Frank Pinkley is a remarkable figure in the history of the National Park Service. He was born on May 27, 1881, in Chillicothe, Missouri, but moved to the dry deserts of Arizona in 1900 after doctors suggested he might have tuberculosis. The next year, he became the first Custodian of Casa Grande Ruins Reserve, where he played a key role in archaeological digs during 1906-07 and 1907-08. When the National Park Service was established in 1916, Casa Grande was designated as a National Monument in 1918. After a short stint in the Arizona State Legislature, Pinkley went back to his position at Casa Grande.
The Southwest National Monuments seal.
NPS Photo
In 1923, Pinkley dedicated two weeks to assist Edgar Lee Hewett and the School of American Archaeology with archaeological digs at Gran Quivira National Monument. Throughout this project, Pinkley helped clear away debris from the mission site. Later on, he reported his findings to Stephen Mather, who was the head of the National Park Service. This was the first official archaeological work completed at Gran Quivira: "The work of clearing the debris out of the mission began on the morning of the 16th and continued until the night of the 21st. It was a straight job of moving dirt and rock, it was not necessary to sift it or examine it closely for artifacts. This being the case, as many men and teams as could work without interference were put on the job and it was rushed through, so far as the money could carry it, in a few days. It was by no means enough money to complete the cleaning of the mission and the complex of rooms adjoining the mission had to be left practically untouched. Let us hope that future appropriations will allow us to continue this work a little at a time year after year until real results can be shown at this very interesting monument."
In the same year, Pinkley became the Superintendent of the newly established Southwest National Monuments, which included 14 National Monuments, one of which was Gran Quivira. Over time, this collection grew to encompass 27 National Monuments across four states, covering a total area of 1,143.35 square miles. In 1924, Pinkley received a budget of $15,000 to manage these monuments, which came out to about 9.2 cents for each visitor. The monuments were run by a team of volunteers known as Custodians, including Doc Smith at Gran Quivira, who was responsible for the maintenance and administration of their respective sites. As the head of this group, Pinkley earned the nickname "The Boss," which he embraced and used when signing the monthly reports for the Southwest National Monuments. These reports included updates from the Custodians at each site, along with thoughts and reflections from The Boss. "They all act like they thought the world would promptly go to pieces if they quit work for a few days, not that I blame them for I feel the same way about myself. However, we haven't lost our sense of humor and can still get a lot of fun out of the work and those saving graces that carry us over the rough spots. My general idea is that we ought to be serious in our work and plans---but not too serious."
Every summer, Pinkley would pack his family into their Model T, which they called "Baby," and travel around to see all of his monuments. This routine allowed Pinkley to keep coming back to Gran Quivira to assist with more excavations and maintenance. About Gran Quivira, Pinkley remarked:
"Gran Quivira did well, I think, seeing how far it is off the main traveled road, to draw 287 visitors in January. If you had driven in over that last 27 miles in bad weather you would understand how badly those people wanted to see the ruins."
In 1940, Pinkley secured funding to organize the first Custodian School for the Southwest National Monuments, which took place over three days at Casa Grande National Monument. Thanks to his efforts, most of the 27 National Monuments' Custodians and their spouses were able to participate in the event. During his opening remarks, Pinkley looked back on his nearly 40 years of service as Superintendent and expressed gratitude to the wives for their contributions in safeguarding and advocating for the National Monuments, just like the Custodians. He concluded with a heartfelt message. "May we leave this meeting three days hence with a bigger and broader comprehension of our work and a fixed determination to do it better this next year than it has ever been done before."
Pinkley went back to his chair, took a seat, and suddenly passed away from a severe heart attack.
A funeral service took place at Casa Grande, close to where Pinkley had settled when he arrived in 1901. It was also agreed to carry on with the conference without him, just like "The Boss" would have preferred.
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