Cucurpe

Cucurpe lies near the headwaters of the San Miguel River, where the arid valleys of Sonora meet the uplands of the Sierra Madre. It stood near the boundary between the lands of the Ópata and the Pima Bajo. The surrounding rivers and mountains formed part of the northern frontier of Spanish settlement.

Jesuit missionaries established a mission at Cucurpe in the mid-seventeenth century. From this region Eusebio Francisco Kino travelled north to begin his work in the Pimería Alta in 1687. The mission became a point of departure for further expeditions and religious foundations across a country already inhabited by O’odham communities. Spanish missions brought new demands and institutions to the frontier, while local peoples shaped the course of contact. Its position made it a gateway between the older missions and the northern frontier.