Kit Carson House

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 fraternity, and serves as a museum dedicated to Carson's life. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1963.[2][3]

Kit Carson House
Front of the house, HABS photo 1936
LocationKit Carson Ave.,
Taos, New Mexico
Coordinates36°24′25″N 105°34′20″W
Arealess than one acre
Built1825 (1825)
Architectural styleSpanish Colonial; Territorial
NRHP reference No.66000948[1]
Significant dates
Added to NRHPOctober 15, 1966
Designated NHLMay 23, 1963[2]

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 and also during the American Civil War. 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 away from it 1851-54 and 1866–67, when Carson was stationed elsewhere. In early 1868 the family moved to the Colorado Territory, where both died.

In 1952, the house was acquired by Taos's Bent Masonic Lodge #42, AF & AM.[4] It is owned by the Lodge, though the museum is operated by the Kit Carson Memorial Foundation. It is open daily and an admission is charged to finance the foundation.

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See also

References
  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. "National Historic Landmarks Survey, New Mexico" (PDF). National Park Service. Retrieved December 7, 2016.
  3. "National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: Kit Carson House" (pdf). National Park Service. June 15, 1978. Cite journal requires |journal= (help) 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.
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