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
The San Antonio del Rio Colorado Land Grant
A second group of settlers petitioned for a land grant on the Rio Colorado early in 1841, essentially for land that is now Questa proper.
A New Frontier
By 1840 San Antonio del Rio Colorado was well established and new settlers were continually arriving and more houses were being built all along the
The Founders of Questa, by J.P. Rael
J.P. Rael’s poem Los Pobladores de Questa (The Founders of Questa) is probably the first written history of Questa.
New Mining in and around Questa
Mining would play an increasing role in the life and economy of Rio Colorado/Questa. The first Rio Colorado connection with the copper and gold rush
Questa area timeline
Questa area timeline. 300 million years ago Area covered by shallow ocean 36–25 million years ago Sangre de Cristo Mountains formed, Rio Grande Riftbegins to
Indians Depredations on Rio Colorado Continue
The arrival of the U.S. Military and the increased traffic on the Santa Fe Trail had served only to increase the anger of the Indians,
John “The Pathfinder” Fremont Comes to Rio Colorado
“…who loves to be told of his greatness…” and “jealous of anyone who may know as much or more of any subject than himself…”
How We Made Soap
Soap was made from the fat of lambs or pigs. The fat was mixed with lye and crushed rosebuds were added to give it a
The Indian Threat Ends
For almost a century, settlers in Rio Colorado had been subjected to the raids of Indian tribes. By the end of the 1870s, these raids