The Presidio San Augustin del Tucson

Coming to power in the 1700s, the Bourbon Kings of Spain found their far flung empire in a bit of a shambles. These first Bourbon Kings repeatedly tried to apply French models of government using their enlightened ideals on the Spanish Empire. Through the Kings’ efforts, Spain once again emerged as a world power, if only for a fleeting passage of time.

Due to continuous British hostility, military reforms were especially important to the Spanish Empire. But, with worldwide commitments, the crown was hard pressed not to spread its forces too thinly. In North America, Spain concentrated its military force on the exposed islands and coastlines of the Caribbean basin. That left fewer than 1,000 men to defend the interior provinces of New Spain, a 2,000 mile swath of territory spanning the distance from California to Louisiana. The main threat to the Spanish colonies was the continuous warfare with the Apaches in the northern frontier. King Charles III approved a massive military reorganization for that area. In fulfilling that reorganization, a defensive cordon of Presidios (a fortified military post) was formed that stretched from the Gulf of California to the Gulf of Mexico. These garrisons were meant to be uniformly organized, and then well equipped to battle the Apaches.

Tucson had its origins as one such Spanish Fortress. Captain Hugo O’Conor was given the task in 1771 to oversee the establishment and modernization of the long line of defensive presidios – a logistics challenge of immense proportions at that time, even under the most peaceful of conditions. In 1775, Captain O’Conor chose a parcel of land on the east side of the Santa Cruz River for the soon to be constructed, Presidio San Augustin del Tucson. Solid adobe walls were built to enclose the area, thus protecting the settlers and laborers inside the walls during the all-too-often Apache raids. But, by the time this area was sold to the United States by Mexico in 1853, the raids had abated, and the bricks from the Presidio San Augustin del Tucson were slowly taken from their original purpose, and then used in the construction of surrounding buildings.

Arguably the most famous of all the presidios in the United States is the Alamo, located in San Antonio, Texas. Inside the walls of this stout structure, settlers were protected from most attacks, which nurtured the development of a better, safer community. The entrance area of this presidio is quite ornate - unlike many others that were more utilitarian in design.

Inside the protective fortress walls were homes, barracks, stables, a cemetery, a church, the garrison commander’s house, and several plazas. A pair of gates existed on the east and west walls. By the time The United States bought this area from Mexico, the threat of attacks from the Apaches had diminished to almost nothing. With the need for defense so lowered, the wall was demolished. There is a map of Tucson that was drawn in 1862. This map appears to show the general outline of the Presidio San Augustin del Tucson wall. The last known standing portion of the wall was torn down in 1918.

New Life and Irony

For many years, Presidio San Augustin del Tucson dutifully took care of the people who lived near it. Now, ironically – the shoe is on the other foot. Now, the people who live near the wall – or where it once kept its vigil – are trying to protect it from falling out of history, and into oblivion.

It has taken painstaking work by The Center for Desert Archeology to examine historic documents and old photographs, excavate trenches and study artifacts to find the actual area of the Presidio San Augustin del Tucson. In 1991, in Conjunction with Karl Glass of the University of Arizona, the Center worked on a ground-penetrating radar study that suggested that some of the Presidio walls were intact beneath the surface. Center for Desert Archeology volunteers tirelessly helped to excavate trenches in the Pima County Courthouse courtyard, and found a north-south adobe wall resting on a stone foundation. It was an exciting find. This adobe wall is very possibly the original east Presidio wall. In 1998, the Center returned to search for the south, west and north walls of the Presidio. Five areas were excavated. These excavations illustrate that much more of Tucson’s Presidio survives than had been previously thought. The efforts on behalf of the wall continue…