Casa Grande Ruins National Monument

Casa Grande Ruins National Monument is a 472-acre site authorized (1889) and established (1892) as a reservation, then as a national monument (1918). Its focal point is a 4-story, 11-room prehistoric adobe structure, the only one of its kind still in existence. It was erected as an Indian watchtower by an ancient Hohokam culture who settled in the Gila River valley about 700 A.D. and developed an extensive system of irrigated farms. A roof has been erected to preserve the soft adobe walls from further erosion, and a museum in the visitor center displays Hohokam artifacts unearthed at the site.