The Casa Grande Ruins National Monument is home to ancient Hohokam dwellings, but before long, the surrounding view is likely to contain a Wal-Mart Supercenter and perhaps a federal holding facility. The country's oldest archaeological monument is about to be ringed by development, and not much can be done about it. The Casa Grande Ruins National Monument in Coolidge, southeast of Phoenix, will soon be bordered by a Wal-Mart Supercenter on the east and possibly a federal holding prison on the west.
Houses already exist south of the ruins.
The encroaching development is unstoppable, growth proponents say. Unlike smaller Wal-Marts slated for developed urban areas in the Valley and around the country, the project faced little opposition. But, failing that, we were glad to have them do some testing. But Wal-Mart did more than that. It scored a public relations coup by donating more than 13 acres on the northwestern part of its site Friday to the Archaeological Conservancy, a non-profit group that preserves such sites.