Stone house lodge
Information About the Area
Place names of the Tierra Amarilla, a short history of the lodge area and it’s nearby towns. A mere 40 miles north of Abiquiù, the Tierra Amarilla’s boundaries were described by the villages mentioned below.
Canjilón
(Antlers) settled permanently in 1870.
Cañón del Navajo
(Navajo Canyon) named after Navajo Indians that inhabited the area before the Spanish settled Abiquiù.
Cañónes
(The Canyons) location of earliest efforts at settling the Tierra Amarilla.
Cebolla
(Onion) settled by 1880. Said to abound in a variety of wild onion favored by sheep’s and goats which were grazed there.
Chama
(Indian name meaning river of red water) Established in 1881.
Dulce
(Sweet, Candy) Established in 1883. Named after a sweet water spring.
Ensenada
Originally known as Encinada (The Oaks) settled around 1864 and named for the many oak trees that lined the nearby river.
Laguna de los Caballos
(Horse Lake) Named after the large herds of wild horses that watered there. Tradition holds that many horses drowned in this lake in the winter.
La Puente
(The Bridge) settled in 1880. Named because its settlers came from the bridge or crossing of the Chama River near Abiquiu.
Los Brazos
(The arms or branches) populated by settlers who abandoned El Barranco (one mile south of Los Brazos).
Los Ojos
(The Springs) settled in 1860. Named after the numerous natural Springs in the area.
Lumberton
Established about 1898.
Mesa de las Viejas
(Mesa of the Old Women) alleged to originate from 3 Indian women that were left on the Mesa when the local Indians were placed on reservations. They were very old and lived out their lives on the Mesa, isolated from their tribes and hiding from the Indian agents.
Monero
(Italian name for money) a coal mining community settled by 1884.
Nutria
(Beaver) The 1880 census shows 12 families living there.
Plaza Blanca
(White Town) Origin of the name is unclear.
Tierra Amarilla
(Yellow Earth) Settled about 1862, originally known as Las Nutrias. The yellow dirt was used by local Indians to make pottery. Some say the original explorers found the place so beautiful they likened it to our Blessed Virgin – La Tierra de Maria.
*Information provided by Robert Torrez, from the book “La Tierra Amarilla: The People of the Chama Valley”