Aztec Ruins Administrative History

MUSEUM PROPERTY ADJACENT TO THE MONUMENT

One complication to the establishment of Aztec Ruin National Monument was property adjacent to the monument retained by the American Museum of Natural History. In looking after that holding, Morris was minding his own residence. In 1922, he had been given a long-term lease on the house and associated prehistoric units for utilitarian purposes, with his assumption of upkeep of the water rights, buildings, and taxes. [40] Morris insisted upon the provision that he be allowed to terminate the lease at his discretion. Developing interest in research away from Aztec and uncertainties attendant at that time in the pending transfer of the ruin to some corporate body other than the American Museum might force a move. The use of the house by Morris, the retention of three rooms of the Anasazi structure for personal purposes, and the cistern beneath the house and its outside pump, which provided the only drinking water in the immediate vicinity, caused considerable resentment by National Park Service personnel throughout the first decade of the monument's history.

If the house had been occupied when the Boundeys came, it might have been taken more for granted. Since it was rather special for its day, erroneously believed to have cost as much as five times more than it really had, the house was a daily reminder of a perceived injustice. There it sat, empty, next to the monument, while Boundey was compelled to rent less attractive, less convenient quarters elsewhere. Boundey became so incensed over the house that he made a trip to the county courthouse to check on the lease. That bit of snooping left him flabbergasted at the document's generous terms in favor of Morris. Boundey was unaware of Wissler's sense of indebtedness to his young protege for past and probable future contributions to the American Museum underscoring this deal. The museum felt that Morris's presence and interest in the ruins helped maintain the educational and scientific value of a large financial investment by a prime donor. Moreover, the museum intended to use the residence as a place from which to carry on other studies in the Southwest. [41] In Boundey's warped frame of mind, the lease seemed to represent some unsavory blackmail.

Another irritation Boundey added to his list was that the sole access to the monument was through museum property at the southwest corner of the tract. All other surrounding land was under cultivation or not reachable by road. Both the National Park Service and American Museum pieces of land were fenced to keep out livestock and vandals. Visitors parked in a designated space before the fence in front of the house (see Figure 6.3). They could picnic at a table under a ramada on the terrace between the ruin and its outer revetment. [42] To reach the ruin proper, visitors walked through a gate, circuited what was thought to be an ancient trash dump, crossed the side yard of the house, and went past the Anasazi rooms with modern roofs. Typically, materials and tools used in ruin repair were strewn about (see Figure 4.3). [43] It was not an attractive approach. The museum accepted it as a temporary solution necessitated by the unanticipated fact of its having to regulate visitation. Even after the National Park Service took charge of this part of the operation, existing property boundaries allowed no substantial change to the entrance. Cars parked along the county road, and visitors came to the ruin at its westernmost point but still through the Morris yard.

Figure 6.3. Custodian Johnwill Faris in monument parking lot, ca. 1932. Picnic ramada in background.

In the summer of 1928 when Morris returned to the battleground that Aztec Ruin had become, he and Boundey suffered heated arguments. Usually a very reserved man, Morris let his anger show in a plea to Wissler to allow him a way out of some of the difficulties. He described Boundey as having a venomous attitude concerning the work that had been done at the site. According to Morris, Boundey was so opposed to the American Museum that he went so far as to accuse the institution of robbery in taking the archeological specimens to New York. The major Boundey grievance, however, was that the museum had not deeded the entire West Ruin to the government. For the sake of peace, Morris offered to pay for removing the tar paper roofs from these rooms if the museum would consider transferring them to the National Park Service. [44] No immediate decision on the gift of this part of the West Ruin to the government was made.