Whatever was left in that box that had enclosed the ruins of the Kit Carson Monument was removed the weekend of January 24th.
Longtime 505OMATIC viewers might recall our second story ever. The Federal Government (specifically, the GSA) was asking for public input on the future of the space that held the ruins of the Kit Carson Monument. It appears the community may have moved the needle, as the vast majority of the public comments supported the removal of the monument, and most were submitted shortly after our video was published.
The monument was the second obelisk built in Santa Fe (1885) and the second toppled. Its removal came just three years after the toppling of The Soldiers’ Monument (THEE Obelisk) in 2020. The Kit Carson incident took place late at night, only days before Zozobra. With the aid of ropes and a pickup truck that was later abandoned at the scene, the monument was pulled down under cover of darkness.
Because this one was on federal land, it fell under the jurisdiction of Homeland Security. As far as we can tell, no individuals were ever publicly identified in connection with the toppling. They had 24-hour security patrolling the box surrounding the remains of the obelisk, and GSA spent a year quietly assessing what to do with the remains.
After we did our little video about the public comment period ending in December 2024, the community's role began. In their final assessment, the GSA listed every public comment submitted, and a majority supported complete removal. Based on community and tribal input, the GSA proposed that the monument be removed.
At some point after the final review was released, the GSA webpages that once hosted information about the agency’s recommendations and environmental studies appear to have been removed. We reached out to the GSA for clarification, and a spokesperson provided a statement to us, confirming the monument was removed due to the loss of structural integrity, but did not mention what impact, if any, the public comments had on the removal.
Notably, there was little public outcry in defense of Ol’ Kit Carson. In fact, momentum has continued to move in the opposite direction. As a general in the U.S. Army, Kit Carson helped lead The Long Walk of the Navajo, one of the most tragic and deadly forced-migration chapters in the history of North America. The Navajo Nation issued this statement in 2024:
"The Navajo Nation requests the immediate removal of the name of Christopher “Kit” Carson from all government properties, including monuments, parks, highways, streets, etc. in the State of New Mexico; and cease in naming public properties using the Christopher “Kit” Carson name; and tribal consultation regarding the placement of the Carson monument."
In Taos, the park that once bore Kit Carson's name was recently renamed Red Willow Park, perhaps reflecting a broader reassessment of how our region commemorates its past.
