Arroyo Seco is a small New Mexican village located immediately below Taos Mountain and 7 miles from the town of Taos, NM. We have brought together many community members to create a website that will inform locals of events and issues as well as introduce outsiders to our community. Please www.visitseco.com and Enjoy!

Happy 200th Anniversary, Arroyo Seco!

By Larry Torres

There are many folktales told in New Mexico about how some towns came to be. There are few, however, which can match the beauty of the tales surrounding the founding of the village of Arroyo Seco. Just 7 miles north of Taos, Arroyo Seco was begun when its people acquired rights to the lands under a grant made by Joaquín Codallos y Rabal, dated October 7, 1745. As a site, it was first recorded in a chronicle dated 1716. It was deeded at that time to General Lucero de Godoy by the Viceroy of Mexico. He never bothered to settle on the land.

Settlement of the area began in 1804 when two brothers named Cristóbal Martínez and José Gregorio Martínez from Río Arriba County planted crops there before building their houses in 1806. According to the Spanish Archives of New Mexico, general land use began in 1815 when more people began to cultivate the lands which they irrigated from the Arroyo Seco Creek and the Río Lucero. By 1824 there was already an Hispanic community living there. Original settlement had began much closer to the mountain than where the present day village site is. The old "arroyo seco" itself was a gully stemming off El Salto Mountain. It was called "el Arroyo de la Luvia" (The Arroyo of Run-Off Water).

Time Period Represented: 1804 to present

Hours Open: 10am until 10pm with various closing times

Visitor Fees: None

Seasons Open: All year around

Price Style for this Establishment: all prices represented