Jan 30Homer Thiel winds the history machine back a few decades from the previous posts to look at life in Tucson during the time of transition from Mexican to US governance. Mexico achieved independence from Spain in 1821. In the years afterward, many changes occurred in the small fortress community of…
Jan 11Following up on last week’s post about historic Block 83 in downtown Tucson, Homer Thiel takes us on a tour of the Cactus Saloon, which served railroad passengers and local Tucsonans from the late 1800s to the early 1900s. Many businesses opened on the east half of Block 83 in…
Jan 2Homer Thiel digs into the archives to tell the story of downtown Tucson's Block 83. The block is currently occupied by the MLK Apartments and the Ronstadt Transit Center, but over 100 years ago it was the site of single-family homes and saloons, hotels, restaurants, and other businesses. Desert Archaeology…
Dec 9Desert Archaeology project director Homer Thiel documents a Tohono O’odham pottery firing session. Twice in the last year, Tohono O’odham potter Dr. Reuben Naranjo has held pottery firings in the backyard of Desert Archaeology project director Homer Thiel’s house. University of Arizona professor Lisa Molomot’s students filmed the first firing…
Sep 20For the last ten years, visitors to the Mission Garden, located at the base of Sentinel Peak ("A" Mountain) have watched as fruit trees grow from saplings into tall trees, seen an acequia (canal) built and stocked with an endangered species, viewed crops being harvested and food preparation methods demonstrated.…
Sep 14Homer Thiel discusses what we learned about the Chinese men who came to Tucson while working on the railroad in the late 1800s and stayed here to make lives for themselves. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, a housing development was constructed along the road leading to the summit…
Aug 26Desert Archaeology project directors Homer Thiel and Gregory Whitney bring us up to speed on the current archaeological understanding of the ancient peoples who first grew crops in southern Arizona, centuries before the introduction of pottery and the development of the Hohokam culture. The Early Agricultural period is the time…
Aug 19Homer Thiel discusses ancient and historical cultural resources encountered on the grounds of the Historic Pima County Courthouse in Tucson during renovations and the construction of the January 8 Memorial. Pima County has recently completed the renovation of the 1929 Pima County Courthouse, now the home of the Southern Arizona…
Feb 21Homer Thiel uses historical documents and archaeological data to bring together the story of Hampton Brown, a formerly enslaved man who lived in Territorial period Tucson after escaping from Texas. Peter Enneson assisted with the research for this post. One of the first African-Americans to arrive in Arizona during the…
Jan 13On January 13, 1982—a Wednesday—Dr. William Doelle moved to Tucson and, days later, finalized a National Park Service contract for a project in Nolic. This marked the start of business for his brand new cultural resources management (CRM) archaeology firm, which set up shop as the Arizona Division of the…