Hohokam Pima National Monument in Arizona

It exists but you can't visit this ancient site known as Snaketown

Do you collect the Passport Stamps that National Park Service visitor centers have?  I do.  I have an official Collector’s Edition Passport to Your National Parks book.  I carry it everywhere I travel and try to collect as many stamps as I can.  The Collector’s Edition book doesn’t just have blank pages, it has lists and spaces for stamps from particular sites.  Below is an example.

Not all places that have stamps have a designated place in this book (there are blank pages for these).  However, you’d figure that every place listed in there would have a place to get stamped, right?  Wrong. There is one site:  Hohokam Pima National Monument listed in Arizona (about 30 miles southwest of Phoenix).  I thought perhaps you could get the stamp from nearby Casa Grande Ruins National Monument but no.  I spoke to the ranger there and googled online to confirm.

You Can’t Visit Hohokam Pima

Hohokam Pima National Monument exists but you cannot visit.  There are no signs, facilities, roads, passport stamps, or brochures.  When I search the NPS website, it comes up “page in-progress”.  The Monument is located on the Gila River Indian Reservation near Sacaton, AZ and is under tribal ownership in addition to being a national monument.  The Gila River Indian Community has decided not to open the extremely sensitive area to the public.

Sign I came across when looking for the National Monument. Photo credit: Jan Spell

I was in the general area and put the name into my GPS, and it led me out to the middle of nowhere. There was this sign, so I think I did find the land that is preserved by the National Monument.

This maybe where the National Monument is located. As you can see, you aren’t missing anything. Photo credit: Jan Spell

An additional view of the area further down the dirt road. Photo credit: Jan Spell

What does the Monument Preserve?

Hohokam Pima National Monument was established by Congress on October 21, 1972, to protect an ancient Hohokam village known today as “Snaketown”.  Excavations of the site began in the 1930s by the Gila Pueblo Foundation and then again in the 1960s.  I found a vintage video on YouTube about the excavation.

Irrigation canal excavated in the 1960s

From the excavations, it appears that the site was inhabited from about 300 BC to around 1200 AD with up to 2000 people.  Scientists have found evidence of the “urban style” of living of the Hohokam culture:  a central plaza, two oval-shaped fields surrounded by pit houses and a complex irrigation system for crops (beans, maize and squash), crematoriums, and places for people to produce pottery and jewelry.  Artifacts from the excavations were removed and taken to museums two of which are the Arizona State Museum in Tucson, AZ and the Huhugam Heritage Center run by the Gila River Indian Community in Chandler, AZ.

Ballcourt excavated in the 1930s

After the last excavation in the 1960s, the site was backfilled with soil to protect it for future research therefore, nothing is visible above ground. It is the most researched Hohokam site and perhaps may be restored and open to the public in the future.

Driving along Interstate 10 between the town of Casa Grande and Phoenix, you will technically travel through the Monument at approximately mile marker 170.

Why Was it Called “Snaketown”?

The Hohokam had trash mounds around their living areas that were soft and attracted mice. When the rodent population increased so did the snake population. Snaketown gets its name from an O’odham word meaning “place of snakes”.

Why Was Snaketown Abandoned?

Like many prehistoric sites in the American Southwest, the settlement was abandoned about 1200 AD. Recent studies suggest that people migrated south during a major drought in the Four Corners area in the 1200s. From 1200 to 1450 AD many prehistoric settlements in the Southwest were abandoned.

Many Artifacts Preserved and Displayed at the Huhugam Heritage Center

The Huhugam Heritage Center is cultural center located in Chandler, Arizona and is easily reached from Interstate 10. It preserves artifacts of the ancestral and current cultures of the Gila River Indian Community. The center is open from Monday to Friday from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm. The word Huhugam (pronounced hoo-hoo-gahm), is an Oʼodham word that is literally translated as "those who have gone before," meaning "The Ancestors."

Artifacts from Snaketown that are on display at the Huhugam Heritage Center. Photo credit: Jan Spell

Snaketown is one of the ancestral cultures highlighted at this museum. I was impressed with the exhibits and facilities here. It’s free to the public and well worth visiting. The artifacts from Snaketown were beautiful.

Are There Any Other NPS Sites That Cannot Be Visited?

Who knew that there was a national monument that could not be visited? I do, however, feel like I learned about what and where Hohokam Pima National Monument is and about the ancient people who inhabited this area. Maybe the site will be restored and open to the public in the future. I am glad that it sits and awaits that day.

Do you know of any other site managed by the National Park Service (NPS) that you are not able to visit? I’d really like to know.

Next Time

Did you know that back in the 1930s John Dillinger, Public Enemy Number One, was captured along with his gang by the police in Tucson, Arizona? Every year Dillinger Days celebrates this moment in history by reenactments at Hotel Congress in downtown Tucson. I’ll fill you in on Dillinger and his gang as well as some of the festivities that will be held on this, the 90th anniversary of Dillinger’s capture later this month.