If you are in Tubac or driving back from Sonoita through Patagonia, then make sure to stop at this National Historic Park.
The Park is located in the upper Santa Cruz River Valley in Santa Cruz County, southern Arizona and consists of 360 acres in three separate units. The park protects the ruins of three Spanish mission communities, two of which are National Historic Landmark sites. It also contains the landmark 1937 Tumacácori Museum building, also a National Historic Landmark. The buildings are basically ruins and not fully restored. You can see homes and other buildings.
The highlight is the Mission San Jose de Tumacacori which was established in 1691 by Jesuit padre Eusebio Kino in a different nearby location. After the Pima rebellion of 1751, the mission was moved to the present site on the west side of the Santa Cruz River. By 1848, the mission was abandoned and began falling into severe disrepair. In 1854 it became a part of the U.S. Arizona Territory, after the Gadsen Purchase. Restoration and stabilization efforts began in 1908 when the site was declared Tumacácori National Monument by President Theodore Roosevelt. In 1990 it became part of the new Tumacácori National Historical Park.
