CASA GRANDE NATIONAL MONUMENT

pre-Columbian ruins in south-central Arizona, U.S., in the Gila Valley, immediately north of Coolidge. Authorized as Casa Grande Ruins Reservation in 1889 and proclaimed as such in 1892, the site was designated a national monument in 1918. The ruins, discovered in 1694 by Eusebio Kino, a Jesuit missionary, are dominated by the extraordinary Casa Grande (Big House), a four-story building constructed of unreinforced clay and topped by an adobe watchtower. Built by Salado Indians in the early 14th century, it is the only pre-Columbian building of its type in existence. Nearby are partially excavated village sites established many centuries earlier by Hohokam Indians who practiced farming, as attested by remains of an irrigation system. The monument occupies 473 acres (191 hectares) and has a museum in its administration building that displays local artifacts.