San José de Gracia Church, Spanish Colonial church in Las Trampas, New Mexico, United States

San José de Gracia Church is a cruciform adobe church on the north side of the dirt plaza in Las Trampas, finished in mud plaster renewed periodically by parishioners. Its nave measures 100 by 52 feet outside, with transepts and an apse extending north, east and west. The walls, 4 to 6 feet thick, rise 34 feet; the adobe roof rests on vigas set into shaped corbels, and a clerestory window above the nave directs sunlight into the apse.

The church was built between 1760 and 1776 and served the first Spanish colonial families who settled in Las Trampas in 1751. The village became established along the route connecting Santa Fe and Taos, where about twelve families made this location their home and religious center.

The church holds religious art from the 18th and 19th centuries, including detailed ceiling designs and works by local artists known as santeros who crafted devotional images. This artistic tradition reflects the deep Catholic faith that shaped the Spanish colonial settlement and continues to define the spiritual life of the community.

The building sits along New Mexico State Road 76 and maintains its original plaza layout, making it easy to locate and approach from the road. The thick adobe walls keep the interior cool and dim, which affects how you experience the interior decorations and artwork.

A clerestory window above the nave is angled so sunlight falls into the apse, a feature the sources call unusual among Spanish Colonial Pueblo mission churches. The adobe roof it sits in is carried on vigas set into shaped corbels, and the roof itself has been replaced several times, including in 1932.