Aztec Ruins Administrative History

THE MONUMENT FACES ECONOMIC EXPLOITATION

At first, for some valley farmers wages from day labor at the monument supplemented income derived from cash crops, always at the mercy of fluctuations of weather and markets. Later, a sprinkling of tourist dollars began to flow into cash registers of local hotels and eateries. These economic benefits from a national monument at the edge of town were not expected to greatly increase until improved roads were built connecting Aztec with better known points of interest. Pinkley followed the first staffing of the monument with hopes that anticipated road expansion would be beneficial to several national monuments within his region. "We think we can deflect a line of traffic from Mesa Verde through Durango," he speculated, "past the Aztec and Chaco Canyon national monuments into Gallup instead of letting it go by way of Shiprock." [99] For the time being, however, the existing roads remained a trial in inclement weather, and construction of new links were a long time in coming.

Local organizations remained optimistic. The Aztec Club, an organization of the town's businessmen, ordered 100 signs to point the way to the town and the nearby Anasazi ruins. [100] Not to be outdone, the Women's Club of Aztec paid for erection of a three-pillar arch over the junction of the secondary road to the ruins and the Aztec-Farmington highway to call attention to the attraction of Aztec Ruins. The county highway department helped out by grading the road. In the fall of 1928, a new $100,000 bridge was being put across the Animas River. Indirectly, it would promote travel to the monument. [101]

A hint at the possible effectiveness of the signs, if not improved road conditions, appeared in a brief newspaper article of the period: "Thousands of tourists from all parts of the world visit the Aztec Ruins National Monument every year but this month holds the record with the largest number of visitors for a single month. From the 25th of May to the 25th of June, this year, 1,757 people visited the monument. The visitors represented every state in the Union and several foreign countries including East India, Mexico, Italy, China, Canada, and the Philippine islands." [102]

To take advantage of growing tourism, several individuals expressed interest in opening commercial establishments where they could profit from visitation to the monument. John J. Herring, of Denver, requested permission to operate a curio store on the monument property. Boundey denied this request because of lack of available land and access. [103]

The next month a rumor was making the rounds that one of the Abrams family was planning to lease land across the dirt road along the west side of the monument for a campground and store. [104] The stock market crash and resulting Depression delayed these constructions for a year. In October 1930, the pseudo-Pueblo style building that was to have been an Abrams store fronting on the western boundary road was rented as a residence to the new custodian at Aztec Ruins. [105] The campground in the orchard at one side, which opened that May, began to fill. [106]