Jemez Historic Site

State Historic Site Preserving Giusewa Pueblo And The Ruins Of The San Jose De Los Jemez Mission Church Of 1621, Whose Octagonal Stone Bell Tower Is Among The Largest Surviving From A Spanish Colonial Mission In The Southwest · Jemez Springs, New Mexico

Giusewa means place of the boiling waters in Towa, which is what the hot springs up the canyon are, and a Jemez village stood here long before the Spanish arrived. In 1621 Franciscans built San Jose de los Jemez on the edge of it, with walls of sandstone rubble six feet thick and an octagonal bell tower that is among the largest surviving from any colonial mission in the Southwest. The nave was painted inside; fragments survive. The mission failed within a few decades - the Jemez people resisted, the Pueblo Revolt came in 1680, and the village was eventually abandoned for the pueblo down the valley where their descendants live now. What stands is a roofless church of extraordinary mass in a narrow red canyon, with the pueblo mounds around it, and interpretation written with the Pueblo of Jemez rather than about them. Their descendants live down the valley at Walatowa, which is the right place to go next, and the hot springs that gave Giusewa its name are a mile up the road in the village.

18160 NM Highway 4, Jemez Springs, Jemez Springs, New Mexico, 87025, United States

Open most days through daylight hours, with at least one weekday closure in most seasons and reduced winter hours, and closed on several state holidays. The interpretive trail through the pueblo and the church is a short loop and is walked whenever the site is open. The visitor centre holds the exhibits and the shop. The site closes for Jemez Pueblo ceremonial occasions, which are announced at short notice.

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