Casa Grande Ruins National Monument, Arizona

Casa Grande Ruins National Monument is a national monument in Coolidge, Arizona. Located to the northeast of Casa Grande, it celebrates and preserves the ancient ruins of the Hohokam people, an ancient Sonoran desert Native American farming community.

The ancient ruins of Casa Grande were built of sedimentary rock called caliche, by the Hohokam people who lived in the Gila Valley area in the early 13th century. They constructed abodes with compound walls. These structures become known as Casa Grande, or "big house" in Spanish, in reference to the biggest of the ruins, which is four storys tall.

Casa Grande Ruins National Monument
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Casa_Grande_NM-27527-2.jpg
Author: Ken Thomas


The Hohokam people abandoned the structures in the mid-15th century. Nonetheless the structures survived the harsh climate for over seven centuries. Some of them bear graffiti scratched onto their walls by 19th century passers-by.

In 1932 a modern shelter was built to shade the Casa Grande ruins. The ruins were the Casa Grande Reservation by President Benjamin Harrison on 22 June, 1892, and redesignated a national monument by President Woodrow Wilson on 3 August, 1918.

Visiting Casa Grande Ruins National Monument, Arizona

The Casa Grande Ruins are in Coolidge. If you're coming from Phoenix, take Interstate 10 and exit at Exit 185. Continue east on State Route 387 till the end, then turn right and continue on State Route 87 (Florence-Coolidge Highway) till it intersects N. Arizona Boulevard. Turn right, and the entrance to Casa Grande Ruins National Monument is on your right, at W Ruins Drive.

Casa Grande Ruins National Monument is open from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm every day except Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day. Entrance fee is $5.00 valid for 7 days from date of purchase.

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