List of the oldest buildings in New Mexico

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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

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.