Courtesy of Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum

history

This wild-growing Desert Ironwood Tree (Olneya tesota), is located on the campus of the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum in Tucson Mountain Park, thirteen miles from the city of Tucson, Arizona. At the turn of the 20th century, the area was primarily used for ranching and limited mining. Tucson Mountain Park was established as a county park in 1929. Spanish-style buildings were constructed within the park during the late 1930s by members of the Civilian Conservation Corps. These structures, including two spacious buildings connected by a large patio, a caretaker’s house, and stables, were known as the Mountain House. The buildings were initially leased for use as a guest house and restaurant for park visitors; with the onset of World War II and associated shortages, however, the businesses closed.

In 1951, William H. Carr, who had earlier established Bear Mountain Museum in New York state, and Arthur N. Pack, a local philanthropist and member of the Pima County Park Commission, proposed using the Mountain House and the surrounding area for an outdoor museum to display the living plants and animals of the Sonoran Desert. The following year, the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum opened to visitors.