Casa Grande Ruins National Monument Facts for Kids

This page is about Casa Grande Ruins National Monument. For Casa Grande, Arizona, see Casa Grande, Arizona.

Quick facts for kids Casa Grande Ruins National Monument
IUCN Category III (Natural Monument)

Casa Grande Ruins National Monument Location in Arizona Show map of Arizona Casa Grande Ruins National Monument Location in the United States Show map of the United States
Location	Pinal County, Arizona, USA
Nearest city	Coolidge
Area	472.5 acres (191.2 ha)
Created	August 3, 1918 (1918-August-03)
Visitors	62,995 (in 2018)
Governing body	National Park Service
Website	Casa Grande Ruins National Monument



U.S. National Register of Historic Places

NRHP reference No.	66000192
Added to NRHP	October 15, 1966

Casa Grande Ruins National Monument is a special place in Coolidge, Arizona. It protects ancient buildings made by the Hohokam people. These buildings are from a time called the Classic Period (around 1150 to 1450 C.E.). The name "Casa Grande" means "big house" in Spanish. In the O'odham language, it's called Siwañ Waʼa Ki: or Sivan Vahki.

Exploring the Ancient Big House
How the Monument Was Protected
Old Adobe Buildings
The Olmsted Shelter
Images for kids
See also

Exploring the Ancient Big House

This national monument has the ruins of many old buildings. They are surrounded by a large wall. The ancient Hohokam people built these structures. They lived and farmed in the Gila Valley starting in the 1200s.

Archaeologists have found that these ancient people were very smart. They created huge irrigation systems to farm. They also had a wide network for trading goods. Their culture lasted for over a thousand years. They left the area around 1450 C.E.

The most famous building here is the "Big House." It was once a four-story structure. It might have been left empty by 1450. The Big House is made of a natural material called caliche. Caliche is like a natural cement found in the desert.

This strong material has helped the Big House survive for about 700 years. The Big House has outer rooms that are three stories tall. The inner part of the building is four stories high. The builders used traditional adobe methods. They made thick walls from wet adobe. They let each layer dry before adding more.

Casa Grande also had a ball court. This was similar to courts found at other ancient sites. Father Eusebio Kino was the first European to see these ruins. He visited in November 1694 and named it Casa Grande. You can still see graffiti from people who visited in the 1800s. Today, writing on the walls is against the law.

A large modern roof now covers the Big House. It was built in 1932 to protect the ruins.

How the Monument Was Protected

In 1891, some repairs were done on the monument. Cosmos Mindeleff from the Bureau of American Ethnology led this work. But they ran out of money.

On June 22, 1892, President Benjamin Harrison made Casa Grande a special reserve. It was called the Casa Grande Reservation. This made it the first prehistoric and cultural reserve in the United States. Later, President Woodrow Wilson officially made it a national monument on August 3, 1918.

Like other important historical places, Casa Grande was added to the National Register of Historic Places. This happened on October 15, 1966.

Old Adobe Buildings

Between 1937 and 1940, the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) built several adobe buildings. The CCC was a program that helped people find work during the Great Depression. These buildings were used for housing and offices at the monument.

They were built using the same traditional adobe methods as the ancient structures. These buildings are still used today. They are also listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Because of careful protection, Casa Grande Ruins looks much like it did in the 1940s.

The Olmsted Shelter

In 1932, a large roof-like structure was built over the ruins. This ramada was designed by architect Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr.. Its job is to protect the ruins from bad weather.

Sometimes, great horned owls make their home in the rafters of this shelter. The current shelter replaced an older wooden one from 1903.

Visitors are not allowed inside the "Great House." This is because the building is very old and fragile. You can only observe it from the outside to help keep it safe.