In 1725, the settlement that was originally called Las Trampas de Taos became the permanent Spanish settlement called Ranchos de Taos. In 1760 Rachoes de Taos, also called Taos "Old Town", was attacked by Comanche Native Americans who took 50 women from a fortified house, the home of the Vidalpando family, and killed the men of the settlement. Spanish settlers of the Taos Valley moved into the Taos Pueblo for safety from attacks from Plains Indians. In 1772 a mission church was begun. Between 1796 and 1797, land from the Don Fernando de Taos Land Grant was given to 63 Spanish families. In 1815 the San Francisco de AsisMission Church was completed. The Taos region population grew as the result of land grants made by Mexico between 1821 and 1846.
As of the census of 2000, there were 2,390 people, 984 households, and 619 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 705.9 people per square mile. There were 1,083 housing units at an average density of 319.9 per square mile. The racial makeup of the CDP was 62.34% White, 0.17% African American, 1.88% Native American, 0.46% Asian, 0.08% Pacific Islander, 31.97% from other races, and 3.10% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 75.31% of the population. There were 984 households out of which 32.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.2% were married couplesliving together, 14.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.0% were non-families. 30.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 3.05. In the CDP, the population was spread out with 25.8% under the age of 18, 7.5% from 18 to 24, 28.2% from 25 to 44, 26.7% from 45 to 64, and 11.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 91.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.6 males. The median income for a household in the CDP was $28,750, and the median income for a family was $32,045. Males had a median income of $23,750 versus $18,382 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $20,988. About 13.8% of families and 15.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 22.6% of those under age 18 and 4.7% of those age 65 or over.
