Tucson's Origins Heritage Site, West Cushing Street, Tucson

Source document Quoted word for word from HALS AZ-26. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

The Tucson Origins Heritage Site (TOHS) is one of the oldest continually inhabited places in the United States (U.S.). The site represents the convergence of cultures in a single location over thousands of years. Indigenous peoples chose this location for its proximity to water and fertile soils, Colonial Spaniards, following the Law of the Indies, settled at the site because of its proximity to previously-established indigenous settlements, and both Mexican American and European Americans chose this site for the same reasons. The TOHS has continued to be part of the local narrative since Tucson s founding in Description: The TOHS is located one-half mile west of downtown Tucson.

The site is situated immediately east of the Menlo Park neighborhood a registered historic district in the National Register of Historic Places. The site is bounded on its eastern and southern side by the Santa Cruz River; on its western side by the base of Sentinel Peak, and on its northern side by West Cushing Street. Mission Lane intersects the site area, and runs along an east-west axis. The site is situated along the Santa Cruz River where the river bends east before continuing along a northwest-trending route. Mission Lane originally crossed the river and linked with Simpson Street on the east side of the river; currently the lane ends at South Melwood Avenue. The site is accessible from the west via South Grande Avenue, which also separates the site from Sentinel Peak.

An elevated perspective from Sentinel Peak also known as A Mountain provides a full overview of the site area. Several major Tucson landforms are visible from the site: Mount Lemmon is visible to the northeast, and Mica Mountain can be seen towards the southeast. The TOHS is composed of three distinct character areas that include: 1) the former San Agust n Mission Complex, 2) the reconstructed Mission Gardens with associated archaeological ruins (ruins of Warner s Mill and several pre- Hispanic indigenous bedrock mortars), and 3) the remains of a capped public landfill. TUCSON ORIGINS HERITAGE SITE HALS NO. AZ-26 PAGE 2 1) San Agust n Mission Complex The San Agust n Mission complex is the northeastern component of the TOHS and covers 2.8 acres.

This character area currently consists entirely of open, graded land, void of any buildings and vegetation. It is located immediately south of Avenida del Convento and Cushing Street, west of the Santa Cruz River, east of Menlo Park, and north of Mission Lane. The complex is on the western edge of the Santa Cruz River floodplain. The Mission complex is no longer extant. However, stones outline where it once stood approximately 300 feet west of the Santa Cruz River. The complex originally consisted of a convento, chapel, and cemetery. The two-story adobe convento was incorporated into the eastern wall of the complex.1 A chapel and a cemetery were adjacent to the western side of the convent and faced the southern wall of the complex.

A granary adjoined the western wall of the mission complex. An photograph taken by Carleton Watkins shows the location of the Carrillo house, where Leopoldo Carrillo, one of Tucson s historic pioneers lived. The house was located just south of Mission Lane and faced north, towards the mission complex.2 Excavations by the Rio Nuevo Archaeology Project reveal historic and prehispanic indigenous3 pits along the eastern and southern side of the Mission walls. Two historic canals were discovered on the southern side of the Mission walls. Two canals dating to the Early Agricultural Period BCE 50 CE) and one to the Hohokam period CE CE) are on the southwest side of the complex walls.

An interpretive sign stands near the termination of the paved portion of Mission Lane and provides information on the history of the site including an artist s rendering of the site s former indigenous habitation and the historic mission complex. 2) Mission Gardens The Mission Gardens area is the westernmost site component, and is situated just west of the former San Agust n Mission complex. This component covers an area of 3.5 acres. Mission Gardens is a partial re-creation of the historic garden area associated with the San Agust n Mission.4 The gardens are 1 Hard, Robert Jarratt and William H. Doelle. The San Agustin Mission Site, Tucson, Arizona. Cultural Resource Management Section, Arizona State Museum, [Tucson: University of Arizona, 20.

2 Photograph, Carelton Watkin s visit to Arizona in Stereoview Collection Box 2, Folder Carleton Watkin s Main Photo Collection, Arizona Historical Society. 3 Mission Garden Brochure. Mission Garden. Tucson: Friends of Tucson's Birthplace, 4 Thiel, J. Homer, and Jonathan Mabry, ed. RIO NUEVO ARCHAEOLOGY, Investigations at the San Agust n Mission and Mission Gardens, Tucson Presidio, Tucson Pressed Brick Company, and Clearwater Site. Technical Report No. [Tucson: Desert Archaeology, Inc., TUCSON ORIGINS HERITAGE SITE HALS NO. AZ-26 PAGE 3 operated by the Friends of Tucson s Birthplace. The contemporary gardens are surrounded by reconstructed adobe walls that once enclosed the gardens during its Spanish occupation. The original garden walls were constructed of adobe with a stone foundation.

Alongside the dirt path that leads to the entrance of the gardens, there is a terraced rock composition intended to emulate indigenous agricultural farming methods in the area. The gardens are divided into multiple sections, with each section representing different periods of Tucson s agricultural history. Several sections focus on native plants and indigenous farming, starting from BCE. Several heritage gardens showcase crops introduced during Spanish Colonial and Anglo- American settlement. Gardens present plants grown by Chinese, Anglo, Yaqui, and African American ethnic groups. There is a subsection called Tomorrow s Garden that features new and emerging agricultural practices. Roughly 190 feet west and across of the Mission Gardens are the historic ruins of Solomon Warner s Mill (ca.

situated at the base of Sentinel Peak, on the west side of South Grande Avenue. South of the mill ruins are three bedrock mortar cups used for food grinding during the Native American habitation of the area. Eight irrigation canals were identified in and around the garden area. Four of the eight canals predate Hispanic settlement. One of these prehispanic canals trends southeast to north, the second canal is situated west of the first, and ran south to north, the third canal dates from the Hohokam period CE CE), and ran from south to north; the fourth prehispanic canal ran from the southwest to the northeast. The four historic period canals include two situated east and south of the garden external walls, and two on the far western side of the Mission Garden.

3) Southern Landfill area: The landfill is the southernmost component of the TOHS. This triangular- shaped area covers acres. The Santa Cruz River forms the southeast and southwest boundary of the landfill area. South Grande Avenue forms a boundary between the landfill area and Sentinel Peak, which is just west of the site component. A Hohokam settlement was documented within the current landfill area; this settlement was destroyed during the creation of the landfill. The landfill possesses scattered historic trash debris that dates from the through History: Introduction of Past and Current Uses 5 Thiel, J. Homer, and Jonathan Mabry, TUCSON ORIGINS HERITAGE SITE HALS NO.

AZ-26 PAGE 4 The TOHS is one of the oldest continually occupied settlements in the U.S., and has been a part of Tucson s local narrative for at least years. Situated adjacent to the Santa Cruz River, the site has hosted a diversity of cultural traditions. The earliest habitation dates for the site are associated with Native American farmers in BCE. Indigenous farmers lived at the site for generations, where they developed increasingly sophisticated agricultural techniques through European contact. The landscape was settled by the Spaniards in the century.

Jesuit Father Eusebio Kino spearheaded the introduction of Catholicism into the area, and the Mission San Agust n (Mission) was built on the site in Following the relinquishment of Spanish occupation, Mexican settlers occupied the area and used the landscape for ranching and farming; they established traditional Sonoran agriculture in the area. Finally, the site reflects the shift from Arizona as a territory to a state through changes in local agricultural practices. After the Mission was abandoned, several significant events occurred that changed the landscape of the TOHS.

During the late century, an earthquake, as well as salvage of materials from the vacant Mission, coupled with increasing popularity of the location as a tourist destination (as documented in photographs dating from the to the early century), hastened its destruction. In the the site faced further destruction through clay mining and its designation as the new location for the City of Tucson s sanitary landfill. The following timeline provides a breakdown of the historical events associated with the history of the TOHS. Tucson Origins Historic Site Chronology (courtesy of the Friends of Mission Gardens) BCE - 50 CE Early Agricultural Period 50 CE - 500 CE Early Ceramic Period 500 CE - CE Hohokam Preclassic Period CE - CE Hohokam Classic Period CE - CE Father Eusebio F.

Kino, a Jesuit missionary, visited Tucson CE - CE Several Jesuit priests lived at San Xavier del Bac CE Jesuits expelled from New Spain; replaced by Franciscan Order CE - CE Construction of the presidio CE - CE Construction of San Xavier del Bac and San Agust n missions CE - CE Mexican War of Independence CE Spaniards expelled from Mexico and missions secularized CE - CE San Agust n Mission abandoned CE - CE Mexican American War CE U.S.

purchases Northern Mexico through the Gadsden Purchase CE Leopoldo Carrillo begins constructing a house with convento building materials CE Southern Pacific railroad completed in Tucson CE Treasure hunters loot convento building CE Major earthquake in Sonora CE Tucson donates 200 acres to the Southern Pacific Railroad CE - CE Chinese railroad workers grow gardens TUCSON ORIGINS HERITAGE SITE HALS NO.

AZ-26 PAGE 5 CE - CE Tucson Pressed Brick Factory begins operation CE - CE The City of Tucson repurposed the area as a sanitary landfill CE University of Arizona performed salvage investigations at site CE Proposal to re-route road through the mission site CE Rio Nuevo legislation approved by voters CE - CE Archaeological remediation initiated by Desert Archaeology and construction of Mission site begins6 Indigenous Pre-Hispanic Habitation Habitation of the TOHS can be traced to a Native American settlement. Recent archaeological work has identified the earliest settlements at this site to date to BCE.7 The earliest documented community living at the site consisted of a small village, of which seven pithouses were uncovered.

These inhabitants placed their settlement high on a silty sandbar within the Santa Cruz River floodplain, and placed their agricultural fields lower down in the floodplain, in a similar manner to many other Early Agricultural Period BCE 50 CE) sites8 in the Tucson Basin. The volcanic geomorphology of Sentinel Peak, located just west of the site, provided rich sedimentary runoff into the Santa Cruz River floodplain, making the area ideal for agriculture.9 Before the century, the Santa Cruz River was a perennial water source with a fairly reliable flow and shallow banks, which enabled local communities to use irrigated agriculture there (this was prior to massive trenching and water diversions in the early that have since altered the river flow).

While maize was farmed in the area, it was not the only crop utilized; early inhabitants utilized the full range of available local food resources. Archaeological analysis indicates that in addition to maize farming, early communities foraged cactus fruit, mesquite, and small starchy seeds such as amaranth, tansy mustard, and dropseed.11 These native communities also hunted rabbits, mule deer, and several other large mammal species endemic to the area12. As indigenous settlements developed through the Early Ceramic period (50 500 CE) their reliance on agriculture increased, along with their crop diversity; 6 Friends of Tucson s Birthplace. Timeline. Missiongarden.org. 7 Thiel, J. Homer, and Jonathan Mabry, ed.

RIO NUEVO ARCHAEOLOGY, Investigations at the San Agust n Mission and Mission Gardens, Tucson Presidio, Tucson Pressed Brick Company, and Clearwater Site. Technical Report No. [Tucson: Desert Archaeology, Inc., 8 Thiel and Mabry, 9 Diehl 17. 10 Diehl, Michael W, ed. Further Archaeological Investigations of the Rio Nuevo South Property, City of Tucson, Arizona. Technical Report No. [Tucson: Center for Desert Archaeology, 11 Diehl, Michael W, ed. Archaeological Investigations of the Early Agricultural Period Settlement at the Base of A Mountain, Tucson, Arizona. Technical Report No. [Tucson: Center for Desert Archaeology, 12 Diehl TUCSON ORIGINS HERITAGE SITE HALS NO.

AZ-26 PAGE 6 beans, squash, and cotton became integral crops to the area.13 Wild plant use decreased except for times of riverine unpredictability and famine.14 Archaeological evidence associated with continued settlement during the Early Ceramic period is less visible than the period preceding it; a pair of early ceramic pithouses excavated in the current Mission Gardens area are some of the few sites attributed to this period.

By the time of the Hohokam Preclassic CE) and Classic CE) periods, the area underwent further agricultural intensification through the construction of numerous large canals, and smaller sites appear to have been abandoned.15,16 While there is evidence of Hohokam habitation at the site during this time, much of it appears to be destroyed by the local landfill and other modern activities, due to their relatively shallow depths.17 The Hohokam cultural tradition ends at CE.

The succeeding period, known as the protohistoric period CE CE), is little understood by archaeologists because of the lesser degree of material remains uncovered as compared to time periods before and after, due in part to a lack of documentation and modern disturbance.18,19 To date, there has been no evidence of protohistoric occupation at TOHS, but it is surmised that protohistoric peoples were utilizing this agriculturally rich area. Spanish Occupation The Spanish exploration and settlement of Arizona began at the end of the century with the expansion of the mission frontier led by Father Eusebio F. Kino. Between and Kino passed through the Tucson area along the Santa Cruz River at least five times on journeys to show his superiors the northern frontier of Spanish territories20.

While in the region, Kino came across dispersed rancherias that were occupied by Piman-speaking people Kino called Sobaipuris.21 These inhabitants practiced agriculture22 and lived in above- ground jacal structures.23 The rancheria inhabitants called the site S-cuk Son , which refers to the place s location at the base of the Sentinel Peak, which was 13 Thiel and Mabry, 14 Ibid, 15 Diehl 16 Thiel and Mabry 17 Thiel and Mabry, 18 Ibid, 19 Ibid, 20 Dobyns, Henry F. Spanish Colonial Tucson: a Demographic History. University of Arizona Press, 4. 21 Young, Monica Zappia. The Spanish Colonial Experience and its effects on the Indigenous community of San Agustin Del Tucson: A case study of Spanish Colonial failure. [Master s thesis, University of Arizona, 16. 22 Thiel, J. Homer.

"Life in Tucson, on the Northern Frontier of the Pimer a Alta." In New Mexico and the Pimer a Alta: The Colonial Period in the American Southwest, edited by Douglass John G. and Graves William M., [Boulder: University Press of Colorado, 23 Thiel and Mabry, TUCSON ORIGINS HERITAGE SITE HALS NO.

AZ-26 PAGE 7 called the Black Mountain by the site s original inhabitants.24 Kino identified this place as San Cosme del Tucson in his maps of the area.25 During the late San Cosme del Tucson was established as a Visita (stopping place) for Jesuit missionary efforts along the Santa Cruz River.26 During Kino s visits to the Tucson Basin, he registered local inhabitants and performed 89 baptisms within native communities.27 In addition to registering and baptizing the local inhabitants for New Spain, Kino and his party handed out badges of office to the local chieftains.28 While early Jesuit missionaries performed baptisms in the Tucson Basin area, there is little evidence they had any other effects on the local native culture during this time.29 This lack of a visible Spanish influence is reflected by the absence of Old World agriculture and livestock in the indigenous population during the early half of the century; European subsistence practices did not appear in the Tucson basin until the second half of the In San Xavier del Bac was established as a mission.

The mission was presided over by Francisco Gonzalvo, who was poorly received by the local population. After a year of service, Gonzalvo abandoned his post due to Juaxona and Tunortaca tribal members having slaughtered the mission s livestock.31 Gonzalvo died in and his missionary work had little-to-no lasting influence on the inhabitants of the area.32 After Kino s death in there was very little Spanish interaction with the Tucson basin until the During the second half of the century, the Spanish military forced 400 Sobaipuris to move to settlements along the Santa Cruz River. This action was an attempt to weaken the strength of Apache raids on smaller communities. Roughly 250 of these Sobaipuris were forcibly relocated to the TOHS area, which was named San Jose de Tucson at the time.

This indigenous relocation laid the future groundwork for the San Agust n Mission and its accompanying facilities.33 24 Thiel, 25 Hard and Doelle 3. 26 Young, 19. 27 Dobyns, 6. 28 Farish, Thomas Edwin. History of Arizona, Volume I. State of Arizona, 60. 29 Dobyns, 5. 30 Ibid. 31 Ibid, 6. 32 Young, 18. 33 Ibid, 24. TUCSON ORIGINS HERITAGE SITE HALS NO. AZ-26 PAGE 8 In all Jesuits were expelled from New Spain, and the Franciscan order took control of the missions.34 July marks the arrival of Friar Francisco Tom s Hermenegildo Garc s Maestro to the mission of San Xavier del Bac. While at San Xavier, Garces spearheaded the construction of the San Agust n Mission complex in Tucson with the aid of Father Bernard Middendorf.

Father Middendorf arrived in Tucson in but fled to San Xavier after only a few months due to a rebellion by the Piman Indian parishioners; after his departure there was never a permanent residency at San Agust By San Agust n church and residence housing were completed and the local community formed an escolta (mission guard). At this point the local population had begun raising livestock including horses.37 Garc s traveled between San Xavier and Tucson and was also noted for his exploration and mission trips that extended throughout Arizona and into California.38 In the Tubac presidio garrison was relocated to Tucson by Spanish order, which marked the recognition of Tucson as an official Spanish settlement.

Presidio construction began in After the completion of San Xavier del Bac in remodeling and new constructions were initiated at the San Agust n Mission. During this process the existing chapel was remodeled along with the construction of the Convento and outbuildings. The outer buildings constructed during this time included the walls surrounding the mission complex, the granary, and the original walls for the mission garden.40 Mexican Period Occupation The Spanish colonial program entered a state of turmoil between and In Mexico gained independence from Spain. Mexican settlers continued to utilize the area for farming, ranching, and mining activities along the Tucson Basin.42 These Mexican settlers demanded the same water rights that were previously held by Native Americans.

A substantial portion of the water rights were held by the Mexican population by federal decree in Through this, the Mexican settlers established traditional Sonoran agriculture in Tucson. 34 Dobyns, 26. 35 Diehl, Michael W, ed. Further Archaeological Investigations of the Rio Nuevo South Property, City of Tucson, Arizona. Technical Report No. [Tucson: Center for Desert Archaeology, 90. 36 Diehl, 90. 37 Young, 30. 38 Dobyns, 34. 39 Young, 27. 40 Diehl, 90. 41 Young, 34. 42 Thiel, J. Homer, and Jonathan Mabry, 43 Ibid, TUCSON ORIGINS HERITAGE SITE HALS NO.

AZ-26 PAGE 9 The Mexican government secularized the missions in The last religious ceremony at the San Agust n Mission was held prior to and the Mexican government expelled all Spanish friars from Mexico.46 The San Agust n Mission was abandoned between and Historian Monica Young states that the Pima Indian Village of S-cuk Son had already been abandoned by a few years prior to the incorporation of that land into U.S. territory in 48 It is surmised that many of Tucson s natives left for San Xavier del Bac, the Gila River, and other desert places to avoid increased Apache antagonism towards Spanish and Mexican settlements. As a result of the Gadsden Purchase, the U.S. government assumed a position of responsibility over the Pima Indian community living at San Xavier.

Transition to an American Territory Throughout the the Sobaipuri, Papago, and Pima Indians were encouraged to settle at permanent sites at San Xavier. In a federal executive order relegated land surrounding the mission as reservation land.49 This series of coerced relocations was a major factor that contributed to the abandonment of San Agust The population which occupied the presidio dwindled, with an count of less than A sketch of San Agust n del Pueblito from shows that the convento roof was intact and the adjacent chapel was in restorable condition at that time.52 The Mission is believed to have fallen into ruins between and degradation of the site was significantly impaired by an earthquake.

The California gold rush and subsequent mining development in Arizona prompted an increase of southwestern migration.54 Tucson s inclusion into the U.S. through the Gadsden Purchase of facilitated further Anglo-American 44 Ibid, 45 Archaeology in Tucson. San Agustin: The Original Tucson. Newsletter of the Institute for American Research: Vol. 1, No.3 Spring 46 Thiel, 47 Archaeological Assessment of the Mission Road Extension: Testing at AZ (ASM). Technical Report No. Institute for American Research, Tucson. 48 Young, 49. 49 Hanlon, Capistran John. "Acculturation at San Xavier: Changing Boundaries of A Southwest Indian Community." Order No. University of Colorado at Boulder, 23. 50 Young, 51 MacLaury, Maria Isabel. "La Placita: Vantages of Urban Change in Historic Tucson." Order No.

The University of Arizona., 30 52 Officer, James E. Hispanic Arizona, The University of Arizona Press, Tucson. 53 Thiel, 50. 54 MacLaury, 30. TUCSON ORIGINS HERITAGE SITE HALS NO. AZ-26 PAGE 10 circulation through southern Arizona. Despite the lack of a railroad line into Tucson until the region s incorporation into the U.S. immediately brought an influx of travelers through the area. The first large stagecoach line into Tucson in ushered in an era of rapid population change.55 The town experienced a threefold population increase, from around 400 in to around by By the U.S. Government donated land for a town site at the request of a group of merchants, and Tucson was officially incorporated as an American city.

58 One of the merchants, Leopoldo Carrillo, purchased property on the southern side of the mission site in that same year.59 Carrillo had already constructed a house in the late and may have been growing crops in the area as well. Carrillo incorporated roofing from the convento into his housing construction, which further exacerbated the degradation of the Mission remains.60 By Solomon Warner, another prominent Tucson merchant, began to operate a grist mill in the western margins of the Mission area; this mill operated until the mid-1880s.61 The remains of this mill are visible just west of the mission garden.

Tucson issued a town charter in in that same year, the city donated 200 acres to the Southern Pacific Railroad Company in anticipation of a railroad.62 The Southern Pacific Railroad was completed in and ran directly through the town. From to about 35 Chinese railroad workers gardened in the area adjacent to Spruce Street at the base of Sentinel Peak. Archaeological work at this site revealed two storage barrels, an outdoor hearth, an activity surface, and trash-filled pits.63 The foodstuffs found at the site suggests that the Chinese gardeners practiced a traditional Chinese diet; evidence implies that 55 MacLaury, 30. 56 Pye, Jeremy W. "Living on the Border: Health, Environment, and Multiculturalism in Century Tucson." Order No. University of Florida, 81. 57 Pedersen, Gilbert J.

""THE TOWNSITE IS NOW SECURE": TUCSON INCORPORATES, The Journal of Arizona History 11, no. 3 JSTOR, April 7, 58 Ibid, 82. 59 Pima County Deed Record Book 60 Diehl, Allison and McCune, Marty Tucson Origins Historic Landmark Nomination Proposal. University of Tucson Historic Preservation Office, Tucson. 9. 61 Leighton, David. Street Smarts: Tiny Tucson Street Bears the Name of a Major Influence on the Area. Arizona Daily Star. November 5, 62 Pye, 83. 63 Thiel, 19. TUCSON ORIGINS HERITAGE SITE HALS NO. AZ-26 PAGE 11 the gardeners obtained dried fish from China and the Pacific Ocean to produce traditional cuisine.64,65 Quintus Monier, a naturalized French immigrant, came to Tucson and created a private brickyard in on 25 acres just north of where the mission ruins stood66.

The brickyard was later incorporated as the Tucson Pressed Brick Company which created hydraulically pressed bricks. The brickyard supplied almost every notable construction project at the University of Arizona and most of the residential projects in Tucson until In brickmaking demands resulted in the mission ruins being harvested for brick production.68 Remains of the company include pieces of machinery, samples of bricks and tiles.69 American Statehood During the late century, the Mission was looted by individuals drawn to treasure hunting.70 The site was a popular congregation area, and tourism there became widespread, as illustrated from site photographs taken during the late- and up through the early By the and the City of Tucson repurposed the area as a sanitary landfill.

Several residents attempted to save the site, but their concerns went unheeded. In the University of Arizona performed archaeological salvage excavations as a response to concerns regarding heritage loss. After the excavations were completed, large portions of the Mission were bulldozed. Roughly 80% of the Mission was destroyed due to the landfill and clay mining for brick production.71 64 Diehl, Michael, Jennifer A. Waters, and J. Homer Thiel. "Acculturation and the Composition of the Diet of Tucson's Overseas Chinese Gardeners at the Turn of the Century." Historical Archaeology 32, no. 4 Accessed March 16, 19. 65 Diehl, Michael W, 66 Diehl, Michael W., and Allison Cohen Diehl. Archaeological Investigations of the Tucson Pressed Brick Company, Tucson, Arizona.

[Tucson: Center for Desert Archaeology, 67 Thiel, J. Homer, and Jonathan Mabry, 68 Cosulich, Bernice. Ancient Church Becomes Brick: Where Early Spaniards Worshiped and Died. Accessed: Arizona Historical Society. 69 Ibid, 70 Elson, Mark D., and William H. Doelle Archaeological Assessment of the Mission Road Extension: Testing at AZ (ASM). Technical Report No. Institute for American Research, Tucson, 13. 71 Ibid, TUCSON ORIGINS HERITAGE SITE HALS NO. AZ-26 PAGE 12 In a proposal to reroute Mission Road for future development72 was met with community resistance. Anthropologist and field historian Bernard Fontana later suggested that the site is ideal for an interpretive archaeological exhibit, a cultural park and a museum, with the reconstruction of former buildings.

73 The reroute proposal was vetoed and residents met with public officials in to discuss site restoration.74 Proposition 400 was approved by the public in which focused on making the Mission complex a heritage destination. Rio Nuevo, a Tax Increment Finance District, was created to oversee the project. Construction of the heritage park was initiated in when archaeological remediation was done and a double adobe wall marking the Mission Garden was created. The reconstruction of the rest of the Mission complex was put indefinitely on hold in In concerned citizens attempted to address the termination and named themselves Friends of Tucson s Birthplace (Friends).

This heritage-focused organization was incorporated as an Arizona Corporation Commission in and became a non-profit in Through the support of the Friends, Mission Gardens was re-created to appear as the Spanish Colonial garden that was once part of the original Mission complex. Today, the site features heirloom Sonoran Desert-adapted fruit orchards and vegetable gardens. It is currently available to the public as a heritage destination.77 The southern section of the site which marks the Mission complex is currently vacant. Funded by Rio Nuevo, two proposals have articulated different ways to utilize the land. Both propose to remediate the landfill and create a park.78 Although the land hosting the Mission complex has remained vacant, recent construction was conducted nearby.

In Rio Nuevo oversaw the construction of the Caterpillar building (for Caterpillar Construction Company) just north of the Mission site between Cushing Street and the Santa Cruz River. Additional commercial development has occurred north of Cushing street. This development included the creation of the Mercado shopping districts, market- rate housing developments, and low-income senior housing. 79 72 Archaeology in Tucson. San Agustin: The Original Tucson. Newsletter of the Institute for American Research: Vol. 1, No.3 Spring 73 Devine, David. Tucson: A History of the Old Pueblo from the Gadsden Purchase. 74 Knight, M Susan. Barrio residents ask the city to save historical heart. Arizona Daily Star, February 6th 75 Jun, Teresa. Rio Nuevo s Tucson Origins Park Takes Shape.

Kold News 13, March 76 Ramirez, Raul. Mission Garden s New Tree of Life. Arizona Daily Star, July 77 Friends of Tucson s Birthplace. Mission Garden Project. Missiongarden.org. 78 TIBO. Two Prominent Proposals For The Base Of Sentinel Peak, Tucson s Birthplace. Tiboaz.biz. 79 Rio Nuevo. Caterpillar s Tucson Mining Center. Rionuevo.org TUCSON ORIGINS HERITAGE SITE HALS NO. AZ-26 PAGE 13 While the Tucson Origins Heritage Site holds significant cultural importance to the city s past, and is one of the oldest continually inhabited places in the U.S., the significance of the site has been minimalized over the past century. Through the place s abandonment, industrial repurpose, and pressure for commercial development, only small vestiges of the site s past remain.

Despite the marginalization of the TOHS, the past few decades have seen a renewed interest to preserve this site, particularly through the work of organizations such as Rio Nuevo and the Friends of Tucson s Birthplace. Sitting in the liminal space between abandonment and care, the TOHS embodies all the major phases of Tucson s and Arizona s history: Indigenous habitation, Spanish and Mexican occupations, the transition to a U.S. territory, and final establishment of a U.S. state.

Source document Quoted word for word from HALS AZ-26. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

Archaeological Assessment of the Mission Road Extension: Testing at AZ (ASM). Technical Report No. Institute for American Research, Tucson. Archaeology in Tucson. San Agust n: The Original Tucson. Newsletter of the Institute for American Research: Vol. 1, No.3 Spring Bartlett, John. MS Accessed: Arizona Historical Society. Betancourt, Julio L. An Archaeological Synthesis of the Tucson Basin : Focus on the Santa Cruz and Its Riverpark. [Tucson, Ariz.]: Tucson, Ariz. : Cultural Resource Management Section, Arizona State Museum [Tucson: University of Arizona, Cosulich, Bernice. Ancient Church Becomes Brick: Where Early Spaniards Worshiped and Died. Accessed: Arizona Historical Society. Devine, David. Tucson: A History of the Old Pueblo from the Gadsden Purchase.

Diehl, Allison and McCune, Marty. Tucson Origins Historic Landmark Nomination Proposal. Tucson Historic Preservation Office, Tucson. Diehl, Michael W, ed. Further Archaeological Investigations of the Rio Nuevo South Property, City of Tucson, Arizona. Technical Report No. [Tucson: Center for Desert Archaeology, Diehl, Michael W. Archaeological Investigations of the Early Agricultural Period Settlement at the Base of a Mountain, Tucson, Arizona. Technical Report No. [Tucson: Center for Desert Archaeology, Diehl, Michael W., and Allison Cohen Diehl. Archaeological Investigations of the Tucson Pressed Brick Company, Tucson, Arizona. [Tucson: Center for Desert Archaeology, Diehl, Michael, Jennifer A. Waters, and J. Homer Thiel.

"Acculturation and the Composition of the Diet of Tucson's Overseas Chinese Gardeners at the Turn of the Century." Historical Archaeology 32, no. 4 19- 33. www.jstor.org/stable/25616643 [accessed March 16, TUCSON ORIGINS HERITAGE SITE HALS NO. AZ-26 PAGE 14 Dobyns, Henry F. Spanish Colonial Tucson: A Demographic History. University of Arizona Press, Elson, Mark D., and William H. Doelle Archaeological Assessment of the Mission Road Extension: Testing at AZ (ASM). Technical Report No. Institute for American Research, Tucson, 13. Friends of Tucson s Birthplace. Mission Garden Project. Missiongarden.org. [accessed April 5, Friends of Tucson s Birthplace. Timeline. Missiongarden.org. [accessed April 5, Hard, Robert Jarratt and William H. Doelle. The San Agustin Mission Site, Tucson, Arizona.

Cultural Resource Management Section, Arizona State Museum, [Tucson: University of Arizona, Hanlon, Capistran John. "Acculturation at San Xavier: Changing Boundaries of A Southwest Indian Community." Dissertation. Order No. University of Colorado at Boulder, Jun, Teresa. Rio Nuevo s Tucson Origins Park Takes Shape. Kold News 13, March Knight, M Susan. Barrio residents ask the city to save historical heart. Arizona Daily Star, February 6, Leighton, David. Street Smarts: Tiny Tucson Street Bears the Name of a Major Influence on the Area. Arizona Daily Star. November 5, 51b1f73f3181.html.[accessed April 5, MacLaury, Maria Isabel. "La Placita: Vantages of Urban Change in Historic Tucson." Dissertation, Order No. The University of Arizona, Officer, James E.

Hispanic Arizona, The University of Arizona Press, Tucson, Pedersen, Gilbert J. "The Townsite is now Secure-Tucson Incorporates, The Journal of Arizona History 11, no. 3 JSTOR, [accessed April 7, Pye, Jeremy W. "Living on the Border: Health, Environment, and Multiculturalism in Century Tucson." Dissertation Order No. University of Florida, Ramirez, Raul. Mission Garden s New Tree of Life. Arizona Daily Star, July Rio Nuevo. Caterpillar s Tucson Mining Center. Rionuevo.org [accessed April 6, Sheridan, Thomas E. Arizona: A History, Revised Ed. Tucson: University of Arizona Press, TUCSON ORIGINS HERITAGE SITE HALS NO. AZ-26 PAGE 15 TIBO. Two Prominent Proposals for The Base of Sentinel Peak, Tucson s Birthplace. Tiboaz.biz. [accessed April 6, Thiel, J. Homer, ed.

Archaeological Investigations of a Chinese Gardener s Household, Tucson, Arizona. [Tucson: Center for Desert Archaeology, Thiel, J. Homer. "Life in Tucson, on the Northern Frontier of the Pimer a Alta." In New Mexico and the Pimer a Alta: The Colonial Period in the American Southwest, edited by Douglass John G. and Graves William M., [Boulder: University Press of Colorado, Thiel, J. Homer and Jonathan Mabry, ed. Investigations at the San Agust n Mission and Mission Gardens, Tucson Presidio, Tucson Pressed Brick Company, and Clearwater Site. Technical Report No. [Tucson: Desert Archaeology, Inc., Young, Monica Zappia. The Spanish Colonial Experience and its effects on the Indigenous community of San Agust n Del Tucson: A case study of Spanish Colonial failure.

[Master s thesis, University of Arizona, Historians: Student Contributors (University of Arizona) Abdullah Alabdullatif Penelope Cottrell-Crawford Fallon Murphy Jared Renaud Rebecca Shaw Edited and Submitted by Jennifer Levstik, M.A. (Class Instructor) March HALS Challenge Entry: Vanishing or Lost Landscapes TUCSON ORIGINS HERITAGE SITE HALS NO. AZ-26 PAGE 16 Map of TOHS area, showing character areas. Character area 1 (Mission complex), character area 2 (Mission Gardens and Warner s Mill), and character area 3 (Landfill area) visible. (P. Cottrell-Crawford, TUCSON ORIGINS HERITAGE SITE HALS NO. AZ-26 PAGE 17 Map of the Mission Complex (Character Area 1) within the TOHS. Map shows locations of major historic features within and nearby character area. (P.

Cottrell-Crawford, TUCSON ORIGINS HERITAGE SITE HALS NO. AZ-26 PAGE 18 Map of Mission Gardens and Warner s Mill (Character Area 2), illustrating notable features within the character area. (P. Cottrell-Crawford, TUCSON ORIGINS HERITAGE SITE HALS NO. AZ-26 PAGE 19 Illustrated rendering of a photograph by Charles Watkins taken from Sentinel Peak ( A Mountain). View is looking east. Significant visible elements include Warner Mill, Mission Garden, Convento, Carrillo House, and irrigation from the Santa Cruz River. (P. Cottrell-Crawford, 3-D rendering of Mission San Agust n de Tucson, viewed from above. Aspect faces northeast. (A. Alabdullatif, TUCSON ORIGINS HERITAGE SITE HALS NO. AZ-26 PAGE 20 Tucson Origins Heritage Site as viewed from Sentinel Peak; view facing east. (J.

Renaud, Mission San Agust n site outline as viewed facing southeast. (J. Renaud, TUCSON ORIGINS HERITAGE SITE HALS NO. AZ-26 PAGE 21 Mission San Agust n site outline as viewed facing east. (J. Renaud, Mission San Agust n site outline as viewed facing northeast, from landfill area. (J. Renaud, TUCSON ORIGINS HERITAGE SITE HALS NO. AZ-26 PAGE 22 Mission gardens with Sentinel Peak in background, viewed from landfill area with aspect facing west. (J. Renaud, Close-up view of bedrock mortar south of Warner s Mill. (J. Renaud, TUCSON ORIGINS HERITAGE SITE HALS NO. AZ-26 PAGE 23 Pithouse replica of pre-Hispanic indigenous structures archaeologically documented at site. Aspect faces south. (J. Renaud, Ruins of Warner s Mill, with Sentinel Peak visible in the background.

Aspect faces west- southwest. (J. Renaud,