This is a rather involved and entertaining story about the many twists-and-turns in local efforts at Historic Preservation here in Mesa with roots going way back before the 1850's.
Even earlier it was the last stronghold and sachem of The Narragansett Indians.
Flash-forward from 1960 to the year 2000 on a short adventure outside of New York City, an old friend wanted to show me where we used to live - the entire grounds had somehow been turned into The South County Colonial History Museum by re-locating onto the land colonial buildings that were not part of the historical origins of this site where indigenous native tribes had lived.
It's a section-survey map that Omar Turney named and described as "Prehistoric" - notice that all the names are in Spanish (including "Mesa and "Los Muertos") and the extensive man-made system of irrigation canals. Why is this important?
It's a brief story here in Mesa in the epoch of Manifest Destiny where First Peoples got displaced from their centuries-old homeland.
Here's one opportunity we might miss: ongoing right now excavations for an underground parking garage on the LDS Temple grounds in progress June 16, 2018 here on Main Street just east of Mesa Drive.
Hold on if you are startled at this prospect.
that have been outlined for Mesa, Tempe and other areas with markings where different settlements have been marked.
On at least one recent occasion at a construction site in Tempe for a veterans housing development, there was a team of archeologists from the State Historic Preservation Office engaged in an archeological dig when some artifacts and remains from earlier cultures were accidentally uncovered on-site. The point is that previously unknown and unmarked site find did receive some attention and research . . .
Here in Mesa we might never know what 'ancient treasures' might have been buried or covered-up perhaps inadvertently way back in the 1920's. Just a few weeks ago in talking to residents who live nearby they have said that remnants of earlier cultures were found in different locations in the neighborhood.
Let's flash back to here in Mesa to the 1920's when the drive to preserve Mesa Grande and open it to the public was Mesa's first historic preservation project. When this effort started is unknown but the first public event was a parade down Main Street organized by the chamber of commerce in 1927. This was the year that Pueblo Grande, the other great mound of the Hohokam, opened to the public.
What else happened here in Mesa in 1927? On October 23,1927 the LDS Temple was dedicated, although it had been planned on some twenty acres just east of the original town site. The construction of the LDS Temple achieved the realization of many generations of LDS pioneers. The earliest recorded donation for the Temple dated back to 1897, when a Graham County widow donated $5.00 to the construction fund when it was thought a temple would be erected in the town of Pima.
Mesa LDS official began actively promoting the idea in 1912. By the end of World War One over $200,000 had been collected for construction. Church officials visited Mesa after the war and on September 24, 1919 selected a twenty-acre tract at what is now the corner of Main and Hobson Streets just outside the original townsite. Preliminary planning took place from 1919 to 1921.
Mesa Grande
Mesa Grande by air from the northwest.
Many such efforts followed and community support for a public facility has remained very strong through the years. In the early 1950s Frank and Grace Midvale organized the Mesa Grande Archaeological Society to promote the opening of the mound. This organization was transformed in 1955 into the Mesa Archaeological and Historical Society.
The new group held its first organizational event at Mesa Grande where over 200 members joined... A major force in the community, the Mesa Archaeological and Historical Society attracted prominent speakers including governors and legislators, . . . Today, this is the Mesa Historical Society which operates the Mesa Historical Museum. Those with archaeological interests began what is now the Southwest Archaeology Team, which is affiliated with the Arizona Museum of Natural History and continues to work on the Mesa Grande platform mound. . .
What it takes is a line-up of different people with different interests, some of them are women in this section: Pioneers of Preservation
> Ann Madora Barker
Madora Barker and her husband purchased the land containing Mesa Grande in 1916. Following the untimely death of her husband, Widow Barker and her boys preserved the Mesa Grande.
Of her, Omar Turney wrote:
"Needing the revenue which she might have obtained from pot hunters, both the scientific and the unscientific, she has steadfastly refused to permit them to destroy the fine old ruin of Pueblo de Lehi (Turney's name for Mesa Grande taken from the Book of Mormon). Due to the self-sacrifice of this lone widow there remains just one ancient building on the south side of the river which has not been torn open and its broken remnants used as highway dirt. The people of her faith should honor this woman: her faith will remain permanent in the country as long as it embraces women as true as she."
Madora Barker and her husband purchased the land containing Mesa Grande in 1916. Following the untimely death of her husband, Widow Barker and her boys preserved the Mesa Grande.
Of her, Omar Turney wrote:
"Needing the revenue which she might have obtained from pot hunters, both the scientific and the unscientific, she has steadfastly refused to permit them to destroy the fine old ruin of Pueblo de Lehi (Turney's name for Mesa Grande taken from the Book of Mormon). Due to the self-sacrifice of this lone widow there remains just one ancient building on the south side of the river which has not been torn open and its broken remnants used as highway dirt. The people of her faith should honor this woman: her faith will remain permanent in the country as long as it embraces women as true as she."
To preserve the mound, Madora Barker sold it to archaeologist Frank Midvale in 1927.
> Frank J. Midvale
Frank Midvale's intense interest in archaeology began at a very young age and carried through his entire life. Funding his work through teaching and other jobs, Midvale roamed the Arizona desert recording Hohokam sites and mapping the prehistoric canal systems. His notes on file at ASU preserve valuable information on sites now long destroyed by modern construction.
Following his early experiences with archaeology in the 1920s, Midvale directed excavations of a platform mound at the site of La Ciudad covered today by Saint Luke's Hospital, for Dwight Heard, a wealthy Phoenix business man and founder of the Heard Museum
Following his early experiences with archaeology in the 1920s, Midvale directed excavations of a platform mound at the site of La Ciudad covered today by Saint Luke's Hospital, for Dwight Heard, a wealthy Phoenix business man and founder of the Heard Museum
In 1927 Midvale purchased Mesa Grande from Ann Madora Barker to preserve the site. With his wife Grace, he founded a group that ultimately became the Mesa Historical and Archaeological Society, which originally was dedicated to the preservation of Mesa Grande. Unable to open Mesa Grande to the public, Midvale transferred the mound to Jack and Acquanetta Ross in 1962. Midvale hoped that they had the influence to accomplish his dream of opening an archaeological park. The preservation of Mesa Grande and his irreplaceable notes on Hohokam sites stand as Frank Midvale's lasting legacies.
> Acquanetta Ross |  |
Acquanetta was one of the most colorful people in the history of Mesa Grande. Acquanetta was a well-known movie actress, billed in Hollywood as the "Venezuelan Volcano". She is perhaps best known for playing the title role in Tarzan and the Leopard Woman with Johnny Weissmuller, but she appeared in many other films. Acquanetta married Jack Ross, a three time gubernatorial candidate and owner of a car dealership. Acquanetta appeared in television ads for the dealership and became a beloved local celebrity.
Acquanetta's mother was Native American and Acquanetta grew up in the Arapaho community in Montana. She had strong feelings for Mesa Grande and worked for many years to preserve the mound and to open it to the public. In the 1970s, she worked tirelessly with the Mesa Historical and Archaeological Society and the City of Mesa to open the mound to the public. Having failed to get adequate support for the project, she played the key role in the 1980s in getting Mesa Grande into public ownership.
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One more excellent reference with more history >> Temple Historic District http://www.mesaaz.gov/residents/historic-preservation/temple-historic-district
