Chapter 5
MOVING ON UP
The Modern Development of the Monument
Notes
1. Clemenson, Casa Grande Ruins National
Monument, 176.
2. Rothman, Preserving Different Pasts, 222.
Rothman discusses how the organizational changes of the Park Service in
the 1930s led to a new system of integrated management that helped erase
the previous importance placed on the designation of NPS sites.
3. The first long-term planning document for
Montezuma Castle National Monument was written by Assistant Landscape
Architect H.A. Kreinkamp in 1931. In subsequent years, NPS specialists
directed increasing attention to various issues at the monument and
produced additional master plans, studies, and reports.
4. For more on the NPS Landscape Architecture
Division and its role in the development of master-planning and
regional-planning procedures, see chapter 5 of Ethan Carr, Wilderness
by Design: Landscape Architecture and the National Park Service
(Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1998). This book offers an
insightful historical account of how landscape architects shaped the
development of the NPS system in the early twentieth century.
5. The visitation figures for Montezuma Castle during
the war years reflect the significant decrease in tourism at this time.
In 1941, there were 10,077 visitors to the monument. These numbers
dropped in 1942 to 4,713 visitors, in 1943 to 2,715 visitors, and in
1944 to 3,161 visitors.
6. Albert Schroeder began his work in anthropology as
a student of Byron Cummings and Emil Haury at the University of Arizona.
His master's thesis, which is still considered to be an important study
of the archeology of the Salt River Valley, involved one of the first
systematic examinations of Hohokam sites north of the Gila Basin. After
serving in the army during World War II, Schroeder went on to a long and
distinguished career in archeology with the National Park Service,
beginning with his assignment at Montezuma Castle National Monument in
1946. He eventually reached the rank of chief of the NPS Division of
Interpretation in the Southwest Regional Office in Santa Fe before
retiring in 1976. His accomplishments include a prodigious record of
scholarly publication, numerous archeological survey and excavation
projects, and extensive archival research on Spanish colonial and
American territorial period documents. He was well known for developing
the theory of the prehistoric Hakataya culture of western Arizona. A
more detailed discussion of Schroeder's archeological research in the
Verde Valley appears in chapter 6 on resource management. For more
information on Schroeder and his work with the NPS, see Todd W.
Bostwick, "Albert Schroeder 19141993," Kiva 60 (spring
1995): 44345; and Charlie R. Steen, "Albert H. SchroederAlways
Working," in Southwestern Culture History: Collected Papers in Honor
of Albert H. Schroeder, ed. Charles H. Lange (Albuquerque: Papers of
the Archaeological Society of New Mexico, no. 10, 1985), 113.
7. Various correspondence about the Webb boundary
dispute can be found in Lands, Water, and Recreation Planning files at
the Montezuma Castle and Tuzigoot National Monuments administrative
office and at the Western Archeological and Conservation Center, Tucson,
Archival Record Group 18, 1:57. Further discussion about the
impact of this dispute appears in chapter 6 on resource management
issues at the monument.
8. Jack Beckman, "A History of Montezuma Well"
(unpublished manuscript); William Back Jr., interview by Albert
Schroeder, NPS Archeologist, 24 May 1947, transcript, Western
Archeological and Conservation Center, Tucson. Beckman's history of
Montezuma Well and the transcript of Schroeder's interview with William
Back Jr. contain many interesting stories about the Back family's
ownership and development of the Well property, including topics such as
daily life on the ranch, tourism at the Well, excavations of various
nearby features, and the settlement and growth of the region.
9. Annual Report for the 1948 Fiscal Year, National
Archives, Record Group 79, box 2288 F-207; Montezuma Castle National
Monument administrative office fact file.
10. Montezuma Castle National Monument fact file,
Interpretation. Another improvement to the monument grounds included the
removal of the old Castle store building, which had ceased to be used in
1942. The furniture and fixtures from the store were sold and the
building itself was sold to R. W. Wingfield of Camp Verde in 1949. After
the structure was removed, the site was restored to its original
appearance. The removal of the Castle store is referred to in
Montezuma Castle National Monuments Monthly Narrative Reports (24
March 1949).
11. Montezuma Castle National Monument fact file;
Montezuma Castle National Monuments Monthly Narrative Reports (26
November 1950).
12. Various correspondence between Homer F. Hastings,
custodian, Montezuma Castle National Monument, and Region Three National
Park Service officials, August 1947October 1948, Western
Archeological and Conservation Center, Tucson, Archival Record Group 18,
1:20.
13. The first mention of the idea to build a
miniature reconstruction of Montezuma Castle is referred to in Robert H.
Rose, park naturalist, Southwestern Monuments, Montezuma Castle National
Monument Museum Development Plan, 1932, Western Archeological and
Conservation Center, Tucson, Archival Record Group 18, 1:22. In this
plan, Rose notes that Martin Jackson suggested that a scale model of the
Castle be installed to interpret the ruins to the many visitors unable
to climb the ladders. In subsequent years, as concern about the
condition of the Castle intensified, Earl Jackson once again brought
this idea to the attention of NPS officials. However, the Park Service
did not begin to pursue this idea seriously until the late 1940s.
Apparently at least two previously constructed models
of Montezuma Castle were used to interpret the ruins at locations other
than the monument. The Montezuma Castle National Monument fact file
includes a reference to a diorama, made by the Western Museums
Laboratory around 1937, which was on permanent loan to the San Diego
Museum of Man. This plaster model, roughly four feet by five feet in
size, remained on display in the museum's Pueblo Hall until 1993, when
it was put in storage. In 1996, the museum sold the model to R. G. Munn
Auctioneers, who then auctioned it to a private collector. (Linda Fish,
registrar, San Diego Museum of Man, personal communication, 7 October
1998; Ron Munn, R. G. Auctioneers, personal communication, 8 October
1998.) Another replica of Montezuma Castle is still on display at the
Smoki Museum in Prescott. This model was constructed in 1933 by the same
CWA crew that built the Smoki Museum building in the early 1930s. Mrs.
Edward S. Tanner of Prescott restored the display in 1967. The model,
which is four feet six inches high by seven feet eight inches wide by
three feet deep, depicts the prehistoric residents of the Castle engaged
in various daily activities and includes miniature artifacts and natural
landscape features. The Smoki Museum files suggest that the CWA crew
built several of these models; however, it is unclear what happened to
the other Castle displays (Joanne Cline, collections chair, archivist,
Smoki Museum, personal communication, 9 October 1998). An additional
reference to a diorama of Montezuma Castle is made in a newspaper
clipping from Prescott dated 30 June 1941 (Sharlot Hall Museum Archives,
Prescott, Arizona, clippings folder 21). The article mentions a replica
of the Castle exhibited in the offices of the Yavapai Associates in
Prescott. The author claims that this model was built by "CCC Corps" and
was used by the county promotional organization to attract the attention
of tourists and direct them to the monument. This model was possibly one
of those built by the Smoki Museum CWA crew.
14. It is interesting to note that John O. Cook, who
served as superintendent of Montezuma Castle between 1949 and 1956,
began a family legacy with the National Park Service. Cook began his NPS
career at the Grand Canyon in 1936 as a laborer in the Sanitation
Department before later transferring to Montezuma Castle. Cook's son,
also named John, followed in his father's footsteps in the agency. He
served as an administrator over Montezuma Castle in his position as
superintendent of the Southern Arizona Group Office in Phoenix and,
until his retirement in 1999, held the position of NPS regional director
of the Intermountain Region.
15. Montezuma Castle National Monument fact file;
Nicholas Eason, "History of Montezuma Castle National Monument"
(unpublished manuscript), 6465, Montezuma Castle National Monument
library. It should be noted that although the Back family charged fifty
cents for admission to Montezuma Well when they owned the property, the
Park Service has never implemented a fee for admission to this unit of
the monument.
16. Various correspondence from January 1952 to
October 1953, Western Archeological and Conservation Center, Tucson,
Archival Record Group 18, 1:21.
17. In 1955, the combined visitation for Montezuma
Castle and Montezuma Well was 60,700; in 1956, the total visitation
jumped to 138,200.
18. In 1940, the populations of Maricopa and Pima
Counties, which include the municipalities of Phoenix and Tucson, were
186,193 and 72,838 respectively; in 1950, they increased to 331,770 and
141,216. Source: Henry P. Walker and Don Bufkin, Historical Atlas of
Arizona, Second Edition (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press,
1986), 6162.
19. For a detailed overview of the changes in the
West during and after World War II, see Gerald D. Nash, The American
West Transformed: The Impact of the Second World War (Lincoln:
University of Nebraska Press, 1985).
20. Rothman,
Preserving Different Pasts, 222; Richard West Sellars,
Preserving Nature in the National Parks: A History (New Haven:
Yale University Press, 1997), 18485.
21. Mission 66 Prospectus for Montezuma Castle
National Monument, National Park Service Prospectus, 34, 6, quoted
in Eason, "History of Montezuma Castle," 69, 7172.
22. Gilbert Wenger, acting superintendent, Montezuma
Castle National Monument, to general superintendent, 18 April 1956,
Western Archeological and Conservation Center, Tucson, Archival Record
Group 18; Luis A. Gastellum, assistant general superintendent, to
general superintendent, 9 August 1956, Western Archeological and
Conservation Center, Tucson, Archival Record Group 18.
23. Montezuma Castle National Monument Museum
Prospectus, ca. 1956; Master Plan for the Preservation and Use of
Montezuma Castle National Monument, Arizona, 1961, Montezuma Castle and
Tuzigoot National Monuments administrative office, development
files.
24. Montezuma Castle National Monument Museum
Prospectus, 1956(?), Western Archeological and Conservation Center,
Tucson, Archival Record Group 18.
25. 1957 Master Plan Development Outline for
Montezuma Castle National Monument, Montezuma Castle and Tuzigoot
National Monuments administrative office, development files.
26. Eason, "History of Montezuma Castle," 70. For
detailed information about each of the specific improvements, including
project descriptions, names of contractors, total costs, and dates of
completion, see Narrative Completion Reports in the Development Files at
the Montezuma Castle and Tuzigoot National Monuments administrative
office.
27. Verde Independent (Cottonwood), 15
September 1960; Monthly Narrative Report, Montezuma Castle National
Monument, 1 October 1960.
28. Mission 66 Narrative Completion Reports,
Montezuma Castle and Tuzigoot National Monuments administrative office,
development files. The completion reports for the Mission 66
improvements contain project specifications, contractor information, and
cost figures. These reports provide a useful record of all of the
development projects going on at this time.
29. Ibid.
30. Ibid.
31. Ibid.; Montezuma Castle National Monument, fact
file. Details of the archeological work done at Montezuma Well appears
in chapter 6 on resource management at the monument.
32. Sellars, Preserving Nature in the National
Parks, 18587.
33. 1964 Master Plan Narrative, Montezuma Castle
National Monument, Montezuma Castle and Tuzigoot National Monuments
administrative office, development file.
34. Montezuma Castle National Monument fact file.
35. Ibid. The monument fact file also contains a
record of other maintenance activities, development issues, and repairs
at the monument.
36. The postwar population statistics for all of
Yavapai County reflect the pattern of growth in the Verde Valley
communities. In 1950, the population for the county was 24,991; in 1960,
it was 28,912. By 1970, the population had grown to 36,837, and by 1980
it had soared to 68,145. Source: Walker and Bufkin, Historical Atlas
of Arizona, 61.
37. Montezuma Castle National Monument Statement for
Management, 1978, 10, Montezuma Castle and Tuzigoot National Monuments
administrative office. Further discussion of the impact of regional
growth on area resources appears in chapter 6 on the monument and
resource management issues.
38. Final Master Plan, Montezuma Castle and Tuzigoot
National Monuments, 1975, 9, on file at the Montezuma Castle and
Tuzigoot National Monuments administrative office.
39. Glen Henderson, interview by Josh M. Protas, 11
April 1997, Montezuma Castle National Monuments Oral History Project,
Montezuma Castle and Tuzigoot National Monuments administrative office.
The transcripts of this interview contain details of Henderson's career
with the Park Service and some of the major issues he has dealt with as
superintendent of Montezuma Castle and Tuzigoot National Monuments. As
of January 2001, Glen Henderson continued to serve as the superintendent
of these monuments.
40. Final Master Plan, Montezuma Castle and Tuzigoot
National Monuments, 1975, 23.
41. Montezuma Castle and Tuzigoot National Monuments
administrative office, development files.
42. Ibid.
43. Final Master Plan, Montezuma Castle and Tuzigoot
National Monuments, 1975, 2526; Statement for Management,
Montezuma Castle National Monument.
44. Montezuma Castle and Tuzigoot National Monuments
administrative office, development files; Glen Henderson, interview by
Josh M. Protas, 11 April 1997.
45. Glen Henderson, interview by Josh M. Protas, 11
April 1997: "Visitor Center Is Closed to House Casino," Journal
(Camp Verde), 18 November 1992.
46. Brian T. Fitzgerald, 'Yavapai-Apache Casino
Opening Set." Journal (Camp Verde), 3 May 1995.
47. Statement for Management, Montezuma Castle
National Monument, 1995, 3, Montezuma Castle and Tuzigoot National
Monuments administrative office.
48. Final Master Plan, Montezuma Castle and Tuzigoot
National Monuments. 1975, 27.
49. Ibid., 2729.
50. Montezuma Castle and Tuzigoot National Monuments,
fact file; Statement for Management, Montezuma Castle National Monument.
1995, 9.
51. Montezuma Castle and Tuzigoot National Monuments,
fact file.
52. Environmental Assessment, Montezuma Castle
National Monument Sewage Treatment and Disposal System, November 1981;
Statement for Management, Montezuma Castle National Monument, 1995,
9
53. Combined Interpretive Prospectus for Casa Grande
Ruins National Monument, Montezuma Castle National Monument, Montezuma
Well Unit, Tuzigoot National Monument, Tonto National Monument, and
Walnut Canyon National Monument, 1993, 15, 1525. On file at
Montezuma Castle and Tuzigoot National Monuments administrative
office,
54. Montezuma Castle National Monument Draft Exhibit
Concept Plan, 1997. On file as Montezuma Castle and Tuzigoot National
Monuments administrative office.
55. Ibid.
56. A more detailed discussion of NAGPRA issues at
Montezuma Castle appears in chapter 6 on resource management.
57. Montezuma Castle and Tuzigoot National Monuments
administrative office, interpretation files.
58. Final Master Plan, Montezuma Castle and Tuzigoot
National Monuments, 1975, 14, 16.
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