La Hacienda de los Martinez is one of the few northern New Mexico style, late Spanish Colonial period "Great Houses" remaining in the American Southwest. Built in 1804, this fortress-like building with massive adobe walls became an important trade center for the northern boundary of the Spanish Empire.

Severino Matinez and his wife Maria raised six children in the Hacienda. Their eldest son was the famous Padre Antonio Martinez who battled the French Bishop Lamy to preserve the Hispanic character of the Catholic Church in the territory. The Padre was a dynamic social reformer who created the first coeducational school in New Mexico and brought the first printing press to Taos.

Today the Hacienda's twenty-one rooms surrounding two courtyards provide the visitor with a rare glimpse of the rugged frontier life and times of the early 1800s. Additionally, regularly scheduled demonstrations present the traditional arts and crafts of the region.