University of New Mexico UNM Digital Repository SHRI Publications Southwest Hispanic Research Institute 4-1-1994 The lP aza Del Cerro in Chimayo: Settlement and Function Donald James Usner Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/shri_publications Recommended Citation Usner, Donald James. "The lP aza Del Cerro in Chimayo: Settlement and Function." (1994). https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/ shri_publications/36 This Working Paper is brought to you for free and open access by the Southwest Hispanic Research Institute at UNM Digital Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in SHRI Publications by an authorized administrator of UNM Digital Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Center for Regional Studies #104 Spring 1994 THE PLAZA DEL CERRO ZN CHZMAYO: SETTLEMENT AND FUNCTZON By Donald James Usner The University of New Mexico WORKZNG PAPER SERIES Southwest Hispanic Research Institute The University of New Mexico Albuquerque, NM 87131-1036 (505)277-2965 Acknowledgements: This research was supported by a grant from the Center for Regional Studies at the University of New Mexico. Published and disseminated by the Southwest Hispanic Research Isntitute as part of an ongoing project to stimulate research focused on Southwest Hispanic Studies. Copies of this working paper or any other titles in the series may be ordered at cost by writing to the address indicated above. THE PLAZA DEL CERRO IN CHIMAYO: SE'ITLEMENT AND FUNCTION BY DONALD JAMES USNER B.A., UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SANTA CRUZ, 1981 THESIS Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of J\.1aster of Arts in Geography The University of New Mexico Albuquerque, New Mexico December, 1991 iv The Plaza del Cerro in Chimayo, New Mexico: Settlement and Function Donald James Usner B.A. Biology and Environmental Studies, University of California, Santa Cruz, 1981 M.A. Geography , University of New Mexic~, 1991 The Plaza del Cerro is one of the best-preserved Spanish colonial struc­ tures in New Mexico. One of many defensive plazas built in New Mexico in the late 18th century, it was nearly abandoned by the 1950's but remains widely recognized as a valuable architectural artifact. Its cultural history, hpwever, has remained poorly studied. This thesis examines the Plaza from a cultural geography viewpoint, using documentary sources to trace the origins of the Plaza to a few families who had been in Chimayo since the early 1700's. Interviews with surviving resi­ dents of the Plaza are then used to describe the Plaza community in the early. 20th century. The oral history shows that the Plaza was inhabited by closely related families and was characterized by a patron type social system. The pa­ trones were descendents of the people who founded the Plaza, suggesting that this type of social organization had very early origins in Chimayo. v © 1991 by Donald James Usner All Rights Reserved vi Acknowledgments This study involved people from a wide variety of backgrounds. Many people in Chimayo took the time to sit with me and answer endless ques­ tions-and often offered some biscochitos or tortillas in the process. Foremost among these are my mother, Stella Chavez Usner, and my grandmother, Benigna Ortega Chavez. The elderly people I talked with radiated the same warmth, the same time-worn connection to the place as the buildings of the Plaza. They have aged with the same quiet grace, and the time spent with them has been immensely rewarding. I am indebted to my principal advisor on this project, Dr. Jerry Williams, for his continuing encouragement and guidance, and for his patience and skill in reading drafts of this thesis. Drs. William deBuys and Joseph Sanchez have also been instrumental in guiding this project to completion. Dr. Tobias Duran and the Southwest Hispanic Research Institute provided the funding and logistical support that made the oral history aspect of this project possible. The staff of the Institute have also been particularly helpful. Finally, I want to acknowledge my wife, Deborah, my best and most valu­ able ally. Without her support, this project would never have been com­ pleted. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................ 1 Part I -Settlement of the Santa Cruz Valley and Chimayo ................................ 15 Physical Environment .................................................................................... 15 Prehistoric Settlement .................................................................................... 22 Historic Settlement.......................................................................................... 30 Part II - Oral History of the Plaza del Cerro ............................................................ 75 Residents and Relationships on the Plaza del Cerro ............................... 83 The Plaza as a Functional Space ................................................................... 117 Agricultural Functions ....................................................................... 117 Economic Functions ............................................................................ 139 Social Functions ................................................................................... 143 CONCLUSION .............................................................................................................. 161 Appendix 1 - Biographical Information on lnformants ..................................... .164 Selected Bibliography .................................................................................................. 168 viii LIST OF FIGURES Map 1 - Chimayo and the Santa Cruz Valley ..................................... p. 8 Map 2- Topography of the Santa Cruz Valley ............................................... p. 17 Map 3- Prehistoric Settlement Sites of the Santa Cruz Valley .................. p. 25 Map 4- Pre-1700 Settlement, Plaza de Cerro Area ....................................... p. 38 Map 5 - Santa Cruz Grant Boundaries............................................................. p. 43 Map 6- Early 1700's Settlement, Plaza del Cerro Area ................................. p. 46 Map 7- Plaza Settlements in Northern New Mexico .................................. p. 56 Map 8 - Placitas of the Chimayo Area.............................................................. p. 67 Map 9 - Sabino Trujillo's Map of the Plaza del Cerro................................. p. 84 Map 10- Land Ownership, Plaza del Cerro ..................................................... p. 85 Map 11 - Familial Relationships, Plaza del Cerro ......................................... p. 109 Map 12 - Main Ditch Systems, Plaza del Cerro............................................ p. 119 Map 13- Community Structures, Plaza del Cerro Area .............................. p. 127 Map 14- Mills in the Plaza Area ....................................................................... p. 130 Map 15 - Trade Relationships and Products................................................... p. 134 LIST OF TABLES Table 1 - Homeowners on the Plaza del Cerro ............................. p. 112 Table 2 - Landowners in the Plaza del Cerro Area ....................... p. 113 INTRODUCTION Purpose The purpose of this paper is to reconstruct the social geography of the Plaza del Cerro in Chimayo, one of the best-preserved examples of Spanish Colonial architecture in New Mexico. The human and cultural resources of Chimayo make such a reconstruction possible, for there are still people in Chimayo who lived at the Plaza in the early 20th century when it was an ac­ tive center of village life. The social and economic patterns presented here are based primarily on interviews with these people. The paper is divided into two major sections. The first part, a prelude to the oral history of the Plaza, focuses on the settlement of the Chima yo area. This includes the settlement history, the identities of the original settlers, and the location of the Plaza with regard to natural features and land ownership. It traces the Plaza's long history as a residential complex of related families. The second part uses interview data to describe how the Plaza functioned as a community in this century. It elaborates on the livelihoods of Plaza residents, ownership of the buildings and the land in and around the Plaza, and the relationship between land ownership and economic and social organization. This historical geography exposes the rich and complex social fabric of the living Plaza. Methods As would be expected of a place which has been in existence since the Spanish Colonial Period, there is a substantial amount of literature relating to the Chimayo area. Primary historical documents available through the State 2 Archives in Santa Fe and in the Special Collections of Zimmerman Library at the University of New Mexico were used to clarify the origins and development of the Plaza community through the 19th Century. The Borrego-Ortega Papers, a collection of family documents stored in the State Archives, were especially relevant and useful for studying Plaza history. Significantly, a number of useful historic documents and one map that were not available in any public collection were also discovered during interviews in the course of this research. The heart of this paper attempts to unravel the historic economic and social patterns of the Plaza using a previously untapped resource--the memories of long-time