Yes it sure does look like a mound of dirt from this view by air now - it just happens that once upon a time, a long, long time ago, it was A TEMPLE MOUND for millennia of The People who cultivated the lands and established settlements (called Pueblos) here in Central Mesa and Central Arizona centuries before their territories were taken over by incursions in the 15th-19th Centuries The City of Mesa is better known as the first site of the 2nd Temple outside of Salt Lake City, Utah for The Church of Jesus Christ of The Latter-Day Saints in 1927.
Quite fortunately, we do have maps of The Salt River Valley that clearly mark the locations and sites of earlier pueblos, plazas, canals, casas and casitas, las acequias(swamps), and reservoirs and even more temples - one of which is in an area called 'Pueblo Moroni' .
You can also see MESA marked on the map and can figure out the locations for Tempe, Scottsdale and Phoenix*
Unfortunately, a respect for more than a one-dimensional view of history and other cultures was slow to arrive here, overtaken by rampant real estate development and unrestrained growth at any price.
_________________________________________________________________________
* Note that the City of Phoenix has a more-inclusive view and respect for history than the City of Mesa, setting aside 1,500 acres for The Pueblo Grande Museum, doing much more not only to preserve 'the ruins' ...
LAST SUNDAY OCTOBER 20, 2019
INAUGURAL CELEBRATION
Portal to the Past
The first in a series of site-specific artworks, it's the largest monumental artwork ever for Mesa artist Zarco Guerrero opening the gates - a Portal to The Past - onto a pathway on a bridge spanning over the canal close to the 44th & Washington Streets.
For more information:
Here's the Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony >
"The Hohokam constructed one of the largest, most sophisticated irrigation networks ever created, with hundreds of miles of waterways winding out from the Salt and Gila Rivers. These canals are imprinted in the Threshold Stone at the base of the Portal, which all pedestrian visitors will cross over as they enter. . . "
Last Sunday: The Canal Loop Trail
Shown below on one side of the canal
Project Passage, Pueblo Grande Museum
City of Phoenix Office of Arts and Culture
Public Art Program 2016
Phoenix, AZ United States
Artwork Budget: $2,000,000
Overview
The final artwork, entitled Passage, was the overall design, integrated within a desert site and providing access to the existing architecture that comprises the Museum facilities.
The artist collaborated with a team which included landscape architects, structural engineers, city officials, public art officials, tribal leaders, archaeologists, fabricators, and the state historic preservation office.
- Any element below grade required archaeology to be performed.
- The design was reviewed by tribal leaders and the State Historic Preservation Office.
photo: Brad Goldberg
photo: Brad Goldberg 
_________________________________________________________________________
This Saturday is the Seasonal Re-Opening for "A Hidden Gem " in Central Mesa - most people don't realize this cultural park even exists, even though its long history goes back centuries before the mid-1850's when Mormon Pioneers from Utah were sent on a mission in oxen-carts to colonize Arizona for The Church. There were two waves, the first in an area now named "Lehi" after a Prophet in The Book of Mormon. 300 Latter-Day Saints arrived in indigenous lands and territories inhabited by more than 5,000 "Indians", staked out homesteads, claiming water-rights along The Salt River.
"The Hohokam, the ancestors of the Akimel O'odham (Pima), constructed the Mesa Grande temple mound and established many settlements in the Gila and Salt River valleys of southern Arizona. Mesa Grande is one of the last places to show how the Hohokam created an irrigation network that pioneers began to reuse in the late 1800s. Mesa’s first inhabitants realized the partially filled canals for what they were and began excavating them to start the Valley’s modern agricultural industry.
They built rectangular pit houses from earth, rather than stone, and lived in small villages. They were a peaceful people who cooperated to build large canal networks. Some of their canals were over ten miles long and used gravity to control water flow and to flush out the silt! The Hohokam were the only cultural group in prehistoric North America to rely on massive canal systems, irrigating up to 110,000 acres of corn, beans and squash. Archaeologists from the Arizona Museum of Natural History excavated one prehistoric canal that measured 15 feet deep and 45 feet wide. These irrigation systems represented monumental efforts of labor and engineering.
> In the late 1800s farmers rebuilt and opened the brilliantly engineered Hohokam irrigation systems – some remain in use today.
> Between the 7th and 14th centuries they built and maintained these extensive irrigation networks along the lower Salt and middle Gila rivers that rivaled the complexity of those used in the ancient Near East, Egypt, and China. These were constructed using relatively simple excavation tools, without the benefit of advanced engineering technologies.
Source for much of this information > 2012 K8 Librarian on WordPress
The story of the modern Mesa Grande Ruins is tied to volunteers that work to preserve the story of the past.Readers of this blog can access earlier posts about the Mesa Grande Cultural Park, Frank Midvale and Anna Madera Baker and at least one more unusual person named ""Acquanetta".
__________________________________________________________________________________
The City of Mesa purchased the Mesa Grande ruins in the 1980s to preserve Mesa's premier cultural treasure and to open it to the public as an educational and recreational facility. Open from mid-October to mid-May.
_________________________________________________________________________________
Grub with Grubb" Oct. 26 at Mesa Grande Cultural Park
October 21, 2019 at 2:22 pm
Mesa Grande Cultural Park, 1000 N. Date, is celebrating its seasonal re-opening and highlighting the addition of new Native American objects from the Evelyn and Lou Grubb collection Saturday, Oct. 26 from 10 a.m. to noon.
- New exhibits featuring Native American baskets from the Evelyn and Lou Grubb Collection
- Artifact show and tell
- Archaeology tours
- Basketry demonstrations by Pima artist August Wood
- Crafts and activities for all ages
- Special guests
Contact Danielle Vernon at Danielle.Vernon@mesaaz.gov or call 480-644-4569 with any questions.
_________________________________________________________________________________
