Before Being Arizona, It Was New Spain

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Geo: 31.5686, -111.052

After leaving the cousins we headed south a few miles/kilometers to Tumacacori, site of Arizona's first Spanish mission.
First a note about mile markers south of Tuscon. They're metric. I-19 south of Tuscon is marked in kilometers, which plays with your mind as a kilometer is only about 2/3 of a mile. It seemed like we were flying--29 kilometers takes a lot less time than 29 miles.
Weird.
Anyway, on to the hard to pronounce non-town of TumaCAcori.
Say it: Tuuuum-a-KA-koree.
They say it's from the O'odham (original Indian populace) meaning "hard, rocky place."
Fitting.
Established in 1691 by Father Kino, a Jesuit priest, it was the first of the "New Spain" empire in Arizona.
Now wouldn't we be a different place if King Carlos hadn't recalled them like a bad peanut.

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Photos

Tumacacori and the NPS
Only 17 miles north of Mexico, the Jesuits move up the Santa Cruz river to found several missions in Arizona and claim the land for Spain. But they didn't keep it long and it's now part of the National Park Service, it's final protector.

Tumacacori Mission--Arizona's First
In 1691 Jesuit Eusebio Francisco Kino established Tumacacori on the east bank of the Santa Cruz river. But these remains are on the west side. An indian uprising that killed 2 priests and 100 settlers necessitated their moving to the other side of the river in 1753, the same year the Presidio at Tubac was built.

Santa Cruz... UstaBe
This is dry fly country. The river used to flow all down this valley. Now the water table has dropped, leaving this truly dry fly country. Dry when it goes in...drier when it comes out.

Air Conditioning--1700's Style
Adobe walls over 9' thick at the base taper to 2' at the top of the chapel. These windows, just under the roof 32' above the floor, let in light, yet keep the intense summer sun from worshipers below.

Inside the Nave, Looking Towards Sanctuary
Cool, with light filtering down from above, these walls still show remnants of original murals and paintings.

Thick Walls = Cool
Moving from room to room, you appreciate the thickness of these walls. These hummers are 9' thick!

Forever Roofless
Looking up from the arched entry of the mortuary chapel. This round mortuary chapel never got it's roof. Intended as a place for Indians to hold their wakes, it sits in the cemetery behind the chapel.

Unfinished Bell Tower
Nearly 40' high, the unfinished bell tower sits as reminder of the difficult times the Catholic church found itself in in the 1700's. King Carlos of Spain expelled the Jesuits from his entire reign in 1767, thus priests were forced to leave this and other area missions and return to Spain.

Adobe Artistry
When you picture humble O'odham Indians mixing adobe and hauling crossbeams, the building of this mission is even more amazing. Before the arrival of the fathers, these tribes had only built small hogans just big enough for their purpose. A project so grand must have caused much wonder.

Jesuits Expelled, Franciscans Take Over
"The Franciscans, who took over the missionary effort...inherited the woes that had frustrated the Jesuits: restless neophytes, Apache hostility, disease, encroaching settlers and lack of government support," explains the NPS guide.
Not hard to believe. This is not hospitable country.

Back In The Day...
Artist's rendition of what the mission must have looked like. Two years after the Pima revolt of 1751, the mission was moved across the river. Settlers built their homes along the outside walls of the mission to afford themselves some measure of safety.

Modern Entry to AZ's First Mission
In 1853 the Tumacacori site becomes part of the United States. When Tumacacori was made a national monument in 1908, the Forest Service was first responsible for it, but having no money, merely built a fence around it and let it be.
In 1916 the National Park Service was established and thereafter became the mission's caretaker.