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Historic building in Santa Fe, which is often said to be one of the oldest buildings in United States
General Information
Sunday: 11am to 5pm
Closed major holidays
How to Get There
From Santa Fe Plaza (0.3 mi): Head south on Old Santa Fe Trail, turn left onto East De Vargas Street, and continue a short distance to reach the Oldest House Museum.
Overview
The De Vargas Street House, often referred to as the Oldest House, is a historic building in Santa Fe, New Mexico, which is often said to be one of the oldest buildings in United States. The original date of construction is unknown but the majority of the building is believed to date to the Spanish colonial period (post-1610). One archaeological study also concluded that some sections of the walls are characteristic of Pueblo architecture and may be pre-Spanish in origin. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places and New Mexico State Register of Cultural Properties in 1968 as a contributing property in the Barrio De Analco Historic District.
The Barrio de Analco, across the Santa Fe River from the main settlement around Santa Fe Plaza, was established in the early 1600s by various working-class inhabitants, including some Tlaxcaltec people who had accompanied the Spanish settlers from Mexico. The name "Analco" came from the Nahuatl language, meaning "on the other side of the river". The nucleus of the settlement was the San Miguel Mission, built around 1620.
The construction date of the "Oldest House" is unknown, but local legend claimed that the building was part of the Analco pueblo and was already standing when Spanish colonists arrived.
The De Vargas Street House is a two-story adobe building; the first floor is original and the second floor was reconstructed based on the original in the 1920s. Most of the house is constructed from adobe brick, which was a Spanish colonial technology, while a few lower wall sections are puddled adobe characteristic of pre-Spanish pueblo buildings. The first-floor ceiling is original and includes vigas dating to the mid-18th century. The first floor interior has two Spanish colonial-style rooms with corner fireplaces, while the second floor is a dummy and not open to visitors.
This article uses material from the Wikipedia article "De Vargas Street House", which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0
