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Jemez Historic Site, located in Jemez Springs, New Mexico, is a state historic site preserving the ruins of a 16th century Native American pueblo and a 17th century Spanish mission.
General Info
Adult admission to the site is US$7 while children under 16 are admitted free of charge (as of October 2024). It’s open Wednesday to Sunday from 10am to 4pm.
Visitor Center and Museum
The small visitor center contains a museum where you can learn about the history and importance of the site. No photos are allowed inside the museum.
Just outside the visitor center is a replica Spanish horno. A horno is an oven introduced by Spanish colonists to New Mexico. Natives used them to bake bread, cook corn pudding, and roast chile.
Kiva
From the visitor center and museum, a short interpretive trail winds through the site. The first stop is a reconstructed kiva which you can climb down into. No photos are allowed inside the kiva.
Gíusewa Pueblo
The ruins of the pueblo of Gíusewa are scattered throughout the site. Gíusewa was established around 1450-1500 by the Jémez people.
It’s believed that only 20% of the original pueblo is located at the seven acre site. 62 of approximately 200 rooms have been excavated along with three kivas and two plazas.
Church
The largest ruins are those of the mission church and convent, San José de los Jémez. The huge stone structure was built between 1621 and 1625 by Franciscan missionaries led by Fray Gerónimo de Zárate.
The Franciscans abandoned the mission in 1639, but the Jémez continued to live there until the Pueblo Revolt of 1680. After the revolt the Jémez moved to a more defendable area.
Colorful frescoes once decorated the interior of the church, and it had an unusual octagonal bell tower. The frescoes were discovered during excavations in 1921 and 1922.
