List of the oldest buildings in New Mexico

Last updated

This article lists the oldest extant buildings in New Mexico, including extant buildings and structures constructed during Spanish, Mexican, and early American rule over New Mexico. Only buildings built prior to 1850 are suitable for inclusion on this list, or the building must be the oldest of its type.

Contents

In order to qualify for the list, a structure must:

This consciously excludes ruins of limited height, roads and statues. Bridges may be included if they otherwise fulfill the above criteria. Dates for many of the oldest structures have been arrived at by radiocarbon dating or dendrochronology and should be considered approximate. If the exact year of initial construction is estimated, it will be shown as a range of dates.

List of oldest buildings

BuildingImageLocationFirst builtUseNotes
Chaco Culture National Historical Park Chaco Canyon Chetro Ketl great kiva plaza NPS.jpg San Juan County and McKinley County 900-1150Residences [1]
Acoma Pueblo Acoma Pueblo Sky City 2.jpg Acoma Pueblo 1000-1200Residences [2]
Taos Pueblo Taos Pueblo 2017-05-05.jpg Taos 1000-1450Residences [3]
Gallo Cliff Dwelling Nageezi 1150-1200Residences [4]
Aztec Ruins National Monument Aztec Ruins National Monument by RO.JPG Aztec ca. 1200s-1300sResidences [5]
Palace of the Governors NewMexicoPalaceSantaFe.jpg Santa Fe 1610Government buildingOldest government building in continental U.S. [6]
San Miguel Mission San Miguel Chapel.jpg Santa Fe 1610ResidencesPossibly the oldest church in the continental U.S. [7]
De Vargas Street House De Vargas Street House in 2014.JPG Santa Fe ca. 1646ResidenceOften described in the past as the oldest European house in New Mexico or America [8]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Puebloans</span> Native Americans in the Southwestern United States

The Puebloans, or Pueblo peoples, are Native Americans in the Southwestern United States who share common agricultural, material, and religious practices. Among the currently inhabited Pueblos, Taos, San Ildefonso, Acoma, Zuni, and Hopi are some of the most commonly known. Pueblo people speak languages from four different language families, and each Pueblo is further divided culturally by kinship systems and agricultural practices, although all cultivate varieties of corn (maize).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aztec Ruins National Monument</span> US national monument in New Mexico

The Aztec Ruins National Monument in northwestern New Mexico, US, consists of preserved structures constructed by the Pueblo Indians. The national monument lies on the western bank of the Animas River in Aztec, New Mexico, about 12 miles (19 km) northeast of Farmington. Additional Puebloan structures can be found in Salmon Ruins and Heritage Park, 9.5 miles (15.3 km) south. Archaeological evidence puts the construction of the ruins in the 12th and 13th centuries. The Puebloan-built ruins were dubbed the "Aztec Ruins" by 19th century American settlers who misattributed their construction to the Aztecs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chaco Culture National Historical Park</span> U.S. national park in New Mexico

Chaco Culture National Historical Park is a United States National Historical Park in the American Southwest hosting a concentration of pueblos. The park is located in northwestern New Mexico, between Albuquerque and Farmington, in a remote canyon cut by the Chaco Wash. Containing the most sweeping collection of ancient ruins north of Mexico, the park preserves one of the most important pre-Columbian cultural and historical areas in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument</span> United States historic place

The Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument is a complex of three Spanish missions located in the U.S. state of New Mexico, near Mountainair. The main park visitor center is in Mountainair. Construction of the missions began in 1622 and was completed in 1635.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spanish missions in New Mexico</span> 16th to 19th-century Catholic religious outposts

The Spanish Missions in New Mexico were a series of religious outposts in the Province of Santa Fe de Nuevo México — present day New Mexico. They were established by Franciscan friars under charter from the monarchs of the Spanish Empire and the government of the Viceroyalty of New Spain in a policy called Reductions to facilitate the conversion of Native Americans into Christianity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">De Vargas Street House</span> United States historic place

The De Vargas Street House, often referred to as the Oldest House, is a historic building in Santa Fe, New Mexico, which is often said to be one of the oldest buildings in United States. The original date of construction is unknown but the majority of the building is believed to date to the Spanish colonial period (post-1610). One archaeological study also concluded that some sections of the walls are characteristic of Pueblo architecture and may be pre-Spanish in origin. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places and New Mexico State Register of Cultural Properties in 1968 as a contributing property in the Barrio De Analco Historic District.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pueblo Bonito</span> Ancient Puebloan ruin in New Mexico

Pueblo Bonito is the largest and best-known great house in Chaco Culture National Historical Park, northern New Mexico. It was built by the Ancestral Puebloans who occupied the structure between AD 828 and 1126.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Quarai</span> United States historic place

Quarai, also known historically as Quarai State Monument, is a prehistoric and historic unit of the Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument located north of Mountainair, New Mexico. A National Historic Landmark District, it encompasses the archaeological remains of prehistoric Native American settlements, historic remains of a pueblo that was abandoned in the 1670s during the Spanish colonial period, the ruins of a 17th-century Spanish mission compound, and 19th-century Spanish ranching artifacts. The site was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1962, and was added to the Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument in 1980.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edgar Lee Hewett</span> American anthropologist and archaeologist

Edgar Lee Hewett was an American archaeologist and anthropologist whose focus was the Native American communities of New Mexico and the southwestern United States. He is best known for his role in gaining passage of the Antiquities Act, a pioneering piece of legislation for the conservation movement; as the founder and first director of the Museum of New Mexico; and as the first president of the New Mexico Normal School, now New Mexico Highlands University.

A timeline of Chacoan history includes Chaco Culture National Historical Park, Aztec Ruins National Monument, Twin Angels Pueblo, Casamero Pueblo, Kin Nizhoni, Pierre's Site, and Halfway House.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Santa Fe Plaza</span> National Historic Landmark in downtown Santa Fe, New Mexico

The Santa Fe Plaza is a National Historic Landmark in downtown Santa Fe, New Mexico in the style of traditional Spanish-American colonial cities. The plaza, or city square is a gathering place for locals and also a tourist attraction. It is home to annual events including Fiestas de Santa Fe, the Spanish Market, the Santa Fe Bandstand, and the Santa Fe Indian Market.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mission Nuestra Señora de los Ángeles de Porciúncula de los Pecos</span> Catholic mission near Pecos, New Mexico

The Mission Nuestra Señora de los Ángeles de Porciúncula was a mission that served the people of the Pecos Pueblo, near modern Pecos, New Mexico, from sometime around 1619.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">School for Advanced Research</span> Research center in New Mexico, U.S.

The School for Advanced Research (SAR), until 2007 known as the School of American Research and founded in 1907 as the School for American Archaeology (SAA), is an advanced research center located in Santa Fe, New Mexico, U.S. Since 1967, the scope of the school's activities has embraced a global perspective through programs to encourage advanced scholarship in anthropology and related social science disciplines and the humanities, and to facilitate the work of Native American scholars and artists. SAR offers residential fellowships for artists and scholars, and it publishes academic and popular non-fiction books through SAR Press.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Viga (architecture)</span> Architectural wood-beamed roof beams

Vigas are wooden beams used in the traditional adobe architecture of the American Southwest, especially in New Mexico. In this type of construction, the vigas are the main structural members carrying the weight of the roof to the load-bearing exterior walls. The exposed beam-ends projecting from the outside of the wall are a defining characteristic of Pueblo architecture and of Spanish Colonial architecture in New Mexico, often replicated in modern Pueblo Revival architecture. Usually the vigas are simply peeled logs with a minimum of woodworking. In traditional buildings, the vigas support latillas (laths) which are placed crosswise and upon which the adobe roof is laid, often with intermediate layers of brush or soil. The latillas may be hewn boards, or - in more rustic buildings - simply peeled branches. These building techniques date back to the Ancestral Puebloan peoples of 750 to 1300 CE, and vigas are visible in many of their surviving buildings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mission Revival architecture</span> Architectural movement and style

The Mission Revival style was part of an architectural movement, beginning in the late 19th century, for the revival and reinterpretation of American colonial styles. Mission Revival drew inspiration from the late 18th and early 19th century Spanish missions in California. It is sometimes termed California Mission Revival, particularly when used elsewhere, such as in New Mexico and Texas which have their own unique regional architectural styles. In Australia, the style is known as Spanish Mission.

The Puebloans of the southwestern United States and northern Mexico are descended from various peoples who had settled in the area, and shaped by the arrival of Spanish colonizers led by Juan de Oñate at the end of the 16th Century. There are three primary cultures: Mogollon, Hohokam and Ancestral Puebloen. They developed significant buildings and culture prior to European contact. After contact, they revolted in 1675 against the Spanish. The Puebloan culture is prevalent in the Southwest today.

References

  1. Strutin, M. (1994), Chaco: A Cultural Legacy, Southwest Parks and Monuments Association (published June 1994), ISBN 978-1877856457, photography by George H. H. Huey.
  2. Barry Pritzker (2000). A Native American encyclopedia: history, culture, and peoples. Oxford University Press. pp. 7–8
  3. Sturtevant, William C. (1978). Handbook of North American Indians, Volume 9: Southwest. Government Printing Office. p. 267
  4. Vivian, R. Gwinn; Hilpert, Bruce (2012), The Chaco Handbook: An Encyclopedic Guide (2 ed.), University of Utah Press
  5. "Aztec Ruins National Monument (U.S. National Park Service)".
  6. Abatemarco, Michael (April 5, 2022). "Unearthing the past: The Palace of the Governors reveals its history". Santa Fe New Mexican. Retrieved April 6, 2022.
  7. Prince, Le Baron Bradford (1915). Spanish Mission Churches of New Mexico. Cedar Rapids, Iowa: Torch Press. pp. 86–103.
  8. Epstein, Pancho (March 30, 1992). "'Oldest House in the U.S.A.' just an old come-on". Santa Fe New Mexican. Retrieved June 20, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.