“Mission Aug 27, 2013 Diana Hadley, Roger Pfeuffer Garden, Rio Nuevo, & 4100 Years of Agriculture in the Tucson Basin”

The presentation will discuss the history of agriculture in the Tucson Basin, now believed to be the longest continually farmed area in the United States.  It describes the series of culture groups that occupied the area and the cultural remains they left behind. The talk features the agricultural legacy of Father Kino, the first European to visit Tucson, and how he initiated the “Columbian Exchange” of plants, domestic animals, and technology in our area.  Efforts to memorialize and interpret this remarkable cultural and agricultural history began in the 19th century with plans to preserve and restore Tucson’s Mission San Agustin.  These plans are finally being realized through the development of Mission Garden.

Diana Hadley is the former Associate Curator of Ethnohistory at the Arizona State Museum and a founding board member of Friends of Tucson’s Birthplace.