Hispanic Churches in the Pecos Valley: History
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HISPANIC CHURCHES IN THE PECOS VALLEY: HISTORY, ARCHITECTURE AND RECOMMENDATIONS BY MARIA ELENA YRIGOYEN, B. of Arch. A THESIS IN ARCHITECTURE Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of Texas Tech University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of MASTER OF ARCHITECTURE Approved December, 1988 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am extremely grateful to Professor Will Robinson, who over one year has generously helped me in the preparatory tasks for this thesis. During the preparation, he always stood beside me as a professor and good friend. I am also grateful to the other members of my committee. Professors John P. White and Allan Kuethe, for their helpful eritieism and guidance. I owe special thanks to Jeannie Robinson who gave me her friendship and shared her house in Santa Fe, making me feel like part of her family. My indebtedness to Father Carl Fell, whose interest in my project allowed me to enter and take measurements of the churches. So, too, is my debt to the mayordomos of those churches, who in one way or another helped me. Finally, I thank Roberto, my husband, for his encouragement and support during my graduate program. 11 TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS i• i( LIST OF FIGURES vii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS viii CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION 1 The Problem—Definition 1 The Need for the Study 2 Methodology Followed 3 Goals of the Study 4 II. SOCIAL AND RELIGIOUS HISTORY OF NEW MEXICO 5 Pre-Columbian Period 6 The Pueblos 6 The Nomadic Tribes 8 The Sixteenth Century 8 The Seventeenth Century: The Franeisean Era 11 Brief History of the Order 11 Missions in New Mexico 12 Functions of the Missions 13 Settlement of the Spaniards 14 General Characteristics of the Eighteenth Century 15 The Nineteenth Century 16 French Invasion 16 Mexican Era (1821-1848) 16 American Period 17 Civil War Years 18 Late Nineteenth Century 19 The Twentieth Century 20 Notes 11• 1• 21 III. URBAN HISTORY OF NEW MEXICO 24 Pueblo Architecture 24 The Sixteenth Century: Foundation of Missions 25 The Seventeenth Century: Foundation of Spanish Cities 28 The Eighteenth Century: Development 30 The Nineteenth Century: Hispanic Expansion 31 The Twentieth Century: Anglo-American Development 33 Notes 35 IV. THE PECOS VALLEY AREA 37 Geographic Data 37 The Peeos Valley: History and Evolution 40 The Mission of Peeos 41 Mission of Nuestra Senora de los Angeles de Poreiuneula 41 The Peeos Mission in the Eighteenth Century. 41 Foundation of New Villages 42 History and Data of Each Village 45 San Miguel del Vado 45 San Jos6 4 6 San Juan 47 San Isidro South 4 8 San Isidro North 48 Villanueva 4 9 Sena 49 El Pueblo 50 El Cerrito 50 Gonzales Ranch 51 Notes 53 IV V. RELIGIOUS ARCHITECTURE 55 The History of the Franeisean Churches 55 Design of Catholic Churches in Spain 55 Design of Spanish Colonial Churches 58 Design of New Mexico Mission Churches 61 Religious Architecture after the Franeiseans.... 65 Bishop Lamy Period 66 Moradas de Penitentes 67 Nineteenth and Twentieth Century New Religious Tendencies 68 Notes 71 VI. PECOS VALLEY HISPANIC CHURCHES 73 San Miguel del Vado at San Miguel 75 San Jos6 del Vado at San Jos6 76 San Juan Bautista at San Juan 7 8 Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe at San Isidro South 7 9 San Isidro Labrador at San Isidro North 81 Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe at Villanueva 82 Nuestra Senora de Esquipula at Sena 84 San Antonio de Padua at Pueblo 85 Nuestra Senora de los Desamparados at El Cerrito 8 6 San Isidro at Gonzales Ranch 87 Notes 89 VII. RECOMMENDATIONS AND PROPOSAL 90 Present Situation 90 The Peeos Valley Hispanic Churches 91 Problems and Recommendations 91 San Miguel del Vado 95 San Jos6 95 San Juan 96 San Isidro South 96 San Isidro North 97 v villanueva 97 Sena 98 El Pueblo 98 El Cerrito 99 Gonzales Ranch 99 Conclusion 100 REFERENCES 101 APPENDICES A. REPORT OF BENAVIDES AND BETANCOUR 1630-1680.. 107 B. REPORT OF ATANASIO DOMINGUEZ 1776 Ill C. SAN MIGUEL DEL VADO LAND GRANT CENSUS 113 VI LIST OF FIGURES 1. Plan of II Gesu, Rome (1568-1575) 56 2. Plan of church and convent, Huejotzingo, Mexico.. 60 3 . Plan of New Mexico Missions 64 Vll LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 1. Location Map in pocket 2. Historical Map I Pre-Columbian Era Sixteenth Century in pocket 3. Historical Map II Seventeeenth and Eighteenth Century in pocket 4. Historical Map III Nineteenth and Twentieth Century in pocket 5. Historical Map IV Peeos Valley Evolution in pocket 6. Survey I: San Miguel del Vado in poeket 7 . Survey II: San Jose in poeket 8 . Survey III: San Juan in poeket 9. Survey IV: San Isidro South in poeket 10 . Survey V: San Isidro North in poeket 11. Survey VI: Villanueva in poeket 12 . Survey VII: Sena in poeket 13. Survey VIII: El Pueblo in poeket 14 . Survey IX: El Cerrito in poeket 15 . Survey X: Gonzales Ranch in poeket 16. Analysis I::San Miguel and Villanueva in poeket 17. Analysis II: San Jose and San Juan in poeket 18. Analysis III: El Pueblo and Gonzales Ranch in poeket 19. Analysis IV: San Isidro South and San Isidro North in poeket 20. Analysis V: Sena and El Cerrito in poeket 21. Analysis VI: Typology and Construction Systems in poeket 22. Analysis VII: Comparative Study Through the Time in poeket 23. Analysis VIII: Influence of the Pecos Mission in pocket 24 . Problems and Recommendations in pocket I • I Vlll CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION The Problem—Definition The issue of preservation has been a complex problem for a long time. Now, throughout the country, the interest in saving historic structures is growing. Architects, historians, and preservation committees, using the information found through the studies are trying to protect old buildings. The interest in saving the architectural heritage of New Mexico now has found roots in the state. Several associations are trying to protect the historic heritage and some very good attemps at restoration have been made. But, the problem begins when a building is not classified as historic, this occurs especially in small communities. These communities are often inhabited by poor people. The mission and local government do not always have the financial means to afford the cost of repairs so the old structures are neglected and fall in disrepair. Through the years, the towns along the Rio Grande Valley evolved into the nineteenth century in a uniform way. Slow growth factors kept the towns on a pedestrian scale; few eonstruetion materials determined uniform construction of buildings; design reglementation; and slow urban development, charaeteristie of the old towns, allowed the old eonstruetions to remain. All of these factors allowed the towns to maintain a historic and architectural tradition. This gave a unique character to the towns, and, at the same time, created in its population a strong identifieation with their town, especially with its most important eonstruetion: the church. 1 Numerous problems contributed to the deterioration of the mission churches. Among these were: the results of severe droughts; the constant attacks of the hostile Indians, including those of the Pueblo Revolt; the expulsion of the Spaniards in 1680; the Independence from Spain in 1821; the war between Mexico and the United States; the secularization of the missions in 1834; and the establishment of the American pioneers. Yet other problems contributed to disrepair the churches. In 1834, after the secularization of the churches was enforced, the Indians were permitted to go free with some of the mission land grants. The remaining lands were taken from the padres and given to settlers until civil governments were established. The results were disastrous. The mission buildings quickly fell into disrepair and were plundered. The churches were eeonomieally and structurally in decline. After secularization, several ehurehes and chapels were built by the people in honor of saints, and to provide places for religious devotion. Every village in New Mexico had its own church built with great effort by the people. Since secularization, numerous secular churches have been built in later settlements and in small communities. In the mountain villages, the settlers have built ehapels that look like small versions of every other mission church in New Mexico. The ehapels are not large structures and are not even called historic buildings. Some of them are churches without clergy and are in poor condition. Little about the secular ehurehes has been researched. This study will foeus upon the secular ehurehes because they are as aesthetically and historieally important as the mission ehurehes. 3 The NeeH for 1-he StnHy The Study focuses on a small geographic, cultural and political region. The reason for studying any of these ehurehes is base on the urgency to preserve them. No architectural plans exist for any of these ehurehes. One of the main purposes of this study is to get arehiteetural- historieal information for each church. In 1986, the Archbishop Robert F. Sanchez of the Archdiocese of Santa Fe created a committee of members from the Arehdiocesan College of Consultors to study the situation of the historic New Mexican churches and to formulate guidelines which could guide the Archdiocese in determining the future of such a precious architectural heritage. Arehiteets from the firm Johnson/Nestor were commissioned to make an architectural survey/inventory of historic New Mexico ehurehes. Due to the large number of ehurehes in the state, the study was done only in the northern part of New Mexico, especially where the ehurehes were under the jurisdiction of the Santa Fe Archdiocese. Their inventory documents pre-1945 churches. But because of the magnitude of the project and the small amount of time available for the survey, the information for each church was in some way superficial.