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Questa -- originally called San Antonio del Rio Colorado (St. Anthony of the Red River) -- was initially settled in 1828 by Francisco La Foret who "built a home down in the bottoms near the river but was forced to leave" (Stanley, 1962) because of hostilities from the northern Indians (Utes and Commanches). In 1842, a group of thirty-five families officially established San Antonio del Rio Colorado, with a U.S. land grant (San Antonio del Rio Colorado Tract No. 76). One of the founders was Antonio Elias Armenta, the father-in-law of La Foret, who was a noted leading citizen of early Rio Colorado (as it was known for short).
Questa is located on a ridge of gravel on the north side of the Red River and west of Cabrestro creek 7,469 feet above sea level. It is about nineteen miles south of Costilla and about twenty-six miles north of Taos (Stanley, 1962). On the map, it is located at the juncture of route 522 and 38.
REFERENCE
Stanley, F. The Story of Questa, 1962.