Tumacácori National Historical Park
The
Tumacacori (Tuma-cock-cori) Park and mission are situated about 4 miles south
of Tubac in the upper Santa Cruz River Valley.
The park encompasses about 360 acres and is split up into three
different areas. Inside the park's
grounds sits the Spanish mission ruins, other ruins, and the museum
which is housed in a 1937 building.
The first
mission was constructed by Jesuit padre Eusebio Kino in 1691. It was built on the east side of the Santa
Cruz River near the O’odham or the Sobaipuri communities. They called this the Mission San Cayetano de
Tumacacori and it was the oldest Jesuit mission found in southern Arizona. Just following the 1751 Pima uprising, it was
moved to its present location given the new name of San Jose de
Tumacacori. After the mission was left
neglected and empty for years, by 1848, it started crumbling down and was in
poor condition. In 1908, the mission
started getting the renovation and steadiness it badly needed after then
President, Theodore Roosevelt proclaimed the mission to now be the Tumacacori
National Monument. In 1990, the Tumacacori
National Historical Park was born and the mission became part of it.
Today, you
can take a walking tour “in the
footprints of the past”. It will
cost $5.00 for the tour and is well worth it.
You then step outside and can’t help to see the immense mission with its
overwhelming presence. You can take your
time and enjoy all the impressive carving, paintings, and ruins inside and
around the mission.
Lots of great history there.
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