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Cliff
Palace
Mesa Verde National Park |
Courtesy, Library
of Congress
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San Juan Skyway
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Segment 6: Virginia McClurg’s Efforts
to Save the Mesa Verde Cliff Dwelings
Standards-Based Themes: Check chart
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Summary
Mesa Verde National Park is located
on a large plateau above the Montezuma and Mancos Valleys in southwestern
Colorado. Once home to the Ancestral Puebloans (also called Anasazi,
from a Navajo word meaning “the ancient ones”), remnants
of once-great stone cities are still found in the dim recesses of
the steep canyon walls. |
| The first people to settle in Mesa Verde (Spanish
for “green table”) are thought to have arrived in the
area around 550 A.D. Skilled in basket making, farming and hunting,
the population settled on the mesa where they lived a fairly prosperous
and peaceful life. By 1000 A.D. the people had learned to build
houses with stone and had become accomplished potters. Pottery was
created for ceremonial use, cooking, and storage. Around 1200 A.D.,
the people began to move away from the open environment of the mesa
to relocate among the recesses of the steep mesa cliffs. No one
is sure why the move occurred, but it did signal the beginning of
the building of the stone cliff dwellings for which Mesa Verde is
famous today. Most of the cliff dwellings were built in the mid-1200s.
However, by 1300, Mesa Verde was deserted. The Anasazi had lived
in the cliff houses for less than 100 years. Again, mystery surrounds
the people’s departure. The last few years before the Anasazi
left are known to be a time of drought, and perhaps successive drought-related
crop failure forced the people to move. Some scholars suggest that
after years of use, the natural resources of the area were depleted
and the people had little choice but to move on. |
Modern
day evidence of the ancient civilization of the Anasazi first
came to light in 1888 when two cowboys from the Mancos Valley
discovered pottery remains and other ancient artifacts among
the magnificent dwellings located under the overhanging cliffs
of the mesa. Word of the ruins spread when it was determined
that the artifacts possessed value. Soon hundreds of pottery
hunters, with little appreciation for the historic value of
the cliff dwellings, descended on the area. Vandalism and a
general lack of concern for historic preservation threatened
to destroy this extremely valuable link to the past.
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| In 1887, the cliff dwellings of Mesa
Verde found a friend in the person of Virginia McClurg, a journalist
from the eastern United States. Making the preservation of Mesa
Verde her life mission, she waged a tireless campaign on its behalf
throughout the 1890s. On one occasion she was able to persuade the
Federation of Women's Clubs to adopt the preservation of Mesa Verde
as their primary cause. Although the women lobbied the state and
national governments, they failed to secure a sympathetic ear. In
the late 1890s it appeared that the cliff dwellings of Mesa Verde
were destined to crumble and ultimately disappear. However, with
the election of Theodore Roosevelt to the presidency, McClurg found
an ally in her efforts to preserve Mesa Verde. With strong support
from the president, Congress passed a law in June 1906, creating
Mesa Verde National Park. Because of McClurg’s dedication,
Mesa Verde was prevented from falling apart and fading away. Recent
national park records show that over 700,000 people visit Mesa Verde
each year. |
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| Mesa Verde
cliff dwellings |
Courtesy, Bud
Rath
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Virginia McClurg
Courtesy, Denver Public Library, Western History Department
Virginia McClurg spent almost 20 years of her life working to save the cliff dwellings.
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Mesa
Verde Cliff Palace
Courtesy, Bud Rath
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Pottery recovered from Mesa Verde National Park
Courtesy, National Park Service
The pottery
pictured in the photos above and below are recovered Native American
ceramics, from Mesa Verde National Park.
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Pottery recovered from Mesa Verde National Park
Courtesy, National Park Service
The Ancestral Puebloans make and use pottery differently in four distinct periods. Both styles and craftsmanship become more refined.
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Cliff
dwellings
Courtesy, Bud Rath
Recent national park records show that more than 700,000 people visit Mesa Verde National Park each year. |
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