Kit Carson House

Kit Carson House
Front of the house, HABS photo 1936
Location Kit Carson Ave.,
Taos, New Mexico
Coordinates 36°24′25″N 105°34′20″W / 36.40694°N 105.57222°W / 36.40694; -105.57222Coordinates: 36°24′25″N 105°34′20″W / 36.40694°N 105.57222°W / 36.40694; -105.57222
Area less than one acre
Built 1825 (1825)
Architectural style Spanish Colonial; Territorial
NRHP reference # 66000948[1]
Significant dates
Added to NRHP October 15, 1966
Designated NHL May 23, 1963[2]

The Kit Carson House is a historic house museum at 113 Kit Carson Road in central Taos, New Mexico. Built in 1825, it was from 1843 until his death the home of frontiersman Kit Carson (1809-1868). A good example of Spanish Colonial architecture, it is now owned by the local Masonic guild, and serves as a museum dedicated to Carson's life. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1963.[2][3]

Description and history

The Kit Carson House stands a short way east of Taos's central plaza, on the north side of Kit Carson Road. It is a modest single-story adobe structure, built in 1825, that is an east-facing U shape with a central courtyard. The oldest portion of the house consists of the front three rooms, and the next room to the north. The interior of these rooms has been furnished in the Spanish Colonial and Territorial styles of the Carson period, while other rooms house museum offices and displays.[3]

The house in the 2000s

Kit Carson grew up in the frontier west, and became renowned as a fur trapper and guide on numerous United States Army expeditions against Native Americans. In 1843 he married Josefa Jarmillo, who was from a leading Taos family, and purchased this house. It remained the couple's principal home until 1868. They were briefly away from it 1851-54 and 1866-67, when Carson was stationed. In early 1868 the family moved to the Colorado Territory, where both died.

In 1952, the house was acquired by the Taos Masonic Lodge.[4] It is still owned by the lodge; the museum is operated by the Kit Carson Memorial Foundation, and is open daily; admission is charged.

See also

References

  1. ↑ National Park Service (2010-07-09). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
  2. 1 2 "National Historic Landmarks Survey, New Mexico" (PDF). National Park Service. Retrieved December 7, 2016.
  3. 1 2 "National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: Kit Carson House" (pdf). National Park Service. June 15, 1978. and Accompanying photos, exterior and interior, from 19 (32 KB)
  4. ↑ Historic Taos: A Self-Guided Walking Tour of 22 Historic Taos Landmarks. Archived 2014-08-24 at the Wayback Machine. Taos.org Retrieved July 23, 2014.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.