Taos

Taos , town (1990 pop. 4,065), alt. c.7,000 ft (2,130 m), seat of Taos co., N N.Mex., between the Rio Grande and the Sangre de Cristo Mts.; founded c.1615, inc. 1934. In an area of pueblos and scenic beauty, Taos developed as an art colony (principally after 1898) and attracted many painters and writers, notably John Marin and D. H. Lawrence . Artist organizations and galleries include the Harwood Foundation (gallery, studios, and school; operated by the Univ. of New Mexico). The town was founded in the early 17th cent. by Spaniards. For many years, Taos was an important Native American and Spanish trading point. It was the center of the Pueblo revolt (1680) and of a Native American uprising (1847). Kit Carson 's grave and preserved house (1825) are there. The city is also the headquarters for Carson National Forest.

Taos, village in New Mexico, north of Santa Fe, was a leading commercial center of the Santa Fe Trail and the home of such scouts as Kit Carson. It is now known for its Taos Indian pueblo, the finest example of Indian architecture in the Southwest, probably built in the 17th century, and for its artist colony. Maxwell Anderson's play Night Over Taos deals with the downfall of Mexican rule there in 1847, and Kit Carson's home is described in Willa Cather's Death Comes for the Archbishop. Harvey Fergusson's Footloose McGarnigal (1930) is concerned with the artist colony, of which such members as Mabel Dodge Luhan also wrote. D.H. Lawrence was a resident (1922, 1924).

Taos pueblo (1990 pop. 1,187), Taos co., N N.Mex., on a branch of the Rio Grande. The inhabitants, Pueblo of the Tanoan linguistic family, raise grain and livestock. In the early 17th cent., Taos became the seat of the Spanish mission of San Gerónimo; in the Pueblo revolt of 1680, led by Popé, the mission was destroyed. A second revolt occurred in 1847. The ancient Pueblo communal dwellings in Taos are considered architectural masterpieces.