Mission San José de Tumacácori (Franciscan) - Tumacácori, AZ - Roman Catholic Churches on Waymarking.com

Althought the mission was established by the Jesuit Priest Father Eusebio Francisco Kino in 1691, construction of this church by the Franciscans wasn't started until 1800. It was planned that this church "would match the frontier baroque glory of the celebrated Mission San Xavier del Bac not far to the north. Under the direction of a master mason, a maestro de albanil, a crew of Indian and Spanish laborers laid five-foot thick cobblestone foundations that year, but construction ground to a halt as funds dried up. Over the next few years they were able to add a few courses of adobe bricks, bringing the walls up to seven feet. These were plastered inside and out and decorative handfuls of crushed brick were pressed into the wet plaster.

It was not until 1821 that work truly resumed. An enterprising Franciscan, Father Juan Bautista Estelric, sold 4,000 head of the mission's cattle to a local rancher, Don Ignacio Pérez, and with the first payment hired a new master and pushed the work ahead. The walls were raised to 14 feet, but the rancher stalled on his payments and construction again ceased. Two years later, Father Ramón Liberós, a persistent friar, finally got the rancher to pay his bill, and work resumed. Within a few years the church was almost completed, although the bell tower was never capped with its dome. The church must have been a striking landmark in the flat Santa Cruz Valley, with its embellished and painted façade and plaster walls embedded with crushed red brick."

The above quoted section was copied directly from the NPS's Tumacacori National Historic Park web site.

Type of Church: Mission Status of Building: Unrestored ruin Dominant Architectural Style: Baroque Diocese: unknown, historic (Sonora?) Address/Location: Tumacácori National Historical Park 1891 East Frontage Road Tumacácori, AZ United States 85640 Relvant Web Site: [Web Link] Date of organization: Not listed Date of building construction: Not listed Associated Shrines, Art, etc.: Not listed Archdiocese: Not listed

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Date Logged Log User Rating   02/11/2012 find waldo visited it