Abiquiu (N.M.)

Abiquiú ( , Spanish pronunciation: [aβiˈkju], Tewa: Péshú:bú'; Northern Tiwa: Gultɨdda) is a census-designated place in Rio Arriba County, in northern New Mexico in the southwestern United States, about 53 miles (85 km) north of Santa Fe. As of 2010, the population was 231. Abiquiú's one school, an elementary school, is part of the Española Public Schools. Abiquiú means "wild chokecherry place" in the Tewa language. It is also called Santo Tomás de Abiquiú and the Pueblo of Santo Tomás de Abiquiú. In the mid-eighteenth century, the Spanish crown provided land grants to genízaros here and in other places to establish buffer towns to defend the frontier from raiding tribes such as the Comanche. Abiquiú was one of the homes of American artist Georgia O'Keeffe from 1929 until 1984. The Georgia O'Keeffe Home and Studio is in Abiquiú. The artist also owned property at the nearby Ghost Ranch. Many of her paintings depict scenes near Abiquiú.