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Abiquiú
New Mexico, USA
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Location: Rio Arriba, US Highway 84, 18 miles NW of Española
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Distance (from Ghost Ranch): Approximately 12.5 miles south of Ghost Ranch.
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Directions (from Ghost Ranch): To get there from Ghost Ranch, turn left at Ghost Ranch gate onto US HWY 84 and head south for approximately 12.5 miles.
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Historic Geography: Geographically, Abiquiú is located 18 miles northwest of Española on US Highway 84, "on a terraced, rocky mesa (elevation 6,060 feet) overlooking the Rio Chama, approximately 20 miles upstream from the confluence of the Rio Chama and the Rio Grande." [Alvar W. Carlson, The Spanish-American Homelalnd: Four Centuries in New Mexico's Rio Arriba, p.160-162.]
The town of Abiquiu Grant was given in 1754 to the Spaniards and genizaros jointly and is one of the last Spanish-American community grants still functioning and owned by the residents.
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Description: “This Hispanic settlement's name preserves, at least in some from, the name of the Tewa Indian Pueblo upon whose ruins the village originally was built.
The old pueblo was located at a place called La Puente, a mesa on the Rio Chama's south bank, about 3 miles SE of the present village. The pueblo was abandoned, probably in the 1500's and subsequently the Chama Valley here was shared by Utes, Apaches, and Navajos.
Abiquiú was slow in being settled by the Spanish, despite being fertile, well watered, and only 40 miles from Santa Fe, the captal. The first settlers arrived at the old pueblo site in the 1740's and called the community Santa Rosa de Lina de Abiquiú, for their patron saint.
In August, 1747, after devastating Indian raids, the villagers of Abiquiú, along with residents of Ojo Caliente and Pueblo Quemado (now Cordova), petitioned for permission to abandon their village and move to safer location. That same year the present village of Abiquiú was founded by genízaros, Hispaniciazed Indians. Like the earlier village, the new one had a church and patron saint, Santo Thomas.
Santa Rosa de Lima de Abiquiú was resettled in 1754, and the new village, Santo Thomas de Abiquiú, more commonly known as Abiquiú, grew as well and became a major Indian trade center. ”
[The Place Names of New Mexico, Robert Julyan, © 1996, 1998 by the University of New Mexico Press, p. 1-2.]
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Book Sources:
Valley of Shining Stone, Lesley Poling-Kempes, © 1997 by the University of Arizona Press. This valuable book tells the story and history of Abiquiú, Georgia O'Keeffe in Abiquiú, the Chama Valley, and Piedra Lumbre (Shining Stone) from prehispanic days through the present.
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Photo Instructions: Remember The Abiquiú Village is located on private land similar to an Indian Pueblo; therefore, do not take pictures without obtaining permission first.
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Related Online Stories & Sources:
Abiquiu and The History of The Lower Chama Valley
Abiquiú New Mexico area Bed & Breakfasts and Country Inns
Abiquiu Realty, Ltd. Northern New Mexico real estate
Armando López - view his work via online photos of mixed-media sculptures including beautiful Retablos, Altars, Santos, Deities, and Angels.
New Mexico Baptisms, Santo Tomas de Abiquiu Church,Vol I: 1736 to 1873 and Vol II: 1821-1824, NMGS Press (New Mexico Genealogical Society Press). The records in this book were extracted by Virginia Langham Olmsted and Evelyn Lujan Baca, and compiled by Margaret Leonard Windham and Evelyn Lujan Baca. Introduction by Laurianne Huffman; map by Ernie Jaskolski. Published by the New Mexico Genealogical Society.
Regalos de Abiquiú - Feature Article: Regalos de Abiquiú is a small business with a far-reaching mission of contributing to the economic development of northern New Mexico while reviving and strengthening traditional Hispanic and Native American arts.
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Maps
Abiquiú Focus
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 Abiquiú, New Mexico Area map
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Name: (Abiquiú) “This Hispanic settlement's name perserves, at least in some form, the name of the Tewa Indian Pueblo upon whose ruins the village was originally built.’’
The Place Names of New Mexico, Robert Julyan, © 1996, 1998 by the University of New Mexico Press
Related Digital Abiquiú pages:
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