Another Time in This Place
Historia, Cultura y Vida en Questa, New Mexico, USA
Tessie Rael de Ortega and Judith Cuddihy
An Introductory Note
…first-person accounts of Rio Colorado [Questa] have been included to give a first-hand view of what life was like here over the years.
Table of Contents
Front Matter From Our Hearts and Minds From the Record The Cycle of Birth, Life & Death Everyday Life in the 1920’s to 1940’s Appendix
Mineral Resources Are Found Near Rio Colorado
Mining came to the Rio Colorado in the 1860s. The Ute Indians had long known mineral-rich areas throughout the San Luis Valley and, of course,
Our Houses
Questa’s first homes were made in a U shape. That way when the Indians came to attack them, they closed the gates in the plazuela
Women’s Work
Things sold at the store were flour, sugar, salt, kerosene for the lamps, matches, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and vinegar.
The End of the Trail for Horse and Buggy—J.P. Rael
Bad roads were an obstacle to the industry. Every time a Model T went over this road on its way to Taos it made an awful racket.
Petitions to Validate the Cañon del Rio Colorado Land Grant
As with many of these early private land claims, the U.S. Land office was hesitant to confirm the grants because of the vague wording of
The Railroad Comes to Northern New Mexico
The 1870s brought more surveyors for the railroad that would come eventually through just north of Rio Colorado. By 1876, rail for the narrow-gauge Denver
El Oratorio de Doña Estefana
There on the outskirts of the village of Questa, by the side of Cabresto Creek just south of Highway 38, under a cluster of old