It’s a short jaunt from Downtown to the corner of Craycroft Road and Glenn Street; we make it all the time.
In 1873, however, traveling from Downtown to that corner took a lot longer. There’s a reason the Army built a post out there.
“The short story is that the young men weren’t behaving very well,” said Amy Hartmann-Gordon, executive director of the Tucson Presidio Trust, “so they had to get kicked out to this new fort out here in the east, which, of course, at that time was out in the middle of the desert.”
It’s hard to imagine that at one time there was no busy Craycroft Road. Find out what life was like at the old Fort Lowell supply depot with a visit to the newly reopened Fort Lowell Museum at Fort Lowell Park. It differs from the original military post, the Presidio, that’s Downtown, in that it tells about life in Tucson for the military and surrounding peoples from 1873 to 1891. The Presidio was established in 1775.
“One of the reasons we’re excited about running this is because it’s a continuation of the same story,” Hartmann-Gordon said. “The Presidio Museum tells that earlier history and the arrival of the Spanish and then that transition to the Mexican community.”
Kate Avalos is the director of interpretive programming for the Tucson Presidio Trust. She’s excited about the changes.
“For me, the most exciting thing is we get to finish telling the story (of Tucson),” Avalos said. “You go to the Presidio and that time period ends when Arizona goes from Mexico to the U.S. Then we get to go to Fort Lowell and continue the story. It’s such a different history than what we’re telling at the Presidio…We have more of a focus on the Apache than we do at the Presidio.”
The Fort Lowell Museum has been around for some years; the Arizona Historical Society ran it for decades, according to Hartmann-Gordon. The city of Tucson took it over and, in late 2018, a bond was passed allocating monies to be used for renovating city parks.
The museum was closed for about three years while it was repaired and now it’s under the auspices of the Tucson Presidio Trust.
“It’s a cultural resource that tells the rich history of Tucson, not just about the military but about the cultural history,” Hartmann-Gordon said.
She means all of Tucson’s cultural history — even the hard-to-hear bits.
“From where we sit today, it’s a sad and very complex story about how Anglo settlers came in and got into conflict with the Apache,” she said. “This was basically a supply post for the 20-year Apache wars. It’s very important to us to try to tell that story from as many different points of view as we can and really recognize that we have a much more respectful understanding of the people who lived here.”
The actual museum building is a re-creation of a typical officer’s quarters. It was built 10 feet from the original foundation “for mysterious reasons nobody knows,” Hartmann-Gordon said. At one time, there was an entire lane of like housing called officers’ row.
Inside the museum, visitors can see a diorama built by retired Fort Lowell Museum curator Dave Faust that shows fairly clearly what the footprint of the fort looked like, with markings that indicate where Craycroft Road is today.
Great care has been taken to faithfully reproduce soldiers’ uniforms, down to the last button.
“The companies that do these are reenactors,” said Dan Morgan, docent and museum guide.
Still, the uniform fabric is a wool blend because wool tends to deteriorate over time, even if it’s just being displayed on mannequins. Plus, not all the uniforms are the same, Morgan said.
“As far as uniforms, it was an interesting transition in U.S. history,” he added. “Everyone wasn’t issued the same blouse, the same pants. It was quite the opposite… There was a whole lot of mix and match.”
Other exhibits include artifacts such as leather ditty bags, photos, firearms, period furniture and even a period dress. The Apache and buffalo soldiers are featured, too.
Hartmann-Gordon, Dan Gordon and Avalos are deeply invested in the museum’s mission.
“The message that we are communicating is that the pendulum is swinging back to more interest and more understanding of the complexities of our history and of our community,” Hartmann-Gordon said. “What we’re seeing is that both locals who have lived here a long time and people new to the community are coming in and really want to understand this unique place that is so unlike the east coast. There are a whole lot of flags flying from different periods of time (over Tucson) so we feel like we’re the messengers of teaching that to the community.”
“We’re actually giving a lot of people (the opportunity to learn) their own history,” Avalos added. “A lot of people in Tucson who have been here for generations don’t actually know it. We have the opportunity to start telling those stories.”
The Fort Lowell Museum
2900 N. Craycroft Road, Tucson
Tickets are $3; free for children 5 and younger, Fort Lowell Museum and
Presidio members
520-885-3832
www.tucsonpresidio.com/fort-lowell/
9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays
This article appears in Dec 21-28, 2023.