Carson is an unincorporated community in southwestern Taos County, New Mexico, United States. [1] Named after frontiersman and Taos resident Kit Carson, Carson was founded c. 1908, when the surrounding area was opened for homesteading. [2] Carson is a low-density rural residential area.
Carson has a post office, with the ZIP code 87517. The 87517 ZIP Code Tabulation Area had a population of 158 at the 2000 census. [3] The Carson ZCTA had 114 housing units; a land area of 35.03 sq. miles; a water area of 0 sq. miles; and a population density of 4.51 people per sq. mile at Census 2000. [4]
In the 1930s, Carson was a struggling Mormon settlement. A local trader gave an old colcha, an embroidered woolen blanket, to his sister-in-law for repair. She studied the textile, and began making new colchas, starting a successful cottage industry. Most of the Carson colchas were made from recycled woolen fabrics. They were priced reasonably, and sold well. Many are now in museum collections. [5]
Carson's website is www.carsonnm.org
