Casa Grande Ruins Nat Mon (# 0619)

This photo, with humans in it, provides at least some sense of the size of the main structure, and by highlighting the other structures on the grounds, the context.

Though the area around the monument looks desolate, the Gila River in its current state is relatively close (1.5 miles); prior to modern channeling and flood control it was a much larger river. The park’s literature states that farming along the Gila dates back 4100 years and that canalizing of the river by indigenous populations dates back 3500 years (see nearby photo # 0623). The Grand House would have thus been a site, possibly for ceremonial purposes, for a farming village dependent on the river; the other walled enclosures on the site represent residences and other structures that would have been part of the village. It is estimated that the village would have been active around 1350 but was largely abandoned by 1450 – there is no written history to provide more exact details.

The history provided in the visitor center and around the park are excellent; a visit of an hour or so is sufficient and gives a very different perspective from other historic Indian sites around the state. Park website: www.nps.gov/cagr/index.htm