Read Her StoryA number of presidio fortresses and missions occupied between the 1680s and 1854 are preserved in the Santa Cruz Valley with many open to the public.

• Father Eusebio Francisco Kino established the missions of Tumacácori and Guevavi in 1691, and the visita of Calabazas was constructed in the 1750s. All three are part of Tumacácori National Historical Park.

• San Xavier del Bac was a Tohono O’odham village where Father Kino established a mission in 1700. The church—constructed in the late 1700s and widely considered to be the finest example of Spanish colonial architecture in the U.S.—serves Tohono O’odham parishioners to this day and is open to the public. Restoration is ongoing.

• The Tubac Presidio State Historic Park commemorates the presidio established in Tubac in 1752 and includes an innovative underground archaeology display.

• The Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail commemorates the 1775-76 Spanish expedition of approximately 240 settlers, soldiers and their families, with 1,000+ heads of livestock who traveled from Mexico through the Santa Cruz Valley (with its final staging at the Tubac Presidio) to establish a presidio and mission at San Francisco Bay. Their overland route connected Sonora and Alta California, whose missions and presidios were previously isolated. The National Park Service works to develop the trail with interpretation and sections available to hikers, horseback riders, mountain bikers, and bird watchers.

Manuela Peñuelas was the only person to die on the Anza Expedition. Read her story.