Historical dates leading up to Tucson's establishment

Read "Treasures of the Santa Catalina Mountains" by Robert E. Zucker. Download a free PDF sample of the book and purchase on Amazon.com.

Photo by Estelle Buehman.

700 A.D. Hohokams

Excavations in the Tucson Downtown area have unearthed a Hohokam Indian pithouse dated at 700 A.D. They settled throughout the Arizona area eas early as 300 B.C. The Hohokam dug a 150 mile canal system along the Gila and Salt Rivers. The canals were used in th 1870's by the white settlers. The Hohokam abandoned their villages in the 15th Century for an unknown reason.

1500s Spanish Explorers

In 1540, Captain-General Francisco Coronado was dispatched to find "the seven cities of Cibola." Coronado marched through the area, about 25 miles from the Tanque Verde Guest Ranch.

1694 Father Kino

Father Eusebio Francisco Kino, a Jesuit priest, visited the Indian villages in 1694. He introduced livestock, fruits and grains from Europe. He established several misions throughout the southwest. Colonists build settlements around each mission. Read more about:

• Tucson's History in the 1600s
• Father Kino and the hunt for gold
• Mission of the Santa Catalina

1751 Rebellion

The repressive Spaniard priests and soldiers forced the Apache Indians living in the area to rebel. They killed all the Spaniards and plundered the outposts. The first Spanish post was established in 1752 in Tubac. Read more about Tucson's history in the 1700s.

1880s Mining Boom

The Santa Catalina Mountains became valued for its precious metals in the late 1800s through the mid 1940s. After the Gadsden Purchase, Americans began to flood the Southwest United States in search of gold, silver and copper. This period of mining brought thousands of people to live and work throughout the Catalina Mountains from Mt. Lemmon to Oracle. Such notables as W.F. "Buffalo Bill" Cody owned extensive mining claims in the back hills.

The Mine with the Iron Door is the legend of the lost Escalante mine that supposedly contains gold mined by the Pima Indians under the Jesuits occupancy. The Iron Door Mine was sealed up and its location is lost on history. But, the mine legend is still alive.

Read more about:

• Tucson's History in the 1800s
• Legends and History of the Santa Catalina Mountains

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Local Tucson History Books

These books are written by local author and publisher Robert Zucker. Read chapters and download a free PDFs from the books and purchase full copies on Amazon.com.

Entertaining Tucson Across the Decades is a collection of hundreds of interviews with local entertainer and musicians, newspaper articles and original photographs covering 50 years of Tucson music and arts entertainment from 1950-1999. Entertaining Tucson is a 3-volume set with over 700 pages of historical entertainment coverage.

Treasures of the Santa Catalina Mountains is one of the most comprehensive books written on the legends and history of the Catalina mountains, north of Tucson. Learn about the Iron Door mIne, Buffalo Bill Cody's mining interest in the Catalinas and how the lure of gold brought prospectors to the Cañada del Oro– the Canyon of Gold. The story of the the lost mine, the lost city and the lost mission.

Tucson Gold Rush 1880 In the 1880s explores the history of numerous mining claims that were staked throughout the Santa Catalinas and nearby mountains by local pioneer businessmen, many reclaiming old abandoned Spanish and Mexico diggings.