BETWEEN TWO COUNTRIES: THE STORY BEHIND CORONADO NATIONAL MEMORIAL by Joseph P. Sánchez Bruce A. Érickson Jerry L. Gurulé 2001 1 Preface The past is out of reach, buried deep—Who can discover it?-- Ecclesiastes 7:24 Why a history of Coronado National Memorial? In some ways, history is the recording of events in a formal and factual way in order to gain an understanding of the past and present and, perhaps, to ascertain trends leading to the future. In that same manner, the present administrative history of Coronado National Memorial reveals underlying trends, practices, and themes that have, since 1941, gained, at least, in venerability, and others, more ancillary, that have long since disappeared. The creation of the Memorial left in its wake many lessons that evolved historically about the process involved in establishing an international park. On its face, the proposal for establishing a park on the U.S.-Mexico border between two friendly countries appears to be a simple matter of getting both parties to agree to the proposition. Yet, the historical complexity upon which the relationship is based is profound. In the first place, the historical experiences of the two nations resulted in disparate political practices and institutions; disparate cultural or world views; and, disparate historical traditions resulting in how each would define their public policies. In the political and cultural contexts of relationships between Mexico and the United States during the last half of the twentieth century, the concept of an international memorial was, at least, improbable, as it turned out. Still, hope springs eternal in certain circles today as it did for the National Park Service representatives in the 1940s who wished that Mexico would respond to their proposal for a Coronado International Memorial. In the end, the National Park Service settled for a National Memorial that would commemorate the eventful Coronado Expedition of 1540 and the harmonious relationships between Mexico and the United States. The historical question continues to beg for an answer: Will there ever be a reciprocal Coronado National Memorial on the Mexican side? The establishment of Coronado National Memorial, on the other hand, offered the usual procedural challenges of starting a National Park area. First, issues regarding size and location had to be resolved; then questions about budget and staffing need to be answered; and, finally, institutionalizing Coronado National Memorial into the National Park Service system as a full member followed. The latter occurred more fully when Mission 66 became policy in the development, restoration, and maintenance of National Park Service infrastructures. Coronado was the direct beneficiary of Mission 66, for it advanced the slow developmental process that had already begun to languish in the bureaucratic web of the 1950s. Without Mission 66, the development of Coronado National Memorial would have been ponderous. With the travails of developing Coronado, came the growing pains involved in the evolution of its interpretation program. The most galling issue revolved around how to tell the Coronado Expedition story. Along with the struggle to identify the primary theme, the self-identity of the park suffered somewhat. The usual question is: If Coronado did not pass through the park area, what is the Park Service doing here? From 2 the beginning, the creators of the Memorial considered the possibility that the Coronado Expedition passed near the area. The viewshed offered from Montezuma Peak certainly covered the possibility that if one had stood there in 1540, the liklihood of catching a glimpse of the expedition would have been highly probable. On that point, the consensus of most historians who have studied the expedition is affirmative. Yet, from point of view of park staff, explaining that to the visiting public, in time, became less clear, and the park sought, in the 1970s to reaffirm that premise. During that period, Coronado National Memorial stressed the legacy aspects of the Coronado Expedition by emphasizing the cultural heritage of the area and its relations with Mexico and by instituting the Coronado Historical Pageant, that eventually evolved into the Borderlands Festival, which ran for several years. Additionally, the interpretation program at the Memorial has been developed to stress the history of the Coronado Expedition of 1540, relate its importance to the heritage of the area, and stress cultural, political, natural, and scientific relationships with Mexico. Visitation at the Memorial is another trend that is continuously monitored. Today, the Memorial receives nearly 90,000 visitors. During the years 1972 to 1988 when the Festival and similar programs ran their course, visitation received a varying boost ranging from roughly 800 to 13,000 people. In the past, tourism in the area aided in the visitation at the Memorial; and, it was also noted that visitation numbers increased when Fort Huachuca, Sierra Vista and other neighboring developments were on the upswing. Conversely, visitation seemed to decline when the aforementioned population centers underwent stress. Times have changed the dynamics of the relationship between tourism, population upswings/downswings and increases or decreases in visitation. At present, southeastern Cochise County is one of the fastest-growing areas in Arizona, yet, visitation at Coronado National Memorial seems to be decreasing. The history of Coronado National Memorial as told in this narrative is about three generations: the generation that actively worked to get legislation passed to establish a commemorative place for this important legacy of our national story; the generation that implemented the establishment of the area inclusive of developing its structures, interpretive programs, roads, and infrastructure; and, the generation that currently maintains, protects, and continues the work of the Memorial. As the Memorial sits on the threshhold of the twenty-first century, it is the latter who holds the key to the future of Coronado National Memorial, for it is they who will pass the torch to those who will come after them. In that regard, the early chapters of this manuscript attempt to establish the narrative, chronology, and trends as the United States National Park Service wended its way through the bureaucratic course in attempting to establish Coronado International Memorial. Similarly, the middle chapters deal with the acquisition of land for Coronado National Memorial; and, the concluding chapters discuss evolution of activities of the Memorial. Thus, what follows is dedicated to all who have worked to make Coronado National Memorial what it is. Collectively, the sources housed in various institutions amount to thousands of pages of correspondence, reports, news clippings, minutes of meetings, land transaction records, telegrams, and telephone notes. In writing this history, the authors encountered variations of the same information repeated in the different types of documentation. That phenomenon affected the organization of materials in this work. For example, the chapters dealing with Mexico utilize many of the same descriptions used in chapters 3 dealing with land acquisition, for in many ways both topics interrelate. Similarly, the history of the founding of the Memorial crosses over into relations with Mexico and the many land transfers that occurred. Thus, the topics tend to build on one another. The result is a fascinating account of the history of Coronado National Memorial from its incipient stages to the culmination of its establishment and beyond. In writing this history, the authors are indebted to many people whose assistance is greatly appreciated. Dr. Robert Spude of the National Park Service’s Intermountain Systems Support Office in Santa Fe, New Mexico, deserves a special acknowledgement for iniciating this important administrative history of Coronado National Memorial. The staffs at the National Park Service’s Western Archeological Conservation Center (WACC) in Tucson; at the Special Collections Library at Arizona State in Phoenix; at the Center for Southwest Research at the University of New Mexico; at the Arizona Historical Society in Tucson; at the Cochise County Assessor’s Office and the Recorder’s Office in Bisbee; and, at the Lands Office of the National Park Service’s Intermountain Support Office in Santa Fe, New Mexico. In particular, the authors gratefully acknowledge the staff at Coronado National Memorial, particularly Superintendent Jim Bellamy, Barbara Alberti, Scott Sticha, Henry Ruiz, Fred Moosman, and Nancy Wilcox for their assistance gathering much needed information. Joseph P. Sánchez, Ph.D Superintendent Spanish Colonial Research Center Albuquerque, New Mexico 14 February 2001 4 Preface Part I—Historical Background Chapter I In the Eye of the Storm: The Creation of the Coronado International “Monument,” 1939 to 1941 Chapter II “At the Point on the International Border where Coronado crossed into the United States”: Bureaucrats, Historians and the Search for Coronado’s Route into Arizona, 1872-1990 Chapter III The United States-Mexico Conundrum and the Change from “Coronado International Memorial” to “Coronado National Memorial” Chapter IV A Memorial to Mr. Coronado, A Monument to Misunderstanding: The View from Cananea Chapter V From Master Plan to Mission 66 Accomplishments: Early Development of Coronado National Memorial, 1952-1966 Chapter VI “...keen interest of...the people of Cochise County and elsewhere:” Grassroots