Presidios — military bases — were the major protection of the frontier of New Spain. There are three presidio sites in Arizona that reward the visitor in different ways. I discussed the Tubac Presidio in an earlier blog. The partially reconstructed Tucson Presidio, at 133 W. Washington St., downtown, serves as a focus for living history programs, and is administered by Tucson Parks and Recreation. These two sites are easily accessible within modern towns, and each one is a great place to learn about this vital institution of the Spanish frontier.
However there is a third presidio site, Santa Cruz de Terrenate in the San Pedro Valley, where one can begin to understand the presidio experience on a different level. The Terrenate Presidio was established in 1775 by Don Hugo Oconor, who was also Tucson’s first commandant. It was built on high ground above the San Pedro River, so that folks had to climb down out of sight of the fort to get to their water and to work their fields. It was designed on the European plan, with bastions for cannon — which might have been effective against mass attacks, but not sudden raids by a few warriors. The post was simply untenable, because of its isolation and closeness to Apache country. It lasted until 1780, when it was abandoned due to Apache pressure. In those five years fields and dwellings had been destroyed, livestock run off, and eighty residents killed.
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After 1780, the unfinished site lay deserted until the 1950s, when Dr. Charles Di Peso of the Amerind Foundation excavated it. The foundations of fortifications and buildings were identified and stabilized. And there it sits all alone to this day. You can visit the site, which takes a bit of a walk over smooth trails, follow a self-guided tour, and get a true sense of just how precarious and isolated presidial life must have been in the late 18th century. For me, it fills in the gaps of experience left after visits to both Tucson and Tubac, and a visit there is well worth the time and the stroll (but not, perhaps, in summer!)
The presidio site is part of the San Pedro National Riparian Conservation Area, and is administered by the Bureau of Land Management. For information on how to get there, visit the BLM office at 1763 Paseo San Luis in Sierra Vista, or call 1-520-439-6400. One can also get directions at the store and museum in the ghost town of Fairbank, open Friday through Sunday in late mornings and afternoons.
I am indebted to Jody Barker of the BLM office for sending me information concerning this fascinating site.
