fautrever.com

It was a beautiful sunny morning as we drove south through the Santa Cruz Valley towards Tumacacori National Historic Park, just about twenty miles north of Nogales on the Mexican border. This scenic valley has a long history of human occupation; the earliest evidence stretches back into the last Ice Age over 12,000 years ago, making it one of the longest inhabited areas in the U.S.

There is archaeological evidence of farming and plant cultivation as far back as 4,000 years ago. Of course the details of those early farmers are scant. The first written accounts of the Native Americans living in the Santa Cruz Valley come from early Spanish missionaries. In 1687 Father Eusebio Francisco Kino, a Jesuit priest, arrived in the area now known as Sonora, Mexico and southern Arizona. Kino brought with him more than the word of God; he also brought cattle, sheep, horses, goats, apricot, quince, fig, apple and pomegranate trees, grapes and most importantly, a crop that grew well in winter, wheat.

At each village Kino celebrated Mass, helped solve disputes, and distributed seeds and livestock. Word quickly spread of the benevolent priest’s gifts and in January of 1691 the small Pima village of Tumacacori invited Kino to their home. Briefly, I must point out that the inhabitants of the valley were already doing well. They supplemented their cultivated squash, beans, and corn with wild game and they had skilled craftsmen who wove baskets, sculpted pottery, and wove clothing from the cotton in their fields. Their special long-fiber cotton is still grown today, in fact it is highly regarded for its softness. It bears the name given to the people by the Spanish, Pima.

Another quick aside: Tumacacori is a Spanish corruption of a native phrase, “where the wild chiles are gathered.” The phrase can’t be far from the truth, for even today in the hills near the original village grows a small pepper plant: the chiltepin. It is endemic to the area, it is intensely hot, and it is the mother plant of all the spicy American chiles. Small and round, they don’t resemble jalapeños, serranos, or other chile peppers—but trust me, they have the heat!

Now back to our tall, black-robed priest. That January Kino established mission San Cayetano de Tumacacori (later renamed San Jose de Tumacacori) under a rough-hewn ramada. Later in the month he also started San Gabriel de Guevavi a few miles to the south. A busy man, in 1692 he headed north to the area near what is now Tucson to set up the mission at San Xavier del Bac followed by San Agustin de Oiaur in 1694.

Father Kino actively sought out other tribes in his territory, ultimately roaming over 50,000 miles in his travels which enabled him to draw the first accurate maps of southern Arizona and Baja California. He was also an prolific writer who not only wrote of his journeys but also glowing letters in defense of the tribes in an attempt to stop the Spanish government from enslaving them.

Even though his missions were far flung, Kino checked on them often by traveling for days on horseback, and he continued his visits well into his 70s. In 1711 Father Kino passed away while attending the dedication of a chapel in Magdalena, Sonora. He is still interred in a crypt near one of the missions he founded (which is probably the way he would have wanted it).

Father Kino’s missions have suffered various fates through the years; of the four in the Santa Cruz Valley only San Xavier still serves its people today (the Tohono O’odham). Even though Guevavi was once the headquarters for the missions very little of it remains. The low adobe walls are crumbling into the ground, as are the ruins of the much later established San Cayetano de Calabazas while San Agustin in Tucson has long since disappeared.

The still-standing church and some of the mission buildings at Tumacacori have been stabilized but not restored. Thankfully they are protected. In 1908 President Theodore Roosevelt created Tumacacori National Monument and in 1990 Congress upgraded the property to a National Historic Park. The change also added the nearby ruins of Guevavi and Calabazas to the Park.

Throughout the year the Park hosts various cultural events and demonstrations. During our visit the Park was using mesquite wood to heat a griddle for homemade corn tortillas. They were delicious! We watched the woman as she patted out the small rounds with precision and placed them on the griddle, flipping them at just the right moment so that they were perfectly toasted on each side. She must have done that at least a million times in her life.

It is interesting to note that the remaining buildings at all these sites were never seen by Father Kino himself. It seems his focus was on the people and improving their farming and survival techniques, not on building grand places of worship. The buildings were almost all undertaken by Franciscan priests who replaced the Jesuits by order of King Carlos III in 1767, long after Father Kino’s death.

The story of Spanish influence doesn’t end with the missionaries as a Spanish military presence was soon required to protect the small communities from the marauding Apaches. In 1693 cavalry were sent to protect the Sonoran frontier. Stronger protection was needed and in 1752 the small presidio of Tubac was founded, four miles north of Tumacacori. Tubac is best remembered for its second captain who arrived in 1760 at the ripe old age of 24, Juan Bautista de Anza.

Anza, though young, was battle scarred and tested and he was determined to fulfill his deceased father’s vision of a establishing a land route from the Sonoran frontier to the coast of California. In 1774 Anza led a small party of roughly 30 men over 400 miles across the desert from the presidio at Tubac to Mission San Gabriel (roughly ten miles east of modern-day downtown Los Angeles). Their two and a half month journey connected and greatly expanded Spain’s holdings in the New World. Upon Anza’s successful return to Sonora, planning began for a colonizing expedition.

Tubac was the gathering point for the soldiers, families, and herds of livestock before the caravan set off. On October 23, 1775, the long march began with Lieutenant Colonel Anza leading the way. The party consisted of 240 men, women, and children, 300 beef cattle, 340 horses, 165 pack mules, and over ten tons of equipment and provisions. The entire party stretched over a mile long. Think about this for a minute: every morning the sacks of flour, beans, chocolate, sugar, cornmeal, and barrels of rum as well as all the other supplies had to be loaded unto the mules and every night they had to be unloaded. What a tremendous amount of work!

Even though the party encountered snow and freezing temperatures, long stretches without water, and threat of attack by local tribes, the expedition only lost one life. Amazingly, a mother who died after giving birth on the first night of the journey was the only death during the 165-day trip. The entire party stopped the next day at San Xavier del Bac to hold the funeral service and also perform three marriages.

The weary group was relieved to reach the presidio at Monterey on March 10, 1776. On March 28th, Anza led a small group of soldiers to explore the site of the new settlement on the Rio San Francisco. At a spot near where the Golden Gate Bridge now stands, Anza dedicated the San Francisco Presidio. His job accomplished, Anza left Lieutenant Moraga in charge of establishing the mission and the presidio and returned to Sonora. In 1777 Anza was rewarded for his success with the governorship of the Province of New Mexico.

There is another interesting connection between Anza and one of Father Kino’s missions, Anza’s mother was buried in front of the altar of Guevavi. In 1990 Congress created the Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail which follows Anza’s 1200 mile trek from Nogales, Arizona to San Francisco, California. For much of his journey in what is now Arizona, Anza followed the Santa Cruz River. Today the river no longer flows along most of the route but the portions of the trail that have been completed are worth exploring.

There is currently a bill slowly making its way through Congress to designate the entire Santa Cruz Valley as a National Heritage Area. The bill passed the House in October and will hopefully make the floor in the Senate sometime soon. Unlike the creation of a National Park or Monument, the Heritage Area designation does not restrict private property rights nor does it require an annual budget. Instead it is a Federal program that provides matching funds for projects that help tell the story of the area.

The designation seems to have everyone’s support and we hope it gets approved soon. Something to think about: without Father Kino’s missions, there would have been no presidio at Tubac. Without the presidio at Tubac, there would have been no Captain Juan Bautista de Anza. And without Anza, there would be no San Francisco. Well, at least not the way it is today. Learn more about the Heritage Area at Santa Cruz Valley Heritage Alliance.

Photos: View our photos from the Missions of the Santa Cruz Valley.