la hacienda del los martinez

We found this place on a Traders Day. Lots of reenactment. Authentic music, from children too. Interesting history, all new to us. Great find.

This museum gives a view into a very rugged past. In the early 1800s the Martinez hacienda in Taos was a very remote outpost in the opening west. From todays vantage point it's hard to grasp just how hard life was in the frontier.

After visiting Fechin House and Millicent Rogers House, this places bring you back down to stark reality.This is what the haciendas were really like. They didn’t have inlaid wood floors and fine pieces of furniture. They were basic with hard earth floors, few windows, a few pieces of rough wood furniture, simple bars for locks on doors that didn't perfectly fit the door jams.... Nothing luxurious about them. Absolutely nothing. I got depressed thinking of having to live like that. Don’t go through Fechin House and Millicent Rogers House and get lulled into the idea that was how any more than just a few select people lived.. Life was a rough-go back then, and if they had something like Hacienda de los Martinez they were probably lucky!

We stopped because they were having a Trade Fair and a mountain man rendezvous reminiscent of the late 1800s gatherings that happened in Taos every fall. That is what made it interesting for us. I would guess that unless you are deep into Southwest history stopping when there are no special events happening could be less interesting. We enjoyed looking at the arts and crafts that were displayed. It was also educational talking to the mountain man reenactors. They dress in the period garb and periodically head off into the wilderness with their pack mules to spend a week roughing it.

This is an interesting historic home to walk through on a self guided tour. It gives a glimpse of what life was like in early New Mexico and how the architecture was designed primarily for protection from those outside the compound.

This was truly an opportunity to walk through history. We enjoyed our guide and learning about the history of the hacienda as well as the very, very hard life the Indians as well as the Spanish endured.

Have visited before but this time Trade Days were happening. The overall experience was great and we made a few gift purchases as well.

The festival included people dressed in native and mountain man clothing from the early 1800s. Trade goods were from that era as well as new goods made by the individual vendors. We were able to tour all rooms of the Martinez Hacienda and enjoyed Aztec Dancers, Flamenco Dancers and a diverse band in the courtyard. Food provided by the concessionaire was exceptional. We spend 6 hours at the event and enjoyed every minute of it.

First you have to find it as it is not well signed. Park and walk across the wood bridge. Look carefully at the fortress for the small entrance door. The self guided tour does give the experience of walking back into the 1870's.

Interesting architecture. Historical looms and religious artifacts. Self guided tour. The buildings surrounding the courtyard contain numerous artifacts.

If you are in to historic sites this is the place for you. A really cool place and extremely interesting. We really learned a lot and the exhibits were very good.

The Hacienda gives you a sense of just what it was like to live in Taos a couple of hundred years ago. "Isolated", in a word. Taos was at that time so far along the supply road that even wealthy residents lived with mostly homemade and homespun goods. Almost everything was made of wood, wool and leather.

21 room hacienda with about 15 rooms open to the public. Educational and glad we spent an hour (maybe a little less) visiting. Friendly staff. Self-guided. Modest cost.

As a history buff and a love for homes this was a great stop. You learn so much how individuals lived back in the early 1800's. We had the whole place to ourselves which gave us plenty of time to check each room out.

The hacienda provides an excellent insight into the living environment of times past. Well preserved and authentic, without the Disneyland treatment.