Description
Thursday, March 26, 2026: Historic Patagonia Schoolhouses Tour
The tour begins at the Patagonia Museum located in the 1914 Patagonia Elementary School which served as the local school for 101 years. Patagonia was a boom mining and ranching town established in the 1890s and is now a charming artsy hamlet. We will briefly tour the exhibit rooms in the museum and then head toward the San Rafael Valley where the headwaters of the Santa Cruz River begin. With permission pending, we may be able to stop by the San Rafael Ranch Headquarters (now a State Park) which you'll likely recognize as a frequent movie location. From the ranch house, we will stop at the Lochiel Schoolhouse, a one room adobe schoolhouse on the border dating back possibly as early as 1891. There we will have your BYOB picnic lunch and examine the exhibits there. We will return to Patagonia driving through the Patagonia Mountains, by Duquesne and Washington Camp (2 old mining towns) and through Harshaw where South 32, an Australian Mining Company, is developing a new mine. Each person will pack their own picnic lunch and drink(s).
German Quiroga will be our tour guide and ride in the van with us as he regales us with the stories he grew up learning. German's maternal ancestors settled in Lochiel around 1880 and his paternal ancestors moved to Patagonia in 1898. German retired as a letter carrier in 2008 and has been the President of the Patagonia Museum since 2009.
We will meet at the Tubac Presidio parking lot at 8:00am and plan to return by 4:30pm.
Tour fee: $85 for BCA members; $95 for non-members
Activity level: Walking over uneven terrain in natural grasslands. Some stairs. Riding in a van for 2 hours at a time.
Cancellation policy: On or before March 16: full refund (less $25 cancellation fee) OR a credit for a future equivalent tour. After March 16: NO refunds; a credit for a future tour may be offered.
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