NEW MEXICO, DAY 3: TAOS AND KIT CARSON

 June 27, 2021

We spent most of the rest of the day in the town of Taos, well-known as an artists' colony. 

However, it is also the location of the final home of American frontiersman Kit Carson (1809-1868), and we started our Taos sojourn at the Carson Home, now a museum. Carson lived here with his third wife, Josefa. (He was married twice before to Native American women. The first died giving birth to their second child, and the second wife divorced him.) Josefa was just 14 years old when they married, and she bore him eight children. She died from complications of the final birth, and Carson, crushed, died a month later.

Once an all-American hero, Carson's activities have come under closer scrutiny in recent years. Was he a man of character and champion of Native Americans, or was he, like so many others, simply exploiting the local people? Respected historians take both sides, and it appears that the jury is still out.

The museum, of course, takes the more romanticized view of Carson. 

Regardless of your feelings about Kit Carson, his home/museum, which focuses primarily on his family life, is an interesting place to visit. The first room had a History Channel biography of Carson playing on a small screen. We had limited time, so we opted to try to find it online when we got home. 

The home was furnished as it would have been when Carson and his family lived there (early 1840s to 1868).

My favorite items in the house may be this photo of beautiful Josefa Carson holding one of their children and a scrap of a very old quilt.

A timeline of Carson's family life is helpful:

Carson was a Mason, and his apron and other Masonic artifacts are on display. It would be the Masons who later stepped in to save this home from collapse. They purchased it in 1910 and renovated it. The Masons still own the home today, but it is managed by a non-profit organization.  

This silk dress was worn by the youngest daughter of Kit and Josepha, Josefita Carson. Both parents died within six weeks of her birth in 1868. (Josepha was 40 years old and Kit was 58.) Josefita herself died at age 34 in Las Vegas, New Mexico.

It was at the Kit Carson home where I began to fall in love with New Mexico's hollyhocks.

Just a short walk away from the Carson home is the Kit Carson Memorial State Park, a rather run-down cemetery that contains the remains of many members of the Carson family.

We wandered around for a bit, trying to find Kit Carson's grave. There are no maps or signs to guide visitors.

We finally found it tucked away in the far corner. 

Other family members are buried nearby, including his namesake son, Kit, who was ten when his father died.

Carson's grandson Allen served in both World War I and II.

Another grandson and World War II veteran is buried in the family plot. His stone notes thatt he is "Grandson of Kit Carson the Scout." Clearly Kit Carson's progeny were proud of their connection to the frontiersman.

We noted a few additional mentions of Kit Carson, one of which appears to have been vandalized.

Moving on to our next destination on foot, we passed this lovely version of the Little Free Library concept sponsored by the First Presbyterian Church of Taos. 

Next up: Bob survives two more art museums