Almost a thousand years ago, people living in the Verde Valley — referred to as the Sinagua culture — built a series of over a hundred rooms spanning a series of structures on a hill overlooking the Verde River.
For reasons that archaeologists have still been unable to nail down, they left around 1400 C.E., but their home, the site we now call Tuzigoot, after the Apache term for “crooked water,” remains, standing above Clarkdale. Hundreds of years later, after archaeologists began to study the site in the early 20th century, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed an executive order on July 25, 1939, officially declaring the Tuzigoot site a national monument.
For eight decades, the National Park Service has cared for, researched and helped visitors see the ruins.
This month Tuzigoot National Monument will be holding an 80th anniversary celebration.
On Friday, July 26, starting at 7 p.m. and lasting until 9:30 p.m., Tuzigoot is inviting the public to take advantage of what the archaeological site has to offer by visiting its trails and museum while also offering a chance to socialize with some of the staff, volunteers, and partners.
At 7:30 p.m. park archaeologist Lucas Hoedl will educate visitors on the state of contemporary research at the site, and the museum will feature temporary exhibits from some of the neighboring historical organizations: Jerome State Park, the Arizona Copper Art Museum, the Clarkdale Historical Museum, the Yavapai-Apache Cultural Center and the Verde Valley Archaeology Center.
“Together, we have preserved the artifacts and stories that have shaped our valley into what it is today,” Tuzigoot wrote in a press release. “Our tribal partners, including the Yavapai and Apache Nation, have enriched our unde rstanding of this site through cultural demonstrations, songs, and traditional dances.”
The free event is sponsored by Western National Parks Association, a non-profit that works with the NPS. Questions can be directed to Laura Varon- Burkhart, Lead Interpreter, at 649-6195, ext. 229.
Jon Hecht can be reached at 634-8551 or email jhecht@larsonnewspapers.com
