Dear Members,

Thank you very much for your support of the Taos County Historical Society Organization
It has been since March 2020 that we last gathered because of the COVID-19 Pandemic.
As we come to the close of 2020,  I want to inform you that our Christmas Luncheon has been cancelled to keep everyone safe and in compliance with CDC and State of New Mexico Guidelines for meetings.

Our guest speaker for the Christmas Luncheon, Larry Torres, will be re-scheduled for us to enjoy in 2021. The Board of Directors thank you for your continued support during this time and we want to encourage all of you to submit your membership dues. We will be sending notices for those whose membership has expired as we depend on membership dues to support our organization.

We are anxious to resume our regular meetings and reconnect with our members and will do so as soon as we can.  In the meantime, please join our Zoom monthly presentations.  As a member, you will receive email notices of these meetings.  Also check out our website to keep up with our activities.

In the meantime, please stay safe!

Thank you,
Ernestina Cordova, President and Board of Directors

TCHS PRESERVATION COMMITTEE
PRESERVE 200-YEAR-OLD TORREON

Members of the Historical Society’s Preservation Committee applied two coats of mudding to the Talpa Torreon this past July.  The 200-year-old historic structure was showing its age.  The mud coats that covered the torreon’s  200-year-old walls had all but washed off, leaving the adobes exposed.  Members of the Preservation Committee worked with two professional mud plasterers applying a first/base thick coat of mud, then after some days drying, applied a second “sealer” coat.  Photos attached show Preservation Committee members working on this many-day project under the hot July sun. 

Preservation Committee members include David Maes, Charles “Corky” Hawk, Paul Figueroa, and Jack Barret.  Not shown in the photos is the other Committee member, Mark Henderson. Gail Wendorf, owner of the adjacent house once connected to the torreon, also helped with the project.   The photo of the “work gang” standing in front of the freshly plastered torreon include:  Paul, David, Jack, Corky, and plasterer Floyd Gomez. 
The Preservation Committee have been working with the Torreon’s owner, Attorney Alan Maestas, toward restoration to the torreon’s original condition. 

Dendrochronology tests on the torreon vigas and lentils conductecd in 2015  reveal that 10 vigas and lentels date to 1836; one viga dates to 1824, and another viga dates to 1822. These are “outer ring” dates, meaning the vigas were cut during the years cited.  
A Spring 2000  Ayer Y Hoy article by Peter Mackaness discusses the historical importance of the Talpa Torreon, and of other torreones strategically placed throughout Taos Valley in the 1700 and 1800’s. Only two torreones remain in Taos County.  The other Taos torreon is located in El Prado. 

David Maes
August, 2020

BECOME A MEMBER

We invite your participation and support through an annual membership, which includes subscriptions to
"Ayer Y Hoy" and our periodic newsletters. Other activities include recordings of oral histories, maintaining archival materials and participating in community events.

To become a member send a check, along with your name and address, to:

TAOS COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY
P.O. BOX 2447
TAOS, NM 87571

For more information call (575) 770-0681 or e-mail: cordova@taosnet.com