SALINAS "In the Midst of a Loneliness": The Architectural History of the Salinas Missions

A research project of this length owes a debt of gratitude to everyone who put up with the author during the work. Some people, however, stand out in their contributions to the effort. At the top of the list is Sue Schofield, former Park Ranger and Interpreter at Salinas National Monument. Along with an intuitive grasp of how real people might handle real-life problems in the planning and use of buildings, she had the ability to take random observations of the architecture and descriptions in old documents and formulate inferences that could be tested by further observation or research. Many of the conclusions presented in this work could not have been reached without her.

Much of the archeological interpretation and field work that formed the basis for this report would not have been possible without the years of patient instruction that I received from Anne Fox of the Center for Archeological Research at the University of Texas at Austin. I cannot help but suspect she could have done the job better. I also owe a great debt to Mardith Schuetz. Without her excavations and continuing research, none of us who worked in Texas or who are working in the Southwest today could have done half as much. Her efforts form the starting point for almost all studies in mission archeology and structure in Texas during the last twenty-five years. Grateful thanks to both of you.

At least as important to the arguments presented here was the continuing effort of Tom Carroll, former Superintendent of Salinas National Monument. His unparalleled familiarity with the documents recording the history of the Salinas missions never failed to produce a reference when one was needed, and his unwavering enthusiasm and relentless drive kept the author going long past reasonable limits. There are still things I have not done that he wanted me to do.

Several others on the staff of Salinas National Monument should be mentioned. Glen Fulfer, Chief Ranger at the park, constantly supplied a level-headed counterbalance to many of the more bizarre ideas that Schofield and I entertained over the course of the work, although sometimes we convinced him, instead. Carol Chilton, Interpreter, and her ability to remember everything she ever read, served as the index to the documents. We all turned to her whenever we could not recall where that off-hand remark was in the thousands of pages of Inquisition records.

Several people at the University of New Mexico deserve extravagant praise. First is Dr. John Kessell, who supplied several key references when I could not find them anywhere. More important, John's work in Kiva, Cross, and Crown showed me that it was possible, with patience, to bring back far more of the life of these forgotten times than I imagined. In the Special Collections of the Zimmerman Library, Rose Diaz located documents and gave calm advice and quick copying service when I was considering hysteria as a meaningful research method.

The Southwest Museum in Los Angeles provided prints of the Charles Lummis photographs used in this report. Daniela Moneta, Librarian, cheerfully handled my requests with a minimum of paperwork and complication. John Dewar of South Pasadena supplied his time and skills to evaluate the photographs and help in the selection.

Charles and Elizabeth Lange, who spent the last decade editing and publishing the journals of Adolph Bandelier, made available their slide collection of Bandelier's maps and photographs from the Vatican. These supplied several small but critical details that formed the basis of many conclusions in this report.

In the category of sharing their knowledge, I offer thanks to Donna Pierce, one of the best researchers working today on the Northern Borderlands of New Spain; to Robin Farwell, who is on her way to becoming another one of the best, and to Gloria Gifford, who is in a category by herself. Additional thanks to Dr. Joseph Sanchez of the National Park Service, the starting point for my research when all I knew was Texas missions. Special thanks to Jean Pike and Ted Connelly, the brilliant young architects who took my scratchy pencil sketches and prepared the beautiful plans and drawings in this report.

Heartfelt thanks to: Lynn Adkins Battle, who patiently photographed wall after wall at the missions and listened to me argue endlessly with myself about what that joint in the masonry meant, or when this section of wall was built; Diana Parker, who nearly froze to death while excavating for the first church at Abó and yet still talks about how much fun it was, and who went on to edit this monster with the same careful, patient attention to detail; Wes Hurt, who has another 40 years worth of research and work planned for the Salinas area; and especially Vincent Barrett Price, who recognized the poetry of structure and shared his vision with us.

Special thanks to Bunny Fontana of the Southwestern Mission Research Center for his willingness to read the manuscript over and over again, and to all those who attended Gran Quivira Conference XVII at Salinas National Monument in October, 1987. They had to listen as I attempted to present some of these conclusions verbally, and even acted interested while I did so. Among the SMRCers and others who read early drafts of the manuscript, several carried out critical reviews of great value. These were Jack Wilson, Alden Hayes, Dan Murphy, Al Schroeder, Bill Sundt, Bill Sawyer, and Gordon Page. Tom Carroll and the staff of Salinas National Monument read and reread the various drafts, and always had something useful to say, especially Carol Chilton, Sue Schofield, Gary and Audrey Swanson, and Glen Fulfer.

Thanks to Melody Webb, Chief of the Division of History for the Southwest Region of the National Park Service and my supervisor, who managed to keep me on track and sort of on schedule throughout the project, even when I decided it could never be finished.

Finally, this study is dedicated to Tom Carroll, the last Superintendent of Gran Quivira National Monument. He was instrumental in the creation of Salinas National Monument, and was the first Superintendent of the new Monument. Without him this architectural history would not have been possible. Thanks, Tom.