Casa Grande Ruins National Monument

We’ve been in the area many times, but never managed to get here. We finally got it done, and we were not disappointed in any way.

Scientists believe this land has had human inhabitants for between 8,000 and 10,000 years. Early inhabitants were hunters and gatherers, living off what they could forage. By the 300’s AD, the sophistication of the inhabitants allowed them to become a farming culture instead.

Apparently in those times, the locals became experts in water control. Using simple wooden sticks and makeshift hoes, they built an extensive network of irrigation ditches running off the Gila and Salt Rivers. The irrigation allowed farming the otherwise arid lands, and allowed the populations of these people to mushroom.

The Casa Grande ruins lie nearly a mile from the Gila River. Scientists estimate that over 2,000 people lived in this development, only surviving because the irrigation systems allowed them to farm successfully. Interestingly, while the development is a mile from the Gila River, scientists who have mapped the irrigation channels have determined that the water that fueled farming here actually left the Gila river at a channel sluice that was nearly 16 miles north of Casa Grande.

It wasn’t until 1694 that white Europeans, who recorded their discoveries in writing, arrived at the Casa Grande ruins. Padre Eusebio Francisco Kino was credited as being the first European to visit the site, and he named the large Hohokam ruin “Casa Grande”, or Great House.

We thoroughly enjoyed the visit, despite the heat. We learned that the ruins were well known in the 1800’s, with visitors carving their names (now known as graffiti) in the historic plaster walls. By 1892 President Benjamin Harrison designated it as a historical preserve.

In 1918, Woodrow Wilson designated it as a National Monument. The roof that protects it was built in 1932 at a cost of $27,000. In 2007 it was painted at a cost of $100,000.

We learned a lot about the sophistication of the builders. The structure was 4 stories tall, with floors being created using pine logs – the only pine logs available being in a forest 80 miles away, so the logs were literally carried here as the residents had no pack animals like oxen or horses. The square walls are within a couple degrees of true North, South, East and West. One side wall has two couple foot diameter openings. On both the solar and lunar solstice, the images on the wall directly opposing the openings present a perfect image, signifying the builders knew both of the solstices and how to build a structure that would conform.

We got a private guided tour by Rick Fox, a Park Service volunteer. From him we learned the state tree – Palo Verde – the state flower – Saguaro flower – state bird – the Cactus Wren. He gave us an excellent tour, and finished with a cowboy poem from a cowboy born in Prescott. We loved every minute of it.

Talk to you soon!