News
Terrenate
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| Unearthed remains of the commandant's house as it appeared in 1951. (PHOTO COURTESY / Amerind Foundation) |
By W. Lane Rogers/for the Range News
When the garrison of Tubac was relocated to Tucson in 1775, the nearby Presidio of San Phelipe de Jesus de Guevavi-it was also known as Santa Cruz de Terrenate-was removed to the San Pedro River near present day Fairbank. Curiously, the valley we know as San Pedro was called by the Spanish Santa Cruz, yet its body of water was christened Rio de San Pedro.
In 1948, Charles DiPeso, director of Dragoon's Amerind Foundation, excavated an impressive portion of the presidio's archaeological remains. He was convinced that Terrenate had been constructed on land once occupied by Quiburi, an abandoned Sobaipuri Indian village. In fact, the jury is still out. A 1780 map, unseen by DiPeso, shows Quiburi and Terrenate at distinctly different locations. Still, Indian villages, like Spanish presidios, were relocated from time to time.
What we know as certainty is this: Terrenate's location was no more inspired than Guevavi's had been, perhaps less so. By 1776, some 300 people-soldiers, settlers, friendly Indians-were living in and about the partially completed presidio. It was a precarious existence. Apache harassment was relentless and Terrenate was nearly impossible to defend.
Terrenate was one of three presidios in Pimeria Alta, a tiny network of fortified encampments in New Spain's northern most outpost. The presidio, never completed, was haphazardly garrisoned, badly equipped, randomly supplied, and largely indefensible. In 1779, a visiting inspector found Terrenate in "deplorable condition." Soldiers were poorly trained in the use of weapons and horses, and in battle techniques. Much of the presidio's armament was unfit for service.
No wonder, then, that during the presidio's use-less than five years-two commanders and a disproportionate number of soldiers were lost in raids and skirmishes with a superior foe. Terrenate's troops were simply no match for Apaches. One historian characterized the presidio as a "complete failure."
During the spring of 1780, Terrenate was abandoned. Soldiers left an incomplete presidio-even it's perimeter walls were unfinished-consisting of what was intended to be barracks, commandant's house, gatehouse, and corral. Since the 1948 archeological dig, neither the elements nor vandals have been kind to Terrenate. Only recently did the site come under protection of the Bureau of Land Management. But the protection came too late. Little is left to protect.
In 1948, Charles DiPeso, director of Dragoon's Amerind Foundation, excavated an impressive portion of the presidio's archaeological remains. He was convinced that Terrenate had been constructed on land once occupied by Quiburi, an abandoned Sobaipuri Indian village. In fact, the jury is still out. A 1780 map, unseen by DiPeso, shows Quiburi and Terrenate at distinctly different locations. Still, Indian villages, like Spanish presidios, were relocated from time to time.
What we know as certainty is this: Terrenate's location was no more inspired than Guevavi's had been, perhaps less so. By 1776, some 300 people-soldiers, settlers, friendly Indians-were living in and about the partially completed presidio. It was a precarious existence. Apache harassment was relentless and Terrenate was nearly impossible to defend.
Terrenate was one of three presidios in Pimeria Alta, a tiny network of fortified encampments in New Spain's northern most outpost. The presidio, never completed, was haphazardly garrisoned, badly equipped, randomly supplied, and largely indefensible. In 1779, a visiting inspector found Terrenate in "deplorable condition." Soldiers were poorly trained in the use of weapons and horses, and in battle techniques. Much of the presidio's armament was unfit for service.
No wonder, then, that during the presidio's use-less than five years-two commanders and a disproportionate number of soldiers were lost in raids and skirmishes with a superior foe. Terrenate's troops were simply no match for Apaches. One historian characterized the presidio as a "complete failure."
During the spring of 1780, Terrenate was abandoned. Soldiers left an incomplete presidio-even it's perimeter walls were unfinished-consisting of what was intended to be barracks, commandant's house, gatehouse, and corral. Since the 1948 archeological dig, neither the elements nor vandals have been kind to Terrenate. Only recently did the site come under protection of the Bureau of Land Management. But the protection came too late. Little is left to protect.
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