The name Tucson itself comes from the Hohokam words “chuk shon,” roughly translating to ‘at the foot of the black mountain’, referring to dwellings by Native Americans that have called this area home for more than 4,000 years. That makes this one of the oldest continually inhabited areas in North America! The modern era of Tucson’s history began on August 20, 1775, with the founding of Presidio San Agustin del Tucson by Spanish settlers who first arrived in the late 1600s, having built Mission San Xavier del Bac.  The Tucson Region & History