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image by Tom O’Hallaren from Wikimedia
Top 10 Sensational Facts about Casa Grande Ruins National Monument
The Casa Grande Ruins National Monument is home to a Hohokam community compound dating back to the 1300s.
The Casa Grande Ruins are located in Arizona, southeast of Phoenix in the Gila River valley, immediately north of Coolidge. They are Native American ruins with an enigmatic history.
The Casa Grande Ruins’ mystique is enhanced because Casa Grande was either a gathering spot for the desert people or a waypoint marker in a vast system of canals and trading posts.
President Benjamin Harrison designated Casa Grande Ruins as the first prehistoric ruin to be protected by the United States Government in 1892.
Surprisingly, the purpose of one of the largest prehistoric buildings ever created in North America remains unknown. Now let’s have a look at 10 known facts about Casa Grande.
1. Casa Grande Has Been Around Since About 1350 C.E.
Image by Tony the Marine from Wikimedia
Archaeologists believe that ancient Sonoran Desert people are the ones who should receive credit for building Casa Grande.
Aside from building Casa Grande, these innovative people also developed wide-scale irrigation farming and maintained expensive trade connections.
These ancient people thrived for about 1000 years, before abandoning Casa Grande in 1450 C.E.
In the past, this structure was thought to have been created by the Aztecs.
Many people still falsely attribute this structure to the Hohokam Indians, which isn’t actually the name of any tribe.
This confusion stems from the term “Hohokam,” which archaeologists use to describe an area with earthen buildings, pottery, and canals.
2. The Great House is Known as Sivan Vahkih
Stroll up to the Great House ruins, and the origin of the monument’s name becomes abundantly clear: This house is big.
Portions stand three stories high, and the mid-section is four stories.
The name is said to date back to the late 1600s, when Spanish missionaries arrived and dubbed the site Casa Grande (“Big House”in English).
The native name for the structure is Sivan Vahkih.
3. The Great House is Made of Natural Soil Cement
Image by Cathy Cline from Wikimedia
Described by the National Parks Service as “a four-story tower of packed earth,” the Great House was constructed of a natural soil-cement known as caliche.
The walls are three feet thick and have a seven-foot-high barrier that protects the structure itself.
The Casa Grande Ruins are made up of a total of thirty-five tons of caliche. One would have needed a ladder to even access the doorways.
The building appears to have served as both a tower and a multi-family home, with 11 separate living spaces.
For reasons that can only be speculated upon today, the native people left the village by about 1450.
4. There Were No Written Records of Casa Grande Until 1694
It appears that the ancient Sonoran people who built Casa Grande had no written language, so they left no records when they abandoned their structure.
Padre Eusebio Fransisco Kino wrote about Casa Grande in his journal when he visited in 1694.
He referred to the impressive structure as “Casa Grande,” or “great house,” and the name stuck.
Lt. Col. Juan Bautista de Anza visited the ruins in 1775 followed by Brig. Gen. Stephan Watts Kearny in 1846.
5. Astronomical Observatory
Image by Ken Thomas from Wikimedia
It is believed that the Casa Grande functioned partly as an astronomical observatory since the four walls face the points of the compass, and some of the windows are aligned to the positions of the sun and moon at specific times.
There are various smaller ruins in the complex, remains of a Hohokam farming village, and some are yet to be excavated.
A second, similarly sized compound is located 850 feet northeast of the Casa Grande, though this is usually closed to the public.
6. Archaeologists Don’t Know Casa Grande’s Actual Purpose
Image by sdc912 from Wikimedia
Although these ruins have immense historical value and can teach us plenty about their creators, they come with a good bit of mystery as well.
With no written records, experts have been unable to definitively determine the true purpose of Casa Grande.
People hypothesize that the structure might have been a fort, a temple, a home for holy men, a watchtower, a museum, or simply a place to store grain.
At four stories tall, this is the largest structure that is known to have been built by this group of people.
Since no one can be sure what Casa Grande was meant to be, visitors to these historic ruins are left to use their imagination.
7. Casa Grande is the 1st Cultural Reserve Protected in the US
Nancy Pinkley (Boss Pinkley’s daughter) is in the gateway, followed by custodian Hilding Palmer’s wife at Casa Grande Ruins National Monument, August 20, 1934. Image by NPS from Wikimedia
Apart from other Indian peoples and Spanish missionaries, the area was not revisited until the 1880s, when American settlers arrived and began to threaten the ruins by removing artefacts as souvenirs.
During his extended visit between 1883-and 1884, anthropologist and historian Adolph Bandelier noted the value of the structure.
Philanthropist Mary Hemenway funded the Hemenway Southwestern Archeological Expedition which then was led by anthropologist Frank H. Cushing and lasted a year.
This study brought to light the deterioration of this unique and important site, as well as prompted a petition to the U.S. Senate in 1889, urging them to protect the ruins.
Four years later, President Benjamin Harrison set aside the square mile surrounding the Casa Grande ruins.
It became the first-ever prehistoric and cultural reserve in the United States.
8. Casa Grande’s Roof is Famous in its Own Right
Image by Gillfoto from Wikimedia
In 1903, Casa Grande was protected by a simple roof of corrugated iron held up by redwood timbers.
This was before August of 1918 when President Woodrow Wilson declared Casa Grande a National Monument. He then passed control of the structure to the National Park Service.
Presently, the ‘Great House’ can be seen from some distance away owing to the flatness of the terrain.
It has a rather curious appearance from afar as the structure is protected from the harsh desert sun by a large metal roof supported by four great pillars, designed by architect Frederick Law Olmsted Jr.
This is an impressive design and is certainly necessary to help preserve the building but it is still rather incongruous.
The present cover replaced an earlier wooden construction in 1932. The scale of the ruin is best appreciated from close up – it is 60 feet by 40 feet wide at the base and has caliche walls over a meter thick
Most notably was the construction of the new steel roof to protect the structure.
Towering sixty-nine feet high and covering over 8,000 square feet, this structure became the world’s largest awning.
The roof also boasts its own water draining system, a grounded lightning rod, and the ability to withstand hurricane-force winds.
Hilariously enough, it has been nominated for a place on the National Register of Historic Places as well.
Erosion will continue to take its toll on the fragile ancient ruins. This impressive protective structure is likely to stand even longer than the ruins it was created to protect.
Perhaps someday people will wonder about the purpose of a giant steel roof in the middle of the desert, which will at that time be the “new” Casa Grande Ruins.
9. Casa Grande Ruins National Monument is Hot
Photo by Vincent Ledvina on Unsplash
Casa Grande Ruins National Monument contains an imposing 4-storey building dating from the late Hohokam period, probably the 14th century and contemporary with other well preserved ruins in Arizona such as the Tonto and Montezuma Castle monuments.
The ‘Great House’ can be seen from some distance away owing to the flatness of the terrain.
It is situated in the flat plain of central Arizona in between the Gila and Santa Cruz rivers, just north of Coolidge and about 15 miles from the larger town of Casa Grande.
The structure was once part of a collection of settlements scattered along the Gila River and linked by a network of irrigation canals.
The area has a low elevation and hence is very hot – often over 110°F for several months in the summer.
During spring, this part of Arizona is sometimes the hottest place in the whole USA, and even in winter, daytime temperatures can reach 80°F.
10. The Roof and Wall of Casa Grande are Inhabited
Photo by Ken Thomas from Wikimedia
Nowadays, the roof and walls of the main building provide shelter for several species of small birds but the Hohokam themselves seem to have abandoned the complex around the 16th century, as part of a general decline in their civilisation.
The approach to the Casa Grande Ruins from any direction is along straight roads across dusty farmland; Highway 87/287 runs past the entrance 15 miles east of I-10.
The monument is open from 9 am to 5 pm each day and has a good visitor centre with much information about the Hohokam people.
Outside are a number of large specimens of desert plants, including the ubiquitous saguaro, and also a shady picnic area with an entertaining ground squirrel population.
A door at the back of the visitor centre leads to the Casa Grande itself, at the middle of a rectangular area that used to be a walled compound containing several other smaller buildings.
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