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.
After the U.S. takeover of New Mexico in 1847, 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.
“The Padre of Isleta”, Anton Docher first served as a priest in Taos before leaving for Isleta in 1891
Beginning in 1899, artists began to settle in Taos, forming 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 by visitors to Taos. These include the Ernest L. Blumenschein House. Influential Taos artists include Nicolai Fechin, R. C. Gorman, and Agnes Martin.
Taos Plaza is, for historical reasons, one of the few places in the country where the American flag may properly be displayed continuously (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. Kit Carson sought to discourage this activity by having guards surround the area
A TAOS TIMELINE – A LONG WINDING ROAD
Throughout our long history, Taos has been a destination for travelers wanting the powerful experience of seeing new places and meeting new people. When you get to Taos, you can get a sense of these ancestors of present-day Taoseños by taking a stroll through the historic district. Print “Historic Taos,” a self-guided walking tour of 22 important sites to lead the way. (1.2MB PDF file)
6,000 years ago: Nomadic hunter-gatherers pass through the area leaving behind arrowheads, potshards and pictographs.
900 years ago: The people of Taos Pueblo and Picuris Pueblo inhabit their villages.
1540: Conquistador Hernando de Alvarado follows the Rio Grande north to Taos Valley. When he sees the sun shining on the straw in the adobes at Taos Pueblo, he believes he has found the famed Cities of Gold.
1680: The Pueblo people unite to drive out the Spanish.
1696: Don Diego de Vargas of Spain resettles the area around Taos Pueblo, Taos Plaza and Ranchos de Taos.
Early 1800s: Taos becomes the headquarters for mountain men, such as Kit Carson, who marries Taoseña Josefa Jaramillo.
1826: Padre Antonio Jose Martinez begins serving the Taos parish. He starts the first newspaper west of the Mississippi, an offshoot of which is still in existence today.
1847: During the war with Mexico, some of the people of Taos rebel and kill U.S. Territorial Governor Charles Bent in his Taos home, as he attempts to escape through a hole he has dug in his adobe wall.
1898: Artists Bert Phillips and Ernest Blumenschein stop to have a broken wagon wheel repaired, become enchanted with Taos and decide to stay. This event starts an immigration of artists that continues today.
1917: Socialite Mabel Dodge Luhan arrives and eventually brings to Taos creative luminaries such as Ansel Adams, Willa Cather, Aldous Huxley, Carl Jung, D.H. Lawrence, Georgia O’Keeffe, Thornton Wilder and Thomas Wolfe.
1955: Ernie and Rhoda Blake open Taos Ski Valley. The first lift goes up Al’s Run for 300 vertical feet and is 1,000 feet long.
1965: The second highest suspension bridge in the U.S. highway system is built spanning the Rio Grande Gorge. It is called the “bridge to nowhere” while it is being built, because the funding does not exist to continue the road on the other side.
1960s & 1970s: Taos is quite the hippie hang out. Many of the hippies stay and become part of the lively modern cultural scene of Taos.
In 1970, the U.S. government returns sacred Blue Lake to Taos Pueblo in a landmark decision.
Today, you are the latest in our long history of people exploring Taos.
Visiting Taos Pueblo is a truly a remarkable experience I encourage everyone to participate it. Step back in time to when life was at it’s most bare and simplest form for which we have all emerged from. Walking onto pueblo is blows ones mind to think that these multi level adobe structures have been continuously inherited for over 1000 years! Taos Pueblo is the only living Native American community designated both a World Heritage Site by UNESCO and a National Historic Landmark.
http://www.taospueblo.com/index.php
