Mission ruins at Jemez Springs

Around 1622, Franciscan missionaries built the Mission of San Jose de Guisewa, or the "mission of the hot place". The original walls were 8 feet thick, as it was built both for worship and also for defense, if necessary. Ruins of the Mission are part of the Jemez State Monument, north of Jemez Springs.

The photo at the left was made of the Mission ruins in the 1870's.