Tumacacori and Empire Ranch

Tumacacori and Empire Ranch

March 13-14, 2019

On Wednesday, March 13 we rode to Tumacacori with Wade and Debi.  Here's another picture of our campsite.

In 1691 the mission San Cayetano de Tumacacori was founded.  In 1751 the O'odham Indians attacked Spanish settlements killing many people.  The mission community moved to its current location, possibly for the protection of the presidio (military post) in nearby Tubac.  In the foreground is the ruins of the first church built by 1757.

Around 1800 construction of a larger church was started, but the poverty in the area and the Mexican wars slowed progress on the building.  The church was never finished as intended in the beginning, but it was in use by 1820.  When a decree from Mexico in 1828 forced all Spanish born residents to leave the country Tumacacori lost its last priest.  The Indians and a few settlers hung on but Apache raids and a harsh winter drove them all out in 1848.  The church was abandoned, but became a National Monument in 1908, and part of the National Park Service in 1916.  Preservation and archeological work began in 1917.  Here is the church today.

Around the church are ruins of the community: the plaza, the cemetery, and the round mortuary chapel.

There was also a lime kiln, an orchard, and an outside kitchen where they were making cornbread and hardtack the way it would have been made back then.

After we left it was lunch time and we had a choice of Mexican or hamburgers for lunch.  We chose hamburgers and went to Manny's Cowboy Burgers.  It was really small, only 5 tables and some stools at the counter.  Manny was the 'chef' and did all the cooking.  He liked to talk too, and told us about his life as a chef at the Marriott in New York City, doing training in many Marriott restaurants, and other restaurants he opened and sold in large cities across the country.  After we ate our hamburgers, which were very good, and we were the only people left he brought out his guitar and sang cowboy songs for us.  He was an interesting character.  If you're ever in Rio Rico, AZ stop by.

On Thursday, March 14 we took the short drive to the Empire Ranch, part of the Las Cienegas National Conservation Area where we are camped.  It was originally established in the 1860s as a homestead ranch of 160 acres with a flat topped four-room adobe ranch house and adjoining adobe-walled corral.

In 1876 the ranch was sold for $2,000 and between 1876 and 1969 were owned by the Vail and then Boice families.  The ranch eventually grew to over 100,000 acres and the ranch house was built to include more than 22 rooms.  You can see the original adobe structure on the left.  Here are just a few of the rooms.

During the 1940 and 1950s many Hollywood films were shot at the Empire Ranch.  This is a list of films made in the area.

There are several outbuildings and barns and these are a few of them.

This shows the additions to the house over the years.

In 1969 the ranch was sold to a corporation which planned a large residential community, but ranching was continued under a lease program.  In 1974 the land was purchased by a mining company for its water rights, continuing to be leased for ranching.  Fortunately none of the commercial plans happened and in 1976 the ranch house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.  In 1988 a series of land swaps put the land under the Bureau of Land Management (BLM).  In 2000, the U.S. Congress designated the 42,000 acres to be Las Cienegas National Conservation Area (LCNCA).  The land is still leased for ranching and our neighbors are the 4-legged variety that say "moo".  Today the buildings and grounds are preserved and are an interesting peek into the past.  If you're ever in the Sonoita, AZ area and like history it's worth a stop.

We came back and sat outside for a while, long enough to roast some marshmallows over a fire and make s'mores.  Life is short, eat dessert first!  When it got too cold to sit out we went inside and had dinner.

Wade and Debi left Friday morning and it's been really quiet around here.  We had a great time camping with them and hope to meet up on the road sometime.

Roving on...

The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament shows His handiwork.  Psalm 19:1