Tumacacori NHP: Welcome

At any historical site there is always a quest for historical fact. Legend can often add to the story that is told, but historical interpreters need be extremely careful to interpret it as such. As historical research into factual information alters or negates legend, the story of the site has to change to accommodate truth. Therefore, research is, and must be, an ongoing process.
In 1935 when the process of building a visitor center and museum for Tumacácori National Monument was initiated, little site specific research had been done on the Mission or the surrounding area. Building on partial fact and an abundance of unsubstantiated legend, the National Park Service installed a mining diorama in the new museum when it was completed. Over the years, researchers at Tumacácori National Monument, the University of Arizona, and other institutions found nothing to substantiate the claims that Jesuits mined here, and much information to prove that such activity never took place. Thus, in keeping with the historical facts, the diorama was removed from the museum in 1972 when it was remodeled.