Cairn That Told 'Human Story' Of Pre-State Arizona Toppled: Why?

TUCSON, AZ — Until it was toppled, the massive cairn at the peak of Rincon Mountain had stood longer than Arizona's statehood. It was the product of careful work, as government surveyors had assembled the sides into slopes that ascended 12 feet into the air, a human-made mountain that survived more than a century of change.

The cairn was born in late April or early May of 1903. A newspaper item from the May 12 edition of the Arizona Daily Star noted that it took the government's workers "three attempts" to erect the monument.

It is not clear how many attempts it took to knock it down — only that the attempt worked.

The erasure of a historic cairn, described as "crucial in the development of detailed maps of the southern portion of the Arizona Territory," has flummoxed rangers at Saguaro National Park.

Last week, park visitors left hundreds of comments on the park's Facebook post revealing the cairn's destruction; while many expressed outrage at the destruction, others wondered why the historic cairn wasn't accompanied by signage.

Whether by human or natural causes, the circumstances of the cairn's toppling are complicated by the remoteness of the crime scene. Rincon Peak "is seldom visited by park staff," noted Saguaro National Park Chief Ranger Ray O'Neil in an email to Patch.

"We heard a rumor that the monument had been destroyed last fall," he added, "It seemed unlikely since it was so large."

It wasn't until last week that park officials confirmed that rumor. At this point, based on "research and comments from visitors," park officials believe the monument was destroyed between June and August 2019.

Cairns might be ancient in origin, but they also are the source of contemporary controversy.

Today, national parks actively discourage visitors from leaving the artfully constructed piles of stones, as they can disrupt the landscape and potentially confuse visitors on trails. Other critics see the practice of building cairns as a kind vandalism; Arizona Northern University ecologist Robyn Martin once described cairns as "pointless reminders of human ego."

But in the case of the cairn that once stood at Rincon Peak, there may have been a worthy reason for memorializing an endeavor of human ego, argued Don Swann, a biologist with Saguaro National Park.

"This is part of federally designated wilderness, and there's a lot more to wilderness than just the biological perspective," he said. "National parks, they preserve these lands with so many different stories. The cairn was a meaningful historic and cultural site. It's one piece of the human story; it's how we came to explore and understand this area."

For now, park officials say there is no plan to rebuild to cairn, though Swann acknowledged that it is likely the monument had already undergone modifications or even been rebuilt during its previous century-plus existence.

In any case, Swann said there's still lesson to be learned.

"Before you go and dismantle anything in a national park," he advised, "you should ask if it should be there or not."