Yuma Crossing
Yuma Crossing and Associated Sites | |
Nearest city | Winterhaven, California and Yuma, Arizona |
---|---|
Coordinates | 32°43′43″N 114°36′56″W / 32.72861°N 114.61556°W |
Area | 149 acres (60 ha) |
Built | 1852 |
NRHP reference No. | 66000197[1] |
Significant dates | |
Added to NRHP | November 13, 1966[1] |
Designated NHLD | November 13, 1966[2] |
Yuma Crossing is a site in
History
The history of the Yuma Crossing began at the formation of two massive granite outcroppings on the Colorado River. The narrowing of the river provided the only crossing point for a thousand miles, thus making it a focal point for the Patayan tribes, and later the Quechan.
In 1540, well before the British Europeans touched
Much later the Yuma Crossing became the focal point for travel to the
Immediately after the Mexican–American War in 1848, the U.S. Army built Fort Yuma here to protect travelers from Indians raiding the area. It was the center point of conflict in the Yuma War of 1850–53. From 1864–1890, the fort and nearby facilities was the main army base to support the US Army's efforts to control the Indians throughout the greater southwest.
At about the same time, the
It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1966, under the name Yuma Crossing and Associated Sites.[2][5]
National Heritage Area
The Yuma Crossing National Heritage Area is a
As with other U.S. National Heritage Areas, the Yuma Crossing National Heritage Area is a local entity in partnership with various stakeholders. At Yuma Crossing, the stakeholders are particularly diverse, including Indian tribes, agricultural interests, environmental and wildlife non-profit organizations, as well as many federal, states, and local agencies.
History park
The Yuma Crossing National Heritage Area includes the Yuma Quartermaster Depot State Historic Park (formerly known as Yuma Crossing State Historic Park), the Yuma Territorial Prison, Fort Yuma, and other sites, all showcasing the area's history. They are amidst the beautiful and vital Yuma East and West Wetlands, and against the silhouetted backdrops of the Castle Dome, Chocolate (Arizona) and Chocolate (California) Mountains.
The heritage area's interpretive themes include Yuma's importance as a cultural crossroads, emphasizing the region's intersection of three major cultures: Anglo-American, Native American, and Hispanic-Latino. The heritage area recognizes that this rich blend of traditions can best be sustained by their continued expression through architecture, art, music, food, and folkways within the heritage area.
Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail
The Yuma Crossing is a designated site of the Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail, a National Park Service area in the United States National Trails System.
Habitat restoration
The Yuma Heritage Area has championed a
To date, ten different funding sources have provided almost $6 million toward the eventual goal of $18–20 million to complete the project.[6][7][8]
Area plant life
- Fremont cottonwood – Populus fremontii
- Catclaw Acacia – Acacia greggii
- Blue Palo Verde – Parkinsonia florida
- Velvet mesquite – Prosopis velutina
- Screwbean Mesquite – Prosopis pubescens – "Tornillo"
- Honey Mesquite – Prosopis glandulosa
- Goodding's black willow – Salix gooddingii
- Arroyo Willow – Salix lasiolepis
See also
- Alta California
- History of California through 1899
- John Joel Glanton
- List of bridges documented by the Historic American Engineering Record in Arizona
- List of historic properties in Yuma, Arizona
- Mesquite Bosque
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Yuma County, Arizona
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Imperial County, California
- Quechan
- Territorial evolution of California
References
- ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
- ^ a b c "Yuma Crossing and Associated Sites". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. Retrieved September 27, 2007.
- ^ Snell, Charles; Robert Utley; William Brown (1966). "Yuma Crossing" (pdf). National Register of Historic Places – Inventory Nomination Form. National Park Service. Retrieved May 19, 2012.
- ^ "Yuma Crossing" (pdf). Photographs. National Park Service. Retrieved May 19, 2012.
- ^ Patricia Heintzelman, Charles Snell, and Robert Utley (Undated post1963) National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: Yuma Crossing and Associated Sites, National Park Service and https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/GetAsset/NHLS/66000197_photos Accompanying 45 photos: 43 from 1975, 1 from 1868, and 1 early rendering photographed in 1966.]
- ^ "National Heritage Areas Alliance Update, Alliance of National Heritage Areas, March 2007" (online). Alliance of National Heritage Areas. Retrieved March 29, 2007.
- ^ "Yuma Crossing National Heritage Area" (online). National Park Service.
- ^ "Yuma Common Ground" (online). Yuma Crossing National Heritage Area.
External links
- Yuma Quartermaster Depot
- Yume Territorial Prison
- Fort Yuma history
- National Park Service – Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail
- official Yuma Crossing National Heritage Area – website
- Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) No. AZ-63, "Yuma Crossing, Riverfront Area, between Prison Hill and Fourth Avenue, Yuma, Yuma County, AZ", 2 photos, 46 data pages, 2 photo caption pages