Flagstaff-area family relieved as Riordan Mansion park gets reprieve

NOTE: CORRECTS spelling of ‘descendant’ in lead and adds detail on Homolovi almost being closed.

With BC-CNS-State Parks

Photos Available (thumbnails, captions below)

By MICHELLE PRICE
Cronkite News Service

PEORIA (Friday, Feb. 20) _ Rita Gannon, a descendant of a Flagstaff pioneer, can breathe a sigh of relief _ for now.

The Arizona State Parks Board decided Friday to keep her ancestors’ property, Riordan Mansion State Historic Park, operating. But its fate _ along with seven other parks _ depends on the Legislature, which is considering a bill that would restore money cut from the Arizona State Parks budget.

The board voted to close Jerome State Historic Park in Jerome, McFarland State Historic Park in Florence and Tonto Natural Bridge State Park near Payson until at least June 30. Depending on what the Legislature does, more parks could close in early March, members said.

If Riordan Mansion were to close, the property would revert to Gannon’s family as part of an agreement that transferred it to the state. Rita Gannon, granddaughter of Timothy Riordan, a logging business owner who played a key role in the early growth of Flagstaff, said her family can’t manage that.

“If they close it and we take it back, we cannot afford it, and it will fall to pieces,” said Gannon, who attended the hearing with her daughter Eileen. “It would be a shame.”

Mike Davis, park manager at Riordan Mansion, which saw 26,209 visitors last year, said repercussions from closing the parks would be felt for years.

“To walk away is an egregious example of throwing out the baby with the bath water,” he told the board.

Three other northern Arizona parks were on the list for closure: Fort Verde State Historic Park in Camp Verde, Homolovi Ruins State Park in Winslow and Red Rock State Park in Sedona.

Shifra Leah Boehlje, a volunteer at Fort Verde, told the board that closing the park would jeopardize its preservation of the past. Fort Verde is considered the best-preserved example of Indian Wars-era military architecture in Arizona.

“I know we are concerned about money, but at what sacrifice to our history, which would be lost forever,” she said. “The risk of losing our history is just too great.”

Fort Verde drew 15,992 visitors in 2008.

Susan Secakuku, a project manager with the Homolovi Park Project, said the Homolovi ruins, which include four pueblo sites, are an important part of the Hopi Tribe’s heritage.

“Homolovi is a place that the Hopi Tribe considers part of our ancestral homelands,” she said. “The historic and cultural heritage of the Hopi Tribe is the foundation of our life ways, including our connection with our historic villages.”

The board rejected a motion to add Homolovi to the closures approved Friday because representatives said the Hopi Tribe could help staff the park.

“We feel wonderful that they took a measured decision regarding Homolovi,” Secakuku said later.

Dale Sinquah, a member of the Hopi Tribal Council, urged the board to find other ways to address the budget cuts.

“These are trying times, and during trying times we need to think of innovative ways to keep things going,” he said.
Homolovi had 15,200 visitors last year.

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CAPTION WITH BC-CNS-STATE PARKS: Rita (left) and Eileen Gannon, the granddaughter and great-granddaughter of Timothy Riordan, are shown outside a Peoria venue where the Arizona State Parks Board decided Friday, Feb. 20, 2009, to close three parks and hold open the possibility of closing others, including Riordan Mansion State Historic Park in Flagstaff, unless the Legislature comes up with a means of continuing to fund the parks. The Gannons said they can’t afford the taxes and upkeep that would be involved if the mansion reverted to the family. (Cronkite News Service Photo/Michelle Price)

CAPTION WITH BC-CNS-STATE PARKS: Mike Davis, manager of Riordan Mansion State Historic Park in Flagstaff, makes his displeasure known about the prospect of the park closing at a hearing of the Arizona State Parks Board on Friday, Feb. 20, 2009, in Peoria. (Cronkite News Service Photo/Daniel Newhauser)

CAPTION WITH BC-CNS-STATE PARKS: Dale Sinquah, a member of the Hopi Tribal Council, speaks Friday, Feb. 20, 2009, during a hearing at which the Arizona State Parks Board considered a proposal to close 11 state parks. Sinquah urged the board to keep open Homolovi State Park near Winslow. That park has four pueblo sites thought to have been occupied by ancestors of today’s Hopi Indians. (Cronkite News Service/Daniel Newhauser)

CAPTION WITH BC-CNS-STATE PARKS: Susan Secakuku, project manager for the Homolovi Park Project, speaks Friday, Feb. 20, 2009, during a hearing at which the Arizona State Parks Board considered a proposal to close 11 state parks. Sinquah urged the board to keep open Homolovi State Park near Winslow. That park has four pueblo sites thought to have been occupied by ancestors of today’s Hopi Indians. (Cronkite News Service/Daniel Newhauser)