
from Alamosa, Colo., to 25 miles southwest of Taos. Later named the Chili
Line, it was discontinued in World War II.
1892-1906 Carson National Forest gradually created from the Pecos River
Forest Reserve, the Taos Forest Reserve, and part of the Jemez Mountain
Ranges.
1898 Artists Bert Phillips and Ernest Blumenschein stop in Taos to have
a broken wagon wheel repaired. Enthralled by the scenery and clear light,
they decide to stay. They invite other artists to Taos, and in 1912, form
the Taos Society of Artists with other new arrivals.
1912 New Mexico becomes the 47th state of the union. 1917 Mabel Dodge Luhan
arrives in Taos, and becomes a central figure in attracting celebrities
that include Ansel Adams, Willa Cather, Adous Huxley, Carl Jung, D.H.
Lawrence, Georgia O'Keefe, Thornton Wilder, and Thomas Wolfe.
1931 Patrocino Barela begins to be known internationally for his artistic
transformation of the Hispanic santero tradition.
1915-1944 Many Taos residents fought in World Wars I and II, and died for
their country. Bataan Hall, part of Taos Civic Plaza and Convention Center,
and a large cross at Taos Plaza honor the Taosenos who were in the Bataan
Death March.
1942 Publication of Frank Waters' novel, The Man Who Killed the Deer, the
story of a Pueblo man trying to live in two worlds.
1955 Ernie and Rhoda Blake open Taos Ski Valley.
1965 Steel arch bridge completed west of Taos, spanning the Rio Grande 650
feet above the river. It is the second highest suspension bridge in the
U.S.
1950-1969 Taosenos fight in the Korean and Vietnam conflicts. The Vietnam
Memorial in nearby Angel Fire lists names of those who gave their lives
in the Vietnam War, as well as the survivors.
1960-1970s Remember Easy Rider? Parts of the movie were filmed in Taos,
which attracted hundreds of "hippies" during that period. Many of them
stayed and became part of the diverse and colorful landscape of Taos culture.
1970 U.S. returns the sacred Blue Lake to Taos Pueblo in a landmark decision.
1974 Publication of Taos writer John Nichols' novel, The Milagro Beanfield
War, a fictional account of the Hispanic community in a town very much
like Taos, centering on water rights issues in an arid region. Robert
Redford adapted the book for a movie, released in 1988.
1992 Old village of Taos Pueblo designated a World Heritage Site by the
World Heritage Foundation under the auspices of the United Nations.
Taos Links
Taos Chamber of Commerce
Taos Schools
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