Tubac Historical Society

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Tubac Historical Society

Where History Has a Home! We research, preserve, and share history with Tubac and the area. Visit us during our normal operating hours, or make an appointment!

Now over 50 years old, THS was conceived of in the fall of 1966 by concerned citizens who wanted to save the Old Tubac Schoolhouse, which had been built in 1885. “By organizing THS, its founders not only saved the schoolhouse, which is now located on the grounds of the Tubac Presidio State Historic Park but also established a viable historical society.” THS continues to preserve and promote local and southwest history.

10/05/2026

The Need for Water

At Tumacácori National Historical Park, they are blessed to have a perennial river out their back door. In southern Arizona, we are always very cognizant of the need for water as summer reaches across the desert with a blazing sun and sometimes ferocious heat.

The rivers are historically important as routes of travel and even our hardy explorer, Father Eusebio Kino, traveled from river to river, usually making jumps across dry land during the night.

Kino did record a trek across the unknown, with no knowledge of water or animal feed. Kino’s observation is interesting in that he discusses how they were supplied.
“We went with the precaution of loading the mules with crates full of ollas and gourds to carry water and grass…”

One would have expected bags, but gourds, while lightweight, would be fragile, and ollas (earthenware jars) would have been heavy, especially filled with water. The mule train must have been extensive.

Kino’s luck held and the route turned out to be well carpeted with grass and they found ample water. The traveler’s left the containers and the mules at the native rancheria (the site is located within Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument).

10/04/2026

Join us for Crossing Borders: The Pilgrimage of San Francisco Xavier to Magdalena, Sonora with Speaker Alex La Pierre of Borderlandia at the Tubac Presidio State Historic Park and Museum.

10/03/2026

Sonoran Revolutionary Female Militia at the Tubac Center of the Arts 🎬 Free - RSVP Required 🍿(see link in comments)

Did you know that women fought in the Mexican Revolution?

They were known as "soldaderas" —women who traveled with Mexico’s revolutionary armies, caring for soldiers, preparing food and supplies, and, in some cases, taking up arms themselves. Some dressed as men and fought alongside male soldiers. Their courage and stories became part of Mexican history, legend, music—and cinema.
During the golden age of Mexican film, the women and stories of the Revolution came dramatically to life on the screen.

🇲🇽 Join the Tubac Historical Society at the Tubac Center of the Arts as we commemorate the anniversary month of the Mexican Revolution and explore the fascinating story of the soldaderas.

Phil Halpenny will begin the evening with a short presentation on the history and roles of these remarkable women. Guests will also have an opportunity to view a collection of wonderful vintage Mexican movie posters.

Then, settle in for a special screening of the classic 1959 Mexican film, "La Cucaracha," starring two legendary actresses of Mexican cinema, María Félix and Dolores del Río.

🎬 We have a movie—and a remarkable piece of Mexican history—to share with you at the TCA.

🍿 Refreshments will be available!

10/01/2026

204 Years: A Woeful Anniversary at Tumacácori National Historical Park

Tuesday, October 1, 1822, two hundred and four years ago, would be the start of a sad month. Father Ramón Liberós held a solemn ceremony that dedicated the brand-new cemetery at San José de Tumacácori. The cemetery, walled and containing the beginnings of a cylindrical mortuary chapel, would create a quiet sanctuary for the dead. The cemetery was large, perhaps a harbinger of the deaths that Father Liberós expected in the future.

The dedication accompanied the first burial in the new cemetery. María Teresa Gónzalez, the 5-year-old daughter of resident O’odham parents, was buried in the newly established children’s section.

Father Liberós had arrived in May. He had been the administrative secretary for the Franciscan order. His assignment must have caused him mixed feelings. It implied the trust the administrators had in him, but he had been sent to the end of the world to fix a very big mess. The 33-year-old, blue-eyed, bearded priest began dealing with the embezzlement and scandal of his predecessor. He also took the reins of the mission just as the aftereffects of Mexican independence became reality with an anti-clerical attitude and a total lack of funding.

At the local level, the priest found himself with around 600 parishioners from the nearby ranches and settlements and the mission. He had a flock who were deficient in carrying out their Catholic obligations. Many “had not confessed for 7 or 8 years.”
October would start badly, and Father Liberós would feel discouraged by the end of the month. Administrative difficulties were one thing. To bury a child was another. María Teresa was only the first child to die. On October 20, Francisca Vañó, a two-year-old girl from an Apache family residing at Tumacácori, passed. She joined Maria in the children’s section.

On October 29 Catalina Carrillo, an O’odham child living at the mission, died. The illness that struck the 6-year-old and the two girls who preceded her is unrecorded.
Father Liberós carried on, perhaps disheartened. Many administrative tasks still lay ahead. He concentrated on trying to finish the large adobe church before Christmas, and tending his congregation.

09/30/2026

Passing Tumacácori

In a quest to get rich quick during the California Gold Rush, many people traveled down the Santa Cruz River, passing Tumacácori and the mostly abandoned pueblo of Tubac. The earlier travelers found the Tumacácori church relatively intact. This account dated Sunday September 30, 1849, almost a year after abandonment, points out how much was left in the church. Items that could be used by nearby ranches still remained inside the church. Was it reverence or does it suggest the land was abandoned?

“After travelling a few miles we come to another ruined church; here the Church appears in the distance to be a very fine building, much the best, we have seen since we left the states, and in visiting it, we found it to be a building possessing much architectural beauty; a fine cupola and four bells hanging and one down. they were 18 inches in diameter; our boys rang them and they could be heard at a great distance. The Church was built of burnt bricks…there are candlesticks and chairs and considerable carved and turned work.”

The diary of Archibald Sampson Robards

Photo 1: The 1919 church doors on the church.

Photo 2: the bell tower in 1935

Tumacácori National Historical Park

09/24/2026

On September 24, 1776, Father Francisco Tómas Hermenegildo Garcés sat down to pen a letter to the Guardian of the Franciscan College, Diego Ximénez Pérez. Garcés had just returned to Tumacácori after a 2,000-mile journey. The priest must’ve been weary and footsore. He surely was glad to drink a cup of chocolate and enjoy the rough comforts of what, at least, passed for home.

Garcés was born in north-central Spain under a wandering star. He entered the Franciscan order in 1758 and was ordained a priest in 1763. He was among the few chosen for New Spain and must’ve been excited at the prospect of replacing the Jesuits on the frontier. His journey to present-day Arizona started with a shipwreck when he arrived in Mexico, portending a future of adventure. He was assigned to the northern edge of the Spanish frontier at San Xavier del Bac near Tucson. Garcés spent little time at his northern church. In 1768 he explored the Gila and the Colorado Rivers. That journey would be the first of five entradas.

In 1775, with a vision to establish missions further north and west, he had journeyed with the Anza Expedition as far as the Colorado River, and planted the seeds of a new mission, La Purisima Concepcion. Garces wasted little time among the Quechan at his new mission. On October 21, 1775, he traveled north to present day Needles, then journeyed west to the San Bernardino Valley. Climbing a mountain, he had his first view of the Pacific Ocean. He visited Mission San Gabriel before returning via the Mojave villages and trekking as far as east as the Hopi village of Oraibi in present-day Arizona. No doubt he was disappointed in the hostile reaction from the Hopi after having received favorable receptions before that.

Garcés was back at Tumacácori about Tuesday, September 17. A week later, on September 24, with his thoughts arranged and his energy back, he began writing a series of recommendations he felt would solidify the frontier for God and Spain. Sadly, his visions were not realized. Back at the Colorado, Garcés would be martyred five years later during an uprising by the Quechan whom he had hoped to evangelize.

Image 1: Father Garces
Image 2: Artist's conception of the Jesuit Church at Tumacácori National Historical Park

09/18/2026

September 15, 1908
National Hispanic Heritage Month and Tumacácori

In 1899, Carmen Mendez filed homestead application to a portion of the grant which included the old Tumacacori mission church and grounds. By this time there were numerous homesteaders in the district.

On June 30, 1908, Mendez relinquished to the federal government his rights to 10 acres of this, which included the mission and most of the site of the abandoned Indian village. By this time a great many people from various parts of the country were taking an interest in the historic old church, and there was much desire that it be set aside and protected against the elements and vandalism.

On September 15, 1908, President Theodore Roosevelt proclaimed the Mendez relinquishment as Tumacacori National Monument.

Address

6 Burruel
Tubac, AZ
85646

Opening Hours

9am - 12pm

Telephone

+15203982020

Website

http://www.tubachistory.org/

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