Early Inhabitants: The Archaic and Agricultural Cultures

The Aravaipa watershed has been inhabited for over 9,500 years, starting with hunters and gatherers during the Archaic Period. Later, the Mogollon, Hohokam, and Saladoan peoples settled here. The Hohokam and Salado were skilled agriculturalists, living in pithouse villages and maintaining a complex social structure. The canyon’s limited space made large-scale farming difficult, so these groups used the land seasonally, utilizing a variety of plants such as saguaro and prickly pear cacti, mesquite, oak, juniper, agave, and sotol. Hunting and fishing were likely also seasonal activities.

The Salado and Turkey Creek Cliff Dwelling

The Salado people left the canyon by 1450, but remnants of their culture remain. One of the most intact examples is the Turkey Creek cliff dwelling, located just 1.4 miles south of the east wilderness entrance. This site, likely inhabited by farmers around 1300 AD, offers a fascinating glimpse into their way of life. A trail leads visitors up to the structure, but please help protect this ancient site by refraining from climbing on the cliff walls.

The Aravaipa Apache

In the mid-1800s, the Aravaipa Apache tribe inhabited the canyon and Aravaipa Valley, nestled between the Galiuro and Pinaleño mountains. Their way of life was based on hunting, gathering, and some corn agriculture. They moved seasonally, collecting foods such as mescal, saguaro fruit, mesquite beans, pinyon nuts, and acorns. The Apache lived in dome-shaped brush dwellings and stored their food in round baskets.

A Strategic Corridor: Spanish and Anglo Influence

During the colonial era, Spanish and Anglo settlers used Aravaipa Canyon as a travel route between Tucson and the Gila Valley. At the same time, the Apache used the canyon for raiding routes into Sonora. The Sobaipuri people, living to the west of the San Pedro River, provided a buffer for the Spanish against Apache raids. However, by 1762, the Apache raids became so frequent and severe that the Sobaipuri left the area, joining the Pima at San Xavier Mission in Tucson.

Camp Grant and the Apache Conflict

As tensions with the Apache intensified, Camp Grant was established in 1856 at the junction of the San Pedro River and Aravaipa Creek. In 1871, the Apache, led by Chief Eskiminzin, agreed to stop their raids and settle near the camp, seeking protection under U.S. military oversight. However, that same year, the infamous Camp Grant Massacre occurred on April 30, when a group of Tucson citizens, Mexican Americans, and Tohono O’odham people attacked the Apache camp. The attackers killed 144 Apaches, primarily women and children, in a brutal surprise assault, leaving the men, who were out hunting, unable to defend their families.

Following the massacre, Camp Grant was moved to the south side of Mount Graham in 1872. Soon after, around 1,500 Aravaipa and Pinal Apache were forcibly marched to the San Carlos Apache Reservation. The journey was grueling, and many died from exposure, malnutrition, and illness. The Apache were confined to the San Carlos Reservation, where conditions were harsh and their way of life disrupted, a stark contrast to the fertile, water-rich environment of Aravaipa Canyon. The massacre remained largely unacknowledged for many years, but in the 1990s, efforts to recognize the tragedy began, including a formal apology from Tucson residents in 1996 and the return of a victim’s skull to the Aravaipa Apache in 2013.

The Arrival of Settlers and Growth of Aravaipa

In the 1870s, Anglo and Hispanic settlers began arriving in Aravaipa Canyon, attracted by opportunities in mining, farming, and ranching. With the end of Apache hostilities, settlement increased in the 1890s, driven by short-term mining booms. The village of Klondyke grew into a central hub for the region, surrounded by ranches, farms, and mining ventures, and became the main distribution point for the eastern part of Aravaipa Canyon.