One of the oldest designed tourist attractions in the Tucson area and among the few cave systems developed nationally by the Civilian Conservation Corps, Colossal Cave Mountain Park represents an extremely well preserved example of the goals, ethics and labor of the CCC in southern Arizona. For four years Camp SP10-A, one of the largest CCC camps in the state, was installed adjacent the Cave Park at the historic Posta Quemada Ranch, where many remains of the original CCC facilities still exist. During that time, the boys of the CCC constructed a park setting utilizing local materials and a park rustic style of architecture that served to enhance and harmonize with the unique desert environment.
The significance of this site as a Civilian Conservation Corps landscape is derived from the prominent and effective implementation of the CCC style within the park, including a sensitivity to the local environs in and around the cave and the creation of framed vistas that capitalize on the area s natural splendor. A highly unique attraction, Colossal Cave is one of the largest cave systems in the United States, and the CCC took great care in melding functional infrastructure with the natural formations. Throughout the park, the needs of visitors and necessities of a functional tourist attraction were considered and executed in a way that complimented the natural setting.
From the building materials used, to the integrated placement of structures within the topography of the park, the work of the CCC at Colossal Cave Mountain Park represents a remarkable and conscientious enterprise that greatly benefitted the state of Arizona and the Tucson area. To this day, the well-preserved CCC infrastructure at Colossal Cave Mountain Park stands virtually unchanged, continuing to serve southern Arizona today as a popular tourist destination and scenic retreat, in the same manner as it was originally intended, over 80 years ago. Description: Colossal Cave is a dry cave located in southern Arizona, 22 miles southeast of the Tucson metro area, near the historic community of Vail (Figure 1).
Part of the Pima County, Arizona Park system, the Colossal Cave Mountain Park includes 3.5 miles of mapped corridors within the cave itself, La Posta Quemada Ranch, La Selvilla picnic area, El Bosquecito picnic area, and a surrounding expanse of acres in the Rincon Mountain foothills (Figures 2 and 3). COLOSSAL CAVE MOUNTAIN PARK HALS NO. AZ-15 PAGE 2 The entrance to Colossal Cave Mountain Park begins with Old Spanish Trail, a road that eventually transitions into Colossal Cave Parkway near the middle of the park. These roadways within the park are all paved, curving along the hillsides and bajadas of the mountainous topography (Figure 4). The mountain park is located in a hilly area, with large rock outcroppings above and washes in the valleys below (Figures 5, 6, and 7).
The vegetation is largely native, consisting of all of the characteristic species of the Sonoran Desert. Foothills palo verde (Parkinsonia microphylla), prickly pear (Opuntia englemanii), fishhook barrel cactus (Ferrocactus wislizenii), native mesquite (Prosopis velutina), and other native desert plants dot the landscape, giving the feeling of being in a lush, native desert environment (Figure 8). At various points along the route, including the park entrance and the junction of Old Spanish Trail and Colossal Cave Parkway, are cattle guards that were installed by the CCC in the late (Figure 9). The first road branching off from Old Spanish Trail leads to the top of the mountain on whose southern exposure the cave entrance is located.
This route opens up to a large paved parking lot that lays flat on top of an artificially leveled hill, providing a 360-degree view of the park surroundings (Figure Southeast of the parking lot are two pathways heading slightly down slope towards the cave entrance and visitor center. One of the pathways consists of two flights of rustic stairs, built from local rock by the while the second pathway is a more modern wheelchair ramp made of concrete.
The origin of the paths at the parking area features an entrance zone designated by rock walls and the remains of an original water fountain that were similarly constructed out of local, rough-hewn stone, including a prominently placed fossil (Figure The stairs and the ramp lead to a reception and viewing area outside the cave entrance which hosts a number of architectural features designed and built by the Outside the cave entrance stands a ramada connected to the original museum structure, which was expanded for use as a gift shop (Figure To the east of the gift shop is another CCC structure termed the garage, originally intended as a home, but currently utilized as offices for the park s employees (Figure Both the museum/gift shop and garage were constructed from the same common local stone material.
East of the garage is a second small cave entrance, generally not accessible to the public, which was utilized as the primary egress for extracting bat guano during the cave s brief period of use as a mine (Figure Located on the mountainside of the historic cave entrance, the visitor center area provides an expansive view that overlooks the entire park and its surroundings. The most popular viewing area, directly in front of the cave entrance, facing south, is framed by the ramada, and features several telescopes and benches. While now updated with wooden beams, this ramada originally featured the same roofing material as the museum building and the now-enclosed second story of the garage, constructed in a manner typical of the southwest using COLOSSAL CAVE MOUNTAIN PARK HALS NO.
AZ-15 PAGE 3 saguaro spines sourced from the surrounding area. Employed in the visitor center area are several extant small-scale features from the original CCC construction of the site.
The west side of the cave entrance exhibits an artificial hydraulic landscape intended to protect the area from erosion by diverting the flow of water into a drainage system (Figure Against the mountainside, to the northeast of the gift shop, is a single freestanding fire pit, constructed of the characteristic building material of local stone (Figure Another feature in close proximity to this area is the original water cistern for the mountain park site, located a few yards up the mountain, east of the main cave entrance (Figure Among the more recently added features of the visitor center are a restroom facility constructed in the by the Youth Conservation Corps and a bronze statue of a CCC worker with accompanying plaque added in Departing from the visitor s center, you come to the cave entrance, located on the north side of the mountain.
A steel gate guards the entrance from unanticipated visitors, while allowing bats access into and out of the cave. Placed stone steps (Figure 18) and metal handrails lead the way down into the heart of the cave, placed there by CCC workers to facilitate visitor traffic safely through its depth. As with all construction at Colossal Cave, the stone was locally hewn and designed to blend in with the existing geography of the cave.
Lighting was specially designed to highlight unique features in the cave s interior (Figure while each fixture was custom-designed to blend in with the interior geology of the cave, making it seem as if the source of light was coming from within the cave itself (Figure It would have been very unusual that this much time and care was taken with individually crafting light fixtures and stone steps to fit within the existing topology and geology of the cave, as to not distract from the feature itself. The Old Spanish Trail travels deep into the park from the entrance gate, connecting the main cave entrance and visitor center to the picnic areas and ranch grounds to the south.
Before reaching La Posta Quemada Ranch, the Old Spanish Trail becomes Colossal Cave Parkway and intersects the path leading east towards the two picnic areas. The route to the two picnic areas is paved, the entrance marked by a gated entrance featuring two small pillars, one on each side of the road, which were built in keeping with the park style using local stone. The trail leading to the picnic areas splits immediately before entering the Posta Quemada Wash. At the end of each trail are two distinct picnic areas: El Bosquecito to the south, and La Selvilla to the east. El Bosquecito is situated near the middle of Colossal Cave Mountain Park, encircled by the Posta Quemada Wash.
El Bosquecito is a predominately-shaded area within a grove of mesquite trees (Figure This feature allows the COLOSSAL CAVE MOUNTAIN PARK HALS NO. AZ-15 PAGE 4 secluded area to stay cool and comfortable, even during the hot summer season. At El Bosquecito, there are a total of eleven combined cast concrete table and bench sets placed organically around the picnic area. Each set is imprinted with the designation Pima Co. Parks & Rec. Dept. on the tableside (Figure Along with the benches are five grill pits, two fire rings, and two water fountains that are all made from the local stone material observable in the cave entrance architecture.
One of the most prominent features in El Bosquecito is the remains of the original CCC restroom, constructed from large volcanic boulders and chunks of basaltic rock (Figure In its present state, this structure is roofless, containing two back-to-back rooms separated by a six-foot high wall, each with a lidded concrete latrine pit. For contemporary use, there is a modern restroom facility on a concrete foundation with brick fa ade located along the end of the trail to El Bosquecito that was added in the or La Selvilla picnic area can be found at the termination of an unpaved dirt road, which undulates eastward and occasionally traverses the Posta Quemada wash. The La Selvilla area exhibits a similar layout as El Bosquecito, utilizing consistent material and features.
La Selvilla, however, is larger in size, and although also located along the Posta Quemada wash, it is not as shaded with trees as El Bosquecito. The paucity of vegetation in this area allows an unencumbered view of the surrounding mountains, whose heights are accessible by various hiking trails originating around the picnic area (Figure As a consequence of its relative area and openness, La Selvilla possesses more space for picnic recreation as well as somewhat grander features, including large-scale bonfire pits and an intact ramada. There are also eight picnic tables of the CCC type and three smaller fire pits akin to those seen at El Bosquecito.
However, there are also five modern picnic tables at La Selvilla, as well as a new bathroom structure and several fire grills added in the late and early by the Youth Conservation Corps (Figure The ramada at La Selvilla is about 25 by 10 feet and surrounded by low walls that utilize the local stone material over a concrete foundation (Figure The recently added roof of the ramada was made from tin, laid over large wooden beams. Within the structure are two stone tables placed with benches that extend out from the ramada walls. In alcoves and pull-offs along the road to La Selvilla are sporadic modern picnic table and grill areas, as well as an established camping site that does not appear to contain any CCC infrastructure.
These isolated developments are not main communal park areas, however, and are located individually in more private settings. 1 National Register of Historic Places Nomination, Section 7 Page 8, Colossal Cave Preservation Park Historic District, Amendment Pima County, Arizona. COLOSSAL CAVE MOUNTAIN PARK HALS NO. AZ-15 PAGE 5 History: The CCC in Arizona The impacts of the Great Depression left deep impressions not only in the collective memory of American citizens, but also in the physical character of the country through the revitalization and transformation of many natural and cultural landscapes throughout the nation. In the early an unprecedented lack of job opportunities wracked American families in what was to be the greatest economic depression in US history.
In order to combat the effects of this Great Depression, president Franklin Delano Roosevelt initiated the New Deal strategy, a series of programs established between and to provide temporary relief for the destitute and unemployed by creating jobs, loans and grants.2 As part of the New Deal, President Roosevelt intended also to rescue the natural resources of the country by encouraging tourism for these attractions. Thus the first and largest program created by the New Deal was the Civilian Conservation Corps established to protect and enhance the nation's natural resources and to facilitate economic recovery through the creation of infrastructure for touristic destinations.
The program s agenda involved recruiting single, young men between the ages of seventeen and twenty-four whose parents were on relief and putting them to work on conservation projects in order to mold them into productive, contributing citizens. Approximately Arizonans served in the Corps, or about twenty percent of the total male population in the state at that time, lending the program significant social impact manifest in the reinforcement of traditional American values among this demographic.3 In Arizona, the CCC established twenty-eight camps, eleven in national forests, four in national parks, five on federal grazing lands, three on soil erosion- control, three in city parks, and two in federal reclamation projects.
The CCC projects in national parks focused on building recreational facilities including trails, picnic grounds, masonry dams, ramadas, and ranger headquarters. In so doing, they transformed "poor quality" land into productive tourist areas and forever affected the philosophy and policies of land use in Arizona.4 One of the most formidable recreational projects by the CCC was the opening of Colossal Cave under the direction of the Pima County Board of Supervisors.5 The development of an indoor and outdoor recreational system in Colossal Cave and the surrounding Rincon Mountain foothills epitomizes the successful application of the WPA in Arizona and the unique ambition of the Civilian Conservation Corps to develop a distinct park and tourist infrastructure at a cave 2 Thomas E.
Sheridan, Arizona a History, University of Arizona Press, Tucson, Arizona, M.A., The University of Arizona, 23 Ibid, 81, 6. 5 Ibid,79. COLOSSAL CAVE MOUNTAIN PARK HALS NO. AZ-15 PAGE 6 site that could fit seamlessly in with the natural southwest landscape. History and Relevance of the Site While conventionally dated only as far back as the discovery of the cave site by local ranch and hotel owner, Solomon Lick, the history of Colossal Cave and the surrounding landscape actually encompasses over a thousand years of activity, finding its origins in the early use and settlement by the Hohokam peoples of central and southern Arizona.
The dating of the prehistoric material and features found in Colossal Cave and across the park landscape indicates a region more or less continuously occupied by a native presence, from the Hohokam to the Sobaipuri and historic O odham. Until its ultimate historic discovery and development, the park site was exploited intermittently as a living space, area of temporary settlement, way station and perhaps religious burial site from at least as early as AD.6 Antiquarian investigation of the site s prehistory occurred concurrently with the century rediscovery of the cave.
While searching for stray cattle, Solomon Lick, the owner of the Mountain Springs Hotel which was formerly located at the site of La Posta Quemada Ranch, came upon the cave entrance, ushering in the historical period of interest in the site. Various contemporary periodicals reported the retrieval of hundreds of predominantly Hohokam artifacts from within the cave.
These purportedly featured an enormous quantity of deer antlers as well as pottery and an assortment of highly perishable materials including bows, toys, moccasins, nets and baskets, which rarely survive in unsheltered conditions.7 In two expeditions led into the cave by archaeologist Byron Cummings, dean of the College of Letters, Arts and Science at the University of Arizona and director of the Arizona State Museum, yielded skeletal remains identified by Cummings as two Native American individuals.
8 Dating back at least two hundred years, these remains were reportedly found in association with various ceremonial artifacts such as prayer sticks and bows, which prompted later conjectural interpretations of the site as a ritual center.9 Unfortunately, much of the archaeological record within and around the cave site was disturbed, destroyed or removed by the activities of late and early century curio seekers, amateur archaeologists and by the mining, ranching and development of the cave and park site by the CCC and later parties.10 Early 6 Joe Maierhauser and Maierhauser. Archaeological Findings in Colossal Cave. Unpublished manuscript, 13. 7 Ibid, See also Bruce A. Jones and Richard Ciolek-Torrello.
Caverns, Quarries and Campsites: Land Use Among the Prehistoric and Historic Occupents of Colossal Cave Preservation Park, Pima County, Arizona. Report prepared for the Pima County Transportation and Flood Control District and Arizona State Parks Board. Statistical Research. Technical Series, No. 31, 8 Maierhauser and Maierhauser, 13. 9 Ibid. 10 Ibid. COLOSSAL CAVE MOUNTAIN PARK HALS NO. AZ-15 PAGE 7 surveys and investigations of the site were largely unrecorded or unpublished, the artifacts either spirited away or deposited without proper accession or attribution in the Arizona State Museum collection.
An archaeological survey conducted by Statistical Research in however, located at least 27 additional sites and features over the park landscape, categorized as prehistoric artifact scatters, lithic quarries, bedrock mortars and rock shelters, as well as historic trash dumps, and mining or transportation related sites.11 Pre-tourism interest and activity at the site occurred intermittently during the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, including the cave s brief stint as a bat guano mine in during which period several train carloads of guano were unloaded before its ultimate exhaustion.12 In the late nineteenth century, the site played a role in a series of peculiar incidents, which contributed to the notorious status of the cave as a fixture in the legendary escapades of wild west train robberies.
In the first of these events, several prisoners, escaped from Pima County jail, hid in the cave for several days to escape a murder conviction. Another incident occurred when, in three bandits stole approximately from a Southern Pacific express train while it passed near Vail, and sought refuge in the Rincon Mountains to hold off pursuing posses.13 Local legend maintains that this pilfered treasure, at least in part, remains somewhere in the cave to this day, having been concealed and left by the criminals who were hunted down and killed before they could retrieve it.
Despite the implausibility, the mythic conception related to this and other nefarious activities during the insured that the site was subsequently conceived of as a romanticized archetype of the outlaw west.14 Colossal Cave Development by the CCC In the early the tourism industry in Arizona was on the rise, owing largely to the increasing popularity of dude ranching.15 Capitalizing on the new influx of tourists, Frank J. Schmidt, a German resident of Arizona by way of Kansas, formulated the idea of running guided tours into Colossal Cave. These earliest 11 Bruce A. Jones and Richard Ciolek-Torrello. Caverns, Quarries and Campsites: Land Use Among the Prehistoric and Historic Occupents of Colossal Cave Preservation Park, Pima County, Arizona.
Report prepared for the Pima County Transportation and Flood Control District and Arizona State Parks Board. Statistical Research. Technical Series, No. 31, 12 Maierhauser and E. Lendell Cockrum, The Timeline: The Intertwined Histories of Colossal Cave and La Posta Quemada Ranch or How They Became Colossal Cave Mountain Park, Colossal Cave Mountain Park Publication, 13 Ibid. 14 E. Lendell Cockrum, Maierhauser, Welcome to Colossal Cave Arizona, Silver City, High-Lonesome Books, 15 Prospective tourists were eager to encounter the West immortalized in novels, such as those of Zane Gray, and to see the cowboys and Indians about which they read firsthand (Sheridan, COLOSSAL CAVE MOUNTAIN PARK HALS NO.
AZ-15 PAGE 8 tours relied on caving equipment and some physical prowess to convey intrepid visitors through the rugged and undeveloped cave passageways.16 In hoping to allow more people to be able to access the beauties of the cave, Schmidt relinquished his leases for the cave site to the State of Arizona, thus enabling the government to apply federal funding in the development of a tourist park by the Schmidt, however, remained a lifelong custodian of the site and personally ran guided tours in the cave until at the age of In May of on La Posta Quemada Ranch, CCC Camp SP10A was established to oversee construction of the Colossal Cave Mountain Park.
Between and the CCC enrollees made improvements within the cave which included the construction of paths with railings and the installation of the underground lightening.
The young men, termed The Cavemen of Colossal Cave, built a museum and picnic areas, La Selvilla and El Bosquecito, as well as constructed park roads, trails, water facilities and ramadas using mostly locally sourced materials.18 Immense consideration was taken in both the design and construction of the park infrastructure, within and beyond the cave, to protect and preserve the integrity of the features and landscape with minimal change or intrusion.19 In this spirit, the architect involved in the CCC development of Colossal Cave, Frederick Eastman, endeavored to employ beautiful native limestone in the walls of his constructions so that the buildings would blend fluidly with the natural mountain formation.20 Since September 1st of when the CCC finished their work at Colossal Cave and Camp SP10A was closed, the park has remained much as it was when originally constructed, only undergoing minor changes such as the construction of new restroom facilities at the picnic areas and a program of restoration work which took place from The site continues to be a major tourist attraction in southern Arizona, where people from around the world come to see and embrace what the youth of the CCC developed and maintained.
Conclusion The Colossal Cave Mountain Park has relevance not only for its tourist and natural advocacy, but also as the material representation of the feats, union and dedicated work of a generation of young men in order to help their families and 16 Maierhauser and Cockrum, 17 Cockrum and Maierhauser, 18 The name used to identify the CCC enrollees at Colossal Cave. Hunt, Sharon E., J. J Lamb, Martie, Maierhauser, Comp Civilian Conservation Corps Scrapbook: Camp SP-10-A,. Vail, Ariz. Colossal Cave Mountain Park, 28. 19 CCC s Narrative report, March, 31 Camp SP-10-A Colossal Cave, Vail Arizona, 20 National Register of Historic Places Nomination, Section 8 Page 8 COLOSSAL CAVE MOUNTAIN PARK HALS NO. AZ-15 PAGE 9 nation in one of the most crucial moments of modern American history.
When prosperity returned, Arizona s economy was consequently more diversified and better prepared for the demands of World War II. From to the CCC not only played a vital role in transforming Arizona's landscapes, economy and society, but also provided an invaluable boost into the modern era. As one of the only cave systems developed by the Colossal Cave Mountain Park represents a unique endeavor among the many projects initiated by New Deal legislation across the United States, and demonstrates a singular and commendable devotion to the conservation of the integrity and beauty of the southwest environment and its natural treasures while improving the economic situation of many in Arizona.
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