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The "Old Pueblo"...
A 10,000 Year History
The Tucson area was inhabited around 10,000 B.C., when Paleoindian and Archaic hunters and gatherers lived here.
Later, around 1,000 B.C settlements were established and agriculture developed.
When the Spanish arrived in the late 17th century, the Akimel O'odham (Pima) and Tohono O'odham (Papago), both descendants of the Hohokam, were living in villages throughout southern Arizona.
In 1694, Father Eusebio Francisco Kino came into contact with a village of Akimel O'odham living at the foot of Tucson's Sentinel Peak. Their village was called "Stjukshon," (spring at the foot of a black mountain,) which eventually evolved into "Tucson," first with a hard "c" and later anglicized into a silent "c."
On August 20th, 1775, Lt. Colonel Hugo O'Conor, an Irish soldier noted as an explorer and fighter for Spain, and Padre Francisco Garces selected a piece of land on the east side of the Santa Cruz River and established the Presidio of San Agustín de Tucsón.
In December of the same year, Spanish soldiers from Tubac were transferred to San Agustín as a defensive move in the Spanish/Apache wars. This walled fortress provided refuge for travelers and residents and was soon nicknamed the "Old Pueblo."
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