The year 2025 is the official 250th anniversary of the founding of the modern-day City of Tucson. While the Tucson basin has been inhabited for thousands of years, the formal inception date is August 20th, 1775, which is the day when the Presidio San Agustín del Tucson was founded. This is the day when an Irish mercenary who worked for the Spanish army, Hugo O’Conor, chose a location along the Santa Cruz River to establish a new fort. The criteria for his choice of location were:

 

• Nearby water

• Nearby pasture and wood

• Location along the “Apache frontier”

 

Today the Presidio Museum is located at one corner of the site of the original 11-acre fort. Its mission is to explore multiple perspectives and personal stories about our regional history. Through interpretive displays and activities, visitors learn about our community heritage. In a safe community space, attendees learn how past conflicts still impact us today and how the many cultures of the southwest have produced the modern-day cultural fusion of our region.

 

We use the date of August 20th, 1775 to celebrate our rich TucSonorense culture. The plus sign in 250+ is to acknowledge our millennial history. Did you know the name Tucson originates from the native O’odham word “s -cuk ṣon” which means “at the base of the black hill”? The black hill refers to what we now call “A” mountain (which didn’t have an A). 196 N. Court Ave. Tucson, AZ 85701 520-622-0594 TucsonPresidio.com May 21st,

 

The original proclamation of the establishment of the Presidio San Agustin del Tucson:

 

San Xavier del Bac.
August 20, 1775
 

I, Hugo O'Conor, Knight of the Order of Calatrava, Colonel of the Infantry in His Majesty's armies and Commandant Inspector of the frontier posts of New Spain, Certify:

That having conducted the exploration prescribed in Article Three of the New Royal Regulation of the Presidio issued by His Majesty on the Tenth of September of 1772 for the moving of the Company of San Ignacio de Tubac in the Province of Sonora, I selected and marked out in the presence of Father Francisco Garcés and Lieutenant Juan de Carmona a place known as San Agustin del Tucson as the new site of the Presidio. It is situated at a distance of eighteen leagues from Tubac, fulfills the requirements of water, pasture, and wood, and effectively closes the Apache frontier. The designation of the new Presidio becomes official with the signatures of Myself, Father Francisco Garcés and Lieutenant Juan de Carmona, at the Mission of San Xavier del Bac, on this Twentieth Day of August of the year 1775.

 

Hugo O'Conor, Fray Francisco Garcés,  Juan Fernández Carmona

 

###