This wooden ornament is handcrafted in Bosque Farms, New Mexico, by local artist Carolyn Johnson. She has modeled 65 different churches into little wooden ornaments, including Santuario de Chimayo, Saint Francis Cathedral Basilica, and the famed Loretto Chapel. Each ornament is 2.5" wide and 2" high and is extremely detailed to show the unique details of the church. Every ornament includes a description of the Chapel and the artist's signature.
The San Miguel Chapel in Santa Fe, New Mexico was built to serve the Spanish colonial military and the Tlaxcalan Indian laborers who came from Mexico with the colonists. It was built between 1610 and 1626 on the site of an ancient kiva. Although mostly destroyed during the pueblo revolt of 1680, it was rebuilt when Don Diego de Vargas retook Santa Fe for the Spanish in 1692. It is the oldest known continuously used church in the United States.
