Gila Pueblo Archaeological Foundation

In 1928, Mr. Harold Gladwin and Mrs. Winifred Jones MacCurdy, two wealthy individuals interested in archaeology, bought land near Globe from the Healys. The prehistoric Gila Pueblo ruin was located on this acreage. On this site, they established the Gila Pueblo Archaeological Foundation. Mr. Gladwin was the Director of Gila Pueblo, which employed Dr. Emil Haury as Assistant Director in 1930. Gladwin and Mrs. MacCurdy were later married.

The Gila Pueblo staff surveyed a wide area in several states and northern Mexico and excavated a number of sites that helped define Hohokam, Mogollon and Salado cultures. The Foundation also published their archaeological studies as the Medallion Papers and held the Gila Pueblo Conference of 1931 when Gladwin explained his Southwest culture-unit (phases) classification, a framework that is still used today.

Gila Pueblo ceased operation about 1950. Although Gladwin offered the collections and buildings to Harvard and the University of California, they couldn't accept an Arizona corporation. As a result, Gladwin's attorney, who was on the Board of Regents of the University of Arizona, approached the University as a possible recipient. The Arizona State Museum presented the Foundation with an acceptable plan and the transfer was arranged.

A history of Gila Pueblo and additional background are available in the Archives control file. Maps of Gila Pueblo follow this note [in the control file]. Map 1 was given to Dr. Haury by Keith Anderson of the Western Archaeological Center on Nov. 14, 1986 and shows the floor plan of Gila Pueblo during its use by the National Park Service in the 1960s. Map 2 is Dr. Haury's revision of the first map to show the floor plan during Gila Pueblo's operations in the 1930s and 1940s.

From the guide to the Gila Pueblo Foundation Papers, 1928-1950, (Arizona State Museum)