This is not the town of Taos itself, but an area outside of town called Ranchos de Taos. The Ranchos de Taos Plaza is easily accessible and I think very interesting. The centerpiece is San Francisco de Assisi Mission Church. The original mission church was begun in 1772 and the current building was completed in 1815. It is a National Historic Landmark.

In 1840 Matt Field ¹ wrote of Ranchos de Taos during his travels through New Mexico: “This town called the ranch lies at the base of a gigantic mountain and is watered by a swift stream that rushes from the ravine… It contains about 300 houses, and those are built completely together, forming a wall, enclosing a large square, in the center of which stands a church.”

I always enjoy a visit to Ranchos de Taos. The photo of the blue door below left was taken in 2011 and the one on the right in 2021.

Most of the buildings are in good shape, but this ruined adobe remains, and I keep trying to get the perfect photograph of it. The nice thing about buildings in disrepair is you can often see what they are made of and how they are made.

You can read more about Ranchos de Taos in Legends of America.

These photos were taken in various years from 2011 to 2021.

1. Field, M. C., Porter, C., Porter, M. R. (1995). Matt Field on the Santa Fe Trail. United States: University of Oklahoma Press

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