MONTEZUMA CASTLE

SPECTACULARLY situated high up in the recesses of a white sandstone cliff, overlooking the Verde Valley in Yavapai County, clings Montezuma Castle, abandoned home of a people long gone-a cliff dwelling of unusual construction and beauty.

Eighty feet above the banks of Beaver Creek in this sheer cliff cavity, Montezuma's Castle, probably so named by the early Spanish explorers for the ancient Aztec ruler, rises five stories to a height of about forty feet and consists principally of twenty rooms. An elaborate balcony fronts the upper story from which an unobstructed view of the countryside is obtained.

Montezuma Castle is considered the best example of a prehistoric cliff dwell ing in the Southwest, and due to the pro-tection afforded by the overhanging ledge, it remains the best preserved example in the United States.

Apartment In The Cliffs

How long ago this unusual combination fortress and apartment house was built and when it was deserted is not positively known although archaeologists place the probable time of its construc-tion at about eight hundred years ago and the time of its abandonment some three hundred years later.

From where these little known people came is hidden in the dim past. Where they went and why is more or less conjectural. From evidences uncovered at the site however, it appears they were a short, stockily-built type of Indians who practiced irrigation, made tools of stone and bone and were expert potters and weavers. From all appearances, they just left, scattered here and there, perhaps intermarrying and becoming absorbed into other tribes of which presentday Indians may be descendants-presumably the Hopi, due to their similar stature.

Montezuma Castle was not constructed all at one time close observation reveals, but was built in several distinct stages. From the various types of construction it appears that each group built its own series of rooms, adding on here and there with no general plan in view, although the structure as it stands today has a balance of architectural completeness. It is thought possible a hundred or more persons occupied this cliff apartment house at one time.

Access to Montezuma Castle is by a series of strongly made ladders placed there by the Federal Government, to which the original dwellers must have gained admittance by rope ladders made of twisted yucca and cotton strands. In case of attack the rope ladders could be pulled out of reach, making the dwelling inaccessible, due to the almost vertical cliff wall.

The first story consists of eight rooms of different sizes and shapes which stretch horizontally along the ledge-like bottom of the recess. Ascending stories gradually decreased the number of rooms up to the fifth story which has but a plaza and two rooms buttressed by a parThe building was raised in the usual pueblo manner by placing heavy sycamore beams across the top walls of the lower story, crossing these with reeds and small sticks and plastering them with a thick layer of adobe thus forming a floor for the story above. In some of the rooms the reeds appear to have been left exposed purposely to effect ceiling decorations. Most of the doorways are low T-shaped openings as is typical of most all prehistoric structures. The reasons for entrances of this type was for protection against invasion should an enemy reach the dwelling. To enter it was necessary to stoop and in so doing, an opportunity to get the "drop" on the intruder was afforded.

Montezuma Castle was established as a national monument in 1906 and is under the supervision and protection of the NatNational Park Service of the Department of the Interior. Rangers are stationed at the site to conduct visitors through the ruins and to explain the history as pieced together by evidences found there. This splendid example of prehistoric architecture forms a priceless heritage for which every citizen should exert his influence to see that it is transmitted to future generations in all of its perfection.

Nearby is a museum containing articles retrieved from the ruins, of great archaeolgical significance. On the 160 acre monument are fine shade trees where visitors may picnic and rest. Facing the great dwelling are benches under the trees where one may sit, gaze up at the magnificent ruin and ponder over the wonder of it all.

Montezuma Castle is reached from Flagstaff, 75 miles via scenic Oak Creek Canyon. Also from U. S. Highway 89, six miles north of Prescott at junction, turning right on state highway 79. Travelers leave this highway three miles east of Cottonwood, drive through Cornville and then continue from that point northeast to the banks of Beaver Creek. From Roosevelt Dam also, a road leads north through Payson and Pine to Camp Verde, thence five miles northeast.⚫