Historic Taos church-turned-home on the market for first time in 47 years

Most people spend hours, possibly days, deciding whether to purchase a home they’re interested in. But not Polly Raye.

Raye knew 115 Quesnel in Taos — a church built in the 1880s, later turned into a residence in the 1970s — was the right home for her the minute she set foot inside it in 1978. She agreed to buy it 15 minutes later.

“I loved it — I loved the energy. It just felt so good,” Raye said. “I didn’t inspect it, I didn’t do any of the normal things that people do. I just agreed to buy it.”

Raye still resides in the home, where she’s lived with her kids and late husband over the past 47 years. The home is now on the market for $1.45 million.

Raye put the home up for sale on June 3 and plans to move to California to be closer to family.

The 3,000-square-foot, single-level home sits on a little over a quarter acre and comes complete with four bedrooms and four bathrooms. The property, located a block away from the Taos Plaza, is often referred to as “the little white church on Quesnel,” according to the property’s listing agent, Cyndi Gonzalez, a Realtor with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Taos Real Estate.

Raye, a Taos resident and serial entrepreneur, first moved to New Mexico from New England in 1976. As a divorced, single mother of three, Raye said she had to “refigure out” her life, leading her and the kids to land at a spiritual commune in Taos known as the Lama Foundation.

Raye was chatting with a friend who lived across the street from 115 Quesnel one day when she noticed the home, which she’d admired before.

“I asked if by chance it was for sale, and she said, ‘Well, actually, it is, but there are 11 people in line to buy it,’” Raye recalled.

Raye walked across the street and offered slightly more than the first person set to tour the home that evening. The rest was history.

But the home had a long history before Raye bought it. A small congregation built the property as a Spanish Methodist-Episcopal Church sometime between 1884 and 1887, according to a history document compiled by Raye’s late husband, William Christmas.

The church closed in 1928 and was sold to retired Presbyterian minister Milton Spotts, who lived in the church’s rectory — a house next door that a church provides for its minister to live in — all while performing marriages in the church until his death in 1967.

The Historical Society of New Mexico recognizes the home as a “contributing structure” to the Taos Downtown Historic District, and it is also a registered cultural property, according to a plaque embedded on the home’s exterior.

Much of what the home is today — which the listing describes as “a rare blend of artistic heritage, thoughtful restoration, and New Mexican charm” — was handcrafted by Raye and her family. Over the years, Raye added two rooms and a greenhouse, converted a former garage into the primary bedroom, created an outdoor courtyard with the additions and renovated the kitchen.

The classic adobe home still features many of its former church elements, including high ceilings, large Gothic windows and even a section of the original wall that Raye intentionally did not cover with plaster.

“I love looking at it. It just gives me goosebumps to think about the people way back then making and laying those adobe bricks,” Raye said.

The home’s unique history prompted Gonzalez to “test the water” with an original listing price of $1.85 million. It dropped $400,000 to the current listing price in late June.

“Its historic value is extremely unique (along with) the proximity to the plaza and an amazing view,” Gonzalez said. “Typically, you sacrifice the view when you move into town because of the way it’s situated. But this one, you get both, which is highly unusual.”

The property has stirred interest among families and people looking at it for business opportunities, such as an art gallery or office space, as the property is zoned for both residential and commercial use, Gonzalez said.

Raye said she hopes the property goes to someone who “appreciates the spiritual history and loving energy.”

“My kids always say, ‘It was a very warm and soulful place to grow up,’” Raye said.