Mission Site at Tumacácori

I have been intrigued with missions after seeing my first one in southern California in 1986, Mission San Juan Capistrono. I bought a family of glass swallows at that mission which are displayed on a corner shelf in our home. I also toured the El Paso Mission in Texas back in the early 90s.

We first visited the Tumacácori Mission in March 2009. When I realized last week we would have the time to stop on our geocaching adventure, I begged for 15 minutes with the camera. I think I took more than 15, but I was delighted to wander in this National Historic Park south of Tucson.

entrance to visitor center & museum

built in 1937

San José de Tumacácori

mission church from a window in the visitor center

"Mass is held yearly on the first Sunday of December during the Tumacácori Fiesta. It is held in front of the church due to the large number of people in attendance. A Mass is held inside the church once each year in conjunction with Tubac Presidio State Historic Park's "Anza Day" in October."

started as a small church in 1757 by Jesuit missionaries

Franciscans began building a larger church in 1800

bell tower over the baptistry

bell tower was never completed

it was the third floor of the tower

notice the tiled floor of the baptistry 

above the baptistery was the robe room

and entrance to the choir loft

sanctuary wall behind the altar

flower cross on the altar

ceiling of the sanctuary

remnants of framed pictures & original wall paintings

detailed carving on the church's wooden door

bell tower view from the ruin window

ruin probably where the priest lived

sanctuary dome and sacristy view from ruin window

traditional O'odham dwelling called a melhok ki

meaning ocotillo house

with a juato or mesquite ramada

grinding stones

dome over the sanctuary and roof over sacristy

clay pots in the storehouse

"Foodstuffs were stored here for distribution to the community. Prior to the coming of the Spanish, the local diet consisted of squash, beans, corn, game, and wild plants. The Spanish brought domestic sheep, goats, and cattle, adding protein to the diet. They brought wheat, which could be grown in winter, as well as fruit trees, such as apricot, fig, quince, and pomegranate, providing a pleasing dietary variety."

"The graves on the north side of the cemetery come into view. These are also burials from the early twentieth century. Any evidence of mission-era graves was destroyed long ago by weather, treasure hunters, and cattle. Toward the end of the nineteenth century the cemetery was used as a corral during cattle drives and roundups. Families who moved into the area around 1900 knew it as campo santo (holy ground) and used it once again to bury their dead. Juanita Alegria's grave is the last burial (1916) and the only one which has been identified."

mortuary chapel ~ 16' in diameter

"Five hundred ninety-three burials were recorded at Tumacácori between 1755 and 1825. The location of the "old cemetery" associated with the Jesuit church is unknown. Thirty-six burials were registered by Father Ramón Liberós between 1822 and 1825 in this, the "new cemetery." María Teresa 26 Gutiérrez, a Pima child "some five years of age," was the first. Perhaps she was a victim of one of the terrible epidemics of smallpox or measles that swept through the missions. A few were killed during Apache raids. Records from 1825 to 1848 when Tumacácori was abandoned have never been found."

mission wall built in 1770s

niches held the 14 stations of the cross

rain spout on the wall of the church

the church was abandoned in 1848

1937 addition that houses the museum

and visitor center

sidewalk bricks in front of the visitors' center

Father Kino also started San Xavier del Bac, another Tumacácori Mission closer to Tucson. San Xavier is a working mission as well as a National Historic Park. We have visited it several times.