Tumacacori National Historical Park

Settlement at Tumacacori dates back at least to the early 17th century, when this was the site of a Pima Indian village in north Mexico. The first... more

by Bob and Nadine Johnston

Title

Tumacacori National Historical Park

Artist

Bob and Nadine Johnston

Medium

Photograph - Hand Painted Using 17-30 Styles Of Brushes - On Blank Canvas

Description

Settlement at Tumacacori dates back at least to the early 17th century, when this was the site of a Pima Indian village in north Mexico. The first European visitor was the Spanish Jesuit priest Eusebio Kino, who in 1691 founded a mission at Tumacacori, 18 miles north of Nogales beside the Santa Cruz River, and shortly afterwards established a similar site at nearby Guevavi. An Indian revolt in 1751 caused the Tumacacori mission to be relocated at the present site on the west bank of the river, receiving the full name of Mission San José de Tumacácori, soon after which the modest buildings were enhanced by construction of a small church.
As part of a political change all over the Spanish empire, the Jesuits were replaced by Franciscans in 1768 who instituted further improvements by adding more buildings, redecorating the church and transferring the mission headquarters from Guevavi; like Calabazas (a third mission, built around 1760), this site was abandoned soon after, because of attacks by Apache Indians. It was the Franciscan Catholics who in 1800 began construction of a new, much grander church at Tumacacori, a project that took over 20 years though when complete the church was fully used only until 1828, when the Mexican government forced all Spanish settlers to leave the country. The mission was closed completely following the end of the Mexican-American war in 1848, and became US property in 1853 when land south of the Gila River was transferred to Arizona (the Gadsden Purchase).

Uploaded

January 11th, 2015