Upon my first visit in 1884, it was evident that nothing more than a superficial examination had ever been made. In 1886 I caused the debris on the floors to be shoveled over. This material consisted of a quantity of dust and broken fragments of pottery and stone implements, together with the accumulation of guano from bats that inhabited the building. This accumulation, in the largest room of the top floor, was 4 feet in depth. As no one had ever disturbed it, the floor was found in exactly the same condition in which it was left by the latest occupants.
A few years later, the first repair work was done. In 1897, members of the Arizona Antiquarian Association visited Montezuma Castle and, with funds raised by subscription, cleaned up the ruin and performed repairs including the installation of ladders, iron anchor rods, and corrugated iron roofs.
On December 8, 1906, by Presidential proclamation, 160 acres were set aside from the public domain to preserve Montezuma Castle as a National Monument. By Presidential proclamation of February 23, 1937, 366 acres were added to the area to give better protection to the monument entrance and to the area in the foreground of the ruin. On April 4, 1947, Montezuma Well was acquired by the Federal Government through purchase from private owners. This last purchase gave the monument a total area of somewhat over 1 square mile.
Montezuma Castle as it looked to early visitors.
Beaver Creek north of Montezuma Castle.
The Natural Scene
The landscape of the Verde Valley is wild, spectacular, and mountainous, dropping from forested mountain ranges and high mesas down to sparsely vegetated desert valleys with ribbons of dense growth bordering the valley streams. Clear desert air projects this rugged scene upon your mind with almost frightening intensity. Towering thunderheads and filmy streaks of high cirrus clouds emphasize the harshly blue skies.
Though the desert landscape looks bleak, it nourishes an astonishing variety of plant and animal life.