Audio Tour
Welcome to the Carson House and Museum’s Audio tour. Please use the QR Codes displayed on each tour pedestal or scroll through and listen to the audio below.
#1 - Welcome
Audio Transcript:
Welcome to The Carson House & Museum National Historic Landmark in Taos, New Mexico. Kit Carson House, Inc. is a 501(C)3 non-profit corporation organized exclusively for charitable purposes to protect the original home, adjacent buildings and grounds consistent with the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966. The nonprofit owns the property and operates the museum for public education and enjoyment.
Our dedication lies in conserving and critically exploring the history of early Taos and Northern New Mexico. Our vision transcends the walls of this historic home; we aspire to cultivate a dynamic space that celebrates a multitude of voices and narratives, igniting the curiosity of future generations to connect with history. Through innovative programming and community partnerships, we endeavor to nurture an understanding of the past by fostering and cultivating appreciation for the intricacies of the American West.
We wish to thank the Taos County Lodgers Tax Fund for funding this audio exhibit. Please enjoy.
#2 - Background
Audio Transcript:
Kit Carson was born in 1809 and lived until 1868. He became known as a frontiersman, trapper, soldier, and scout whose life came to symbolize both the opportunities and conflicts of the 19th-century American West. Raised in Missouri, he left home at a young age to join trapping expeditions and quickly earned a reputation as a skilled mountain man. Over the years he worked as a guide, interpreter, and military officer, and his adventures were spread far and wide through popular dime novels that often stretched the truth. Carson also played complex roles in U.S. expansion, from the Mexican American War and Civil War to military campaigns against Native American tribes, which remain the subject of historical debate today.
Here in Taos, Carson put down roots with his wife, Maria Josefa Jaramillo, and their children. The house you’re standing in front of was their family home, and today it serves as TheCarson House & Museum, preserving the story of their life together in this community. Just a short walk from here, in Kit Carson Park, you’ll find his grave alongside Josefa’s and other family members. Together, the house and the nearby gravesite connect us to a much larger story.
#3 - Adobe History
Audio Transcript:
Adobe, or sun-dried brick, is one of the oldest and most common building materials known to man. Traditionally, adobe bricks are not kiln fired. The adobe brick is molded from sand and clay mixed with water to a plastic consistency. Commonly, straw or grass is included as a binder. Although they do not help reinforce the bricks or give the added long-term strength, straw and grass do help the bricks shrink more uniformly while they dry. More importantly for durability, however, is the inherent clay-to-sand ratio found in the native soil. The prepared mud is placed in wooden forms, tamped, and leveled by hand. The bricks are then “turned-out” of the mold to dry on a level surface covered with straw or grass so that the bricks will not stick. After several days of drying, the adobe bricks are ready for air-curing. This consists of standing the bricks on end for a period of four weeks or longer.
Traditional adobe construction techniques in North America have not varied widely for over three and a half centuries. Adobe building methods employed in the Southwest in the sixteenth century are still used today. Because adobe bricks are not fired in a kiln as are clay bricks, they do not permanently harden, but remain unstable – they shrink and swell constantly with their changing water content. Their strength also fluctuates with their water content: the higher the water content, the lower the strength.
#4 - Adobe Construction
Audio Transcript:
Historically, most adobe walls were composed of adobe bricks laid with mud mortar. Such mortar exhibits the same properties as the bricks: relatively weak and susceptible to the same swelling and shrinking due to moisture, thermal expansion and contraction, and deterioration. Consequently, no other material has been as successful in bonding adobe bricks.
Since adobe construction was load-bearing with low structural strength, adobe walls tended to be massive, and seldom rose over two stories. Often buttresses braced exterior walls for added stability.
Mud plaster has long been used as a surface coating. Like adobe, mud plaster is composed of clay, sand, water, and straw or grass, and therefore exhibits similar properties to those of the original adobe. The mud plaster bonds to the adobe because the two are made of the same materials. Applying mud plaster is a time-consuming and laborious process. Once in place, the mud plaster must be smoothed. This is done by hand; sometimes deerskins, sheepskins, and small, slightly rounded stones are used to smooth the plaster to create a “polished” surface.
#5 - Site Restoration
Audio Transcript:
Structural issues in these two hundred year old buildings are significant. Funded by two Certified Local Government Grants awarded to the Town of Taos from the New Mexico Historic Preservation Division, we have initiated a comprehensive preservation project. The first grant funded a Condition Assessment and Preservation Plan or CAPP Report, outlining necessary steps to mitigate further deterioration and initiate restoration. The second grant and most recent project addressed the severe drainage problems in the courtyard.
According to the CAPP Report by Conron & Woods Architects, “the building today is in fragile condition, with moisture incursion at many points and general exposure endangering its historic walls. The structure is at risk of catastrophic collapse.”
Most recently, the site has been awarded a Save America’s Treasures Grant from the National Park Service in the amount of $750,000. This grant requires a 1:1 match in donations and will fund a completely new roof structure over the entire complex.
#6 - Thank You for Visiting
Audio Transcript:
We thank you for visiting The Carson House & Museum today. We have a lot of work ahead and invite you to join us in the effort. We believe History Matters and that it is important to preserve and critically explore the past. With that in mind, The Carson House & Museum has adopted a strategy developed by the American Association for State and Local History and the Frameworks Institute funded by the Mellon Foundation. This involves broadening the story we tell here at the museum, using concrete examples from history, and keeping it local.
We invite you to revisit the home as we continue the restoration and develop new exhibits. We also invite you to stay in touch by visiting our website at www.kitcarsonhouse.org and by subscribing to our newsletter.
Every dollar donated is an investment in the Carson House and goes beyond preservation; it empowers us to rejuvenate this iconic landmark. By expanding exhibit spaces and re-imagining presentations, we aim to deepen our understanding of Western History while honoring the multifaceted stories of those who shaped it.
Please help us meet the match by visiting the website and clicking on the Donate tab! Thank you again for your support!