Publishing Our First Book
Available on Amazon: https://a.co/d/0fIej66A
In 2019, we made the move to Ranchos de Taos, New Mexico. After spending the first year and a half getting our house and yard in order, I wanted to give something back to the community and joined the Ranchos de Taos Neighborhood Association, and that decision set off a chain of events that ultimately led to the publishing of a book.
But to understand how we got there, let’s start at the beginning…
In 1995, the New Mexico legislature passed statute 3-7-1.1, which gave communities the ability to seek what’s called a Traditional Historic Community, or THC, designation. The idea was simple but powerful — it was designed to protect historic communities from being absorbed by nearby municipalities through annexation. At first, the law only applied to Santa Fe County.
That changed in 2019, when Representative Roberto “Bobby” Gonzales partnered with a Taos county commissioner to expand the law statewide, making THC designation available to communities in every county in New Mexico.
With the expanded law in place, El Prado became the first community to test it. In 2020, they brought their application before the Taos County Planning Department, arguing that their demographics, land use, and historic maps justified the designation. Despite opposition from the nearby town, the county commissioners unanimously approved El Prado’s application through Ordinance 2020-5 on January 19, 2021.
Inspired by El Prado’s success, residents in the Ranchos de Taos area began working on their own THC proposal in late 2020. The proposed community would encompass La Cordillera, Llano Quemado, Los Cordovas, Ranchos de Taos, and Talpa — a rich collection of historic villages that together would be known as Las Comunidades del Valle de los Ranchos. The application was submitted in 2022.
So, what exactly does it take to qualify as a Traditional Historic Community? There are five requirements:
(1) The area must be an unincorporated part of the county.
(2) It must be an identifiable village, community, neighborhood, or district with documented history of more than 100 years.
(3) It must have structures or landmarks tied to the identity of the community.
(4) It must have a distinctive character or traditional quality that sets it apart from surrounding areas and newer developments.
(5) It must be formally declared a THC by ordinance of the Board of County Commissioners.
Additionally, the designation process is initiated by a petition signed by 25% or more of the qualified voters within the area seeking designation.
The petition drive kicked off after the Taos News ran a front-page story on April 1, 2021, with the headline “Ranchos de Taos Historic Community Designation Sought.” We knew we had our work cut out for us — 25% of registered voters, gathered within just 60 days.
Starting June 18th, 2021, we fanned out across the community, placing petitions in local stores, community centers, and farmers markets, and even standing outside the historic Ranchos de Taos Church to collect signatures.
The hard work paid off. On August 20th, 2021, we submitted the petitions to the Taos County Clerk’s office, and on September 8th, the clerk confirmed in writing that the signatures had been verified and that we had met the 25% threshold.
We had cleared a major hurdle — but we still had to prove to the county that we met all five THC requirements. And that’s where the book comes in!
El Prado had set a high bar, and we were determined to meet it. I teamed up with Hank Saxe, the secretary of our neighborhood association, whose deep knowledge of the region’s history was invaluable. Hank pulled together facts, historical records, maps, and photographs that brought the story of our communities to life. My job was to take all of that material and shape it into something clear and compelling — something the county commissioners could easily read and understand.
It took nearly a year to pull it all together. On December 20th, 2022, the Ranchos Neighborhood Association presented the application along with all the material we had compiled for Las Comunidades del Valle de los Ranchos Traditional Historic Community designation to the Taos County Board.
Three commissioners were present that day, and they voted to approve and adopt Taos County Ordinance 2022-5, officially declaring Las Comunidades del Valle de los Ranchos, Taos County, New Mexico, a Traditional Historic Community. Taos County Resolution 2022-70 was also passed, establishing the official boundaries of the THC. The ordinance took effect once it was authenticated and recorded.
And with that, we found ourselves sitting on a treasure trove of historical material — and we knew we had to share it with the residents of our community. The book weighs in at 170 pages and is filled with historical information, maps, photos old and new, letters of spport from the community and finally the legal documentation that cemented our HTC desgination. It was a lot of work putting it together and I loved every minute of it!
Learn more about Las Comunidades del Valle de los Ranchos on the Ranchos Neighborhood Association website at: www.ranchosdetaosna.org