A History of Indian Garden, An Administrative Site on the Tonto National Forest, Gila County, Arizona
Creators: name: Stein, Pat H.
Publisher: name: Desert Archaeology, Inc.
Year: 2007
Subjects: subject: Gila (County)
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/geographic-keyword/3907/gila-county
subject: Interstitial Zone F
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/geographic-keyword/84325/interstitial-zone-f
subject: Tonto Basin
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/geographic-keyword/92/tonto-basin
subject: Historic Native American
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/culture-keyword/30/historic-native-american
subject: Hohokam
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/culture-keyword/21/hohokam
subject: Huhugam
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/culture-keyword/8166/huhugam
subject: Historic
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/culture-keyword/25/historic
subject: Euroamerican
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/culture-keyword/28/euroamerican
subject: AZ O:12:32 (ASM)
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-name/79342/az-o1232-asm
subject: AR-03-12-04-53 (TNF)
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-name/79343/ar-03-12-04-53-tnf
subject: Indian Garden Site
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-name/104665/indian-garden-site
subject: Historic Background Research
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/investigation-type/18/historic-background-research
subject: Site Evaluation / Testing
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/investigation-type/10/site-evaluation-testing

description: Located along a spring-fed stream, Indian Garden has attracted and supported as wide a range of activities as perhaps any site in the area below the Mogollon Rim. Recent work by Desert Archaelogy has shown that prehistoric people used the Indian Garden area as early as 770 B.C., and that Apaches exploited the locality during the early twentieth century (Ferguson and Anyon 2000a; Sarah Herr, personal communication 2007). From the 1880s to the turn of this century, the site served sequentially as a squatter's ranch, U.S. Forest Service guard cabin, state fish hatchery, Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) camp, water supply for a homestead turnedresort, U.S. Forest Service work center, Youth Conservation Corps (YCC) camp, and Arizona Boys' Ranch camp. The property could certainly be considered a "poster child" for Forest Service multiple use. Indian Garden, the inviting pasture just west of Kohl's Ranch, was long a familiar sight to travelers along State Route 260 (SR 260). Recent construction has changed that, however. Realignment now carries the route well north of the property. Fortunately, construction of the new roadbed and obliteration of the old one have left the historic components of Indian Garden intact. Although the historic site is not currently threatened, Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) officials realized that a history of Indian Garden would be timely, and they agreed to sponsor the present study. The resulting history of Indian Garden is presented in approximate chronological order, by phase of occupation. Prefacing that, however, are the following items concerning the size, location, and name of the property. The Indian Garden administrative site now contains 80 acres. In the past, the tract contained as many as 94 acres. The "missing" 14 acres were located along the eastern edge of the property. The administrative site was gradually reduced to its present size when it was found to overlap the Kohl property to the east.