Las Trampas or just Trampas ( Spanish: "traps"), is a small unincorporated town in Taos County, New Mexico. Founded in 1751, its center retains the original early Spanish colonial defensive layout from that time, as well as the 18th-century

San José de Gracia Church __NOTOC__ The San Jose de Gracia Church, also known as Church of Santo Tomas Del Rio de Las Trampas, is a historic church on the main plaza of Las Trampas, New Mexico. Built between 1760 and 1776, it is one of the least-altered examples of a S ...

, one of the finest surviving examples of Spanish Colonial church architecture in the United States. The village center was designated a National Historic Landmark District (the Las Trampas Historic District) in 1967.

Geography

Las Trampas is located on the scenic

High Road to Taos The High Road to Taos is a scenic, winding road through the Sangre de Cristo Mountains between Santa Fe and Taos. (The "Low Road" runs through the valleys along the Rio Grande). It winds through high desert, mountains, forests, small farms, and ...

(New Mexico State Road 76) in the

Sangre de Cristo Mountains ) , country= United States , subdivision1_type= States , subdivision1= , parent= Rocky Mountains , geology= , orogeny= , area_mi2= 17193 , range_coordinates= , length_mi= 242 , length_orientation= north-south , width_mi= 120 , w ...

. it is approximately halfway between Santa Fe to the south and Taos to the north. The town has an elevation of . The town has a post office, with the ZIP code 87576; the US Postal Service prefers the name "Trampas". No ZIP Code Tabulation Area information for 87576 is available from Census 2000.

History

After several failed attempts, Santo Tomas Apostol del Rio de Las Trampas was founded in 1751 by 12 families from Santa Fe. It was the second genízaro settlement (after Belen) and the primary purpose of its establishment was to protect the town of Santa Cruz, southwest, from raids by the

Ute Ute or UTE may refer to: * Ute (band), an Australian jazz group * Ute (given name) * ''Ute'' (sponge), a sponge genus * Ute (vehicle), an Australian and New Zealand term for certain utility vehicles * Ute, Iowa, a city in Monona County along ...

Comanche The Comanche or Nʉmʉnʉʉ ( com, Nʉmʉnʉʉ, "the people") are a Native American tribe from the Southern Plains of the present-day United States. Comanche people today belong to the federally recognized Comanche Nation, headquartered in La ...

, and

Apache The Apache () are a group of culturally related Native American tribes in the Southwestern United States, which include the Chiricahua, Jicarilla, Lipan, Mescalero, Mimbreño, Ndendahe (Bedonkohe or Mogollon and Nednhi or Carrizaleño an ...

Indians Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

. The genízaros were also Indians, but

detribalized Detribalization is the process by which persons who belong to a particular Indigenous ethnic identity or community are detached from that identity or community through the deliberate efforts of colonizers and/or the larger effects of colonialism ...

and with a history of serving as slaves and servants of the Spanish colonists. They were important in the frontier defense of New Mexico. For the genízaros, relocation to Trampas and other frontier settlements was a means of acquiring land. Also among the early settlers were Tlaxcalans, Mexican Indians who had a long history of assisting the Spanish, and mestizos. The small community consisted of little more than the central plaza, ringed by houses, which were surrounded by a low adobe wall. The village grew despite attacks from Native Americans, and by 1776 there were 63 families and 278 inhabitants recorded. The people in that year were described as "a ragged lot...as festive as they erepoor, and very merry." They spoke "local Spanish" mingled with the Tanoan language of the Taos Pueblo and most spoke some words of the Comanche, Ute, and Apache languages.Brooks, James F. (2002),''Captives & Cousins: Slavery, Kinship, and Community in the Southwest Borderlands,'' Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, pp 156-157 The village remained largely isolated, except for travelers on the mountain road, until the 1920s. The town is well known for the

, built between 1760 and 1776 and considered a model of the

adobe Adobe ( ; ) is a building material made from earth and organic materials. is Spanish for ''mudbrick''. In some English-speaking regions of Spanish heritage, such as the Southwestern United States, the term is used to refer to any kind of e ...

colonial Spanish missions in New Mexico.

Historic district

The Las Trampas Historic Historic District, designated in 1967, encompasses the central village, whose buildings largely follow the plan originally laid out in 1751. Most of the buildings themselves date to the 19th century, often with late 19th-century alterations. The church, itself a National Historic Landmark for its architecture, is the only surviving 18th-century building. The original defensive wall that surrounded the village has been removed, and no significant traces of it remain.

Gallery

Image:Las Trampas Historic District 014.JPG,

. Image:Trampas43.jpg, Congregation leaving after mass at San José de Gracia Church (1943). File:Santa Fe Baldy 2005.jpg, View of

Santa Fe Baldy Santa Fe Baldy is a prominent summit in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains of New Mexico, United States, located 15 mi (24 km) northeast of Santa Fe. There are no higher mountains in New Mexico south of Santa Fe Baldy. It is prominen ...

, in the

, from near Las Trampas. File:Catholic Church at Las Trampas (north view).JPG, Catholic Church at Las Trampas (north view)

References

External links