Martinez Hacienda

It was constructed as a fortress for protection against attacks by Plains tribes,[3][8][nb 2] such as Comanche and Apache raiders.

[3] Owning five square miles of land,[nb 3] it was the largest Taos Valley hacienda and was a working ranch and farm.

Maria managed 30 Native American servants on the hacienda, including women who made finished woven or knitted goods from raw wool and tanned leather.

The men, women and children who served on the farm were acquired from Native American or Mexican traders.

[15] During the Spanish colonial period, goods were either made locally or transported from Mexico City to Taos along the Spanish El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro trade route, of which the hacienda was the final northerly stop.

[13] Severino Martinez built a flourishing mercantile business trading goods from Northern New Mexico, allowing him to send[citation needed][nb 5] his son Antonio José Martínez to study for the priesthood in Durango, Mexico.

[3] In his will, Severino left his "vast" fortune, most of which was made through trade through Chihuahua, Mexico,[19] to his six children, a nephew and 2 emancipated female servants.

And the hacienda's interior walls are white washed with tierra blanca, which is a mixture of micaceous clay and wheat paste.