Paul & Tara Visit the National Parks: Tumacacori National Historical Park

Visited: Nov 2021

Nearby city: Nogales, AZ

In the Santa Cruz River valley, on the border between Arizona and Mexico, lie the ruins of a Spanish mission. Tumacacori (a Pima word for "place of the flat rock") National Historical Park preserves three separate ruins of Spanish missions in this area, the largest being the Mission San Jose de Tumacacori (pictured above).

Mission San Jose de Tumacacori was first established by Father Eusebio Kino in 1691. Kino, a Jesuit priest, was employed by the Spanish Empire to spread Catholic beliefs in their new territories. Kino established over 24 missions throughout what is now the American Southwest and was instrumental in spreading Catholicism in the New World. Kino introduced agricultural innovations to the Native Americans, and taught them how to raise cattle, sheep, and goats. Kino also worked as an amateur geographer, cartographer, and astronomer.

Begin your visit at the Tumacacori Museum and Visitor's Center to learn about the life and times of Kino and life at the mission.

statue of Father Kino

In 1751, the Pima (or O'odham) Tribe rebelled against Spanish rule in the Santa Cruz River Valley and the Mission was vacated for two years. When the Jesuits returned in 1753, they began construction on the Mission that stands to this day. The Church is a Spanish Colonial architectural style.

the church is framed beautifully by an arch window in the Museum

In 1768 King Carlos III of Spain grew wary that the growth of Jesuit influence would overshadow the Spanish Crown's influence in colonial Mexico. Carlos ordered that all Jesuits be expelled from the colony and return to Spain. The mission and church was abandoned for several decades. In 1828, Franciscan friars came through the area. They saw the decay of the church and decided to preserve it in its present form. After the Gadsden Purchase of 1853, Tumacacori became a part of U.S. Territory. President Theodore Roosevelt designated the Mission as a National Monument in 1908, and in 1990 the monument was expanded and re-designated as Tumacacori National Historical Park.

Enjoy a plesant stroll around the grounds of the Mission.