Tucson’s Founding

Description

Celebrating its 250th anniversary in August, 2025, Tucson has had a remarkably colorful history originally settled by the Spanish through the construction of a military fort (presidio) as protection against the Apaches.   Pieces of the original fort have been excavated and reconstructed with historic detail through the efforts of Desert Archaeology, Inc. and now managed by the Tucson Presidio.  This 2 session class will describe how and why the Presidio was constructed, examine the efforts of archaeological groups to uncover its rich legacy and share evidence of life on Spain’s northern frontier 200 years ago.  There is an optional visit to the Presidio following the 2nd session.

Presenter:  J. Homer Thiel is Senior Project Director and Historical Archaeologist at Desert Archaeology, Inc. where he has worked since 1992.  His work included locating the walls and corner tower of the original Presidio San Augustin del Tucson, and preparing family histories of all residents of the fortress.  During his career he has analyzed over 500,000 artifacts and examined thousands of documents related to Tucson’s founding.  He has been on the Board of Directors of the Presidio for many years, currently as vice-president.  

2 Fridays, February 7 and 14 at 2:00 p.m. in the Activity Center’s Hopi Room.