In The News

Jan

2020

Civil War Days

Watch a program or movie about the Civil War and you’re apt to watch armies lining up and blazing away at each other with cannons and muzzleloading rifles that belch huge clouds of smoke.
You’re not so likely to see what went into setting the stage for those battles – the mapmaking that guided troop movements, the road builders clearing paths for the armies to move forward, the building of pontoon bridges that allowed them to cross wide rivers.
Jeff Blansett wants to introduce you to army engineers, the largely unsung warriors whose labors contributed victory – in the case of North.

Jan

2020

YCNHA reaches its first fundraising goal

In the first month of a fundraising campaign, Yumans have shown that they are invested in their local landmarks.
Last month, Yuma Crossing National Heritage Area kicked off its Giving Tuesday campaign “Be Yuma’s Future by Investing in its Past” with the goal of raising money to restore iconic Yuma landmarks, including the historic Territorial Prison, Colorado River State Historic Park and the East Wetlands.
The goal for the first month was $20,000 with a “long game” target of $100,000. Thanks to donors, the campaign surpassed the first goal and reached the $23,000 mark.

Dec

2019

McSally introduces bill

U.S. Sen. Martha McSally of Arizona introduced a bill to the Senate on Thursday that would reauthorize the Yuma Crossing National Heritage Area as such for another 15 years.
Otherwise, the YCNHA will sunset on its federal designation at the end of the fiscal year 2021. The YCNHA first received its designation in 2001 and received a five-year extension to its designation in 2014.
“What this does is it gives us funding from the congressional budget that allows us to keep doing what we’re doing,” said Lowell Perry Jr., executive director of the YCNHA. “We hope that it goes through, and it’s supported by both our senators, and it will be critical to what we’re doing. We appreciate the support coming from McSally and Sinema. They clearly recognize the importance.”

Nov

2019

Invest in Yuma

On the brink of turning 100 years old, Yuma’s old City Hall is in dire need of repairs. As a reminder of the upcoming milestone, the year “1920” is stamped above the ornate entryway.
Today the building, located at 181 W. 1st St., houses a number of nonprofit groups, including the Yuma Crossing National Heritage Area, Visit Yuma, Yuma County Chamber of Commerce, Caballeros de Yuma and United Way.
However, along with celebrating a century of history, the Heritage Area wants to start giving it some tender loving care in the way of repairs.

Oct

2019

October 2019 Quarterly Newsletter

Sep

2019

Name Dropper, Lisa Dickson

The Yuma Crossing National Heritage Area has welcomed Lisa Dickson to the team as the executive assistant specializing in development.

Sep

2019

Yuma Territorial Prison Best Haunted Destination in the Country

The legend says that many years ago a little girl in a red dress trying to retrieve her doll from the Colorado River drowned. She now haunts the Yuma Territorial Historic Prison, and if she doesn’t like a visitor or if a person is wearing red, the little girl will pinch the visitor.

Stories like this one have long given the state historic park a reputation as one of the most “haunted” places in the United States. Now it’s official: USA Today readers have voted the historic prison as the “Best Haunted Destination” in the nation.

The Yuma prison faced stiff competition, going up against destinations with sinister-sounding names such as the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum in Weston, West Virginia, the Villisca Axe Murder House in Villisca, Iowa, and the Queen Mary, which is docked in Long Beach, California, and has an established reputation as being haunted.

Jul

2019

Spanish Events at local State Parks

The Latino community in Yuma is invited to enjoy and connect with the great outdoors during the sixth annual Latino Conservation Week, which began Saturday and runs through July 21.

In partnership with the Hispanic Access Foundation, the Yuma Crossing National Heritage Area is hosting two events, a Spanish presentation on the conservation efforts in Yuma at 10 a.m. Tuesday at the Colorado River State Historic Park, 201 N. 4th Ave., and a Spanish tour of the Yuma Territorial Prison State Historic Park, 220 Prison Hill Road, at 9:30 a.m. Thursday.

The Spanish presentations are part of an effort by the YCNHA, which oversees both state parks, to reach more Hispanics. The YCNHA earlier this year formed an Hispanic Advisory Committee, comprised of community members, to finds ways to connect more with Hispanics, which make up more than 60 percent of the local population.

Jul

2019

First prisoners Yuma inmates built their own cells in 1876

Monday marked a historic day for the Yuma Territorial Prison. The first inmates entered the prison on July 1, 1876, and built their own cells.

Soon after arriving in Yuma, seven prisoners from across Arizona started constructing the first two-and-a-half cells with rock. During the day, they toiled under the heat of the sun and at night they were locked up at the Yuma County Jail on Main Street.

Prisoner No. 1 was William Ball of Tucson. He had been sentenced to life for second-degree murder. He was released upon pardon by Acting Gov. H.W. Van Armand on July 24, 1884, but he returned twice more as Prisoner No. 414 and 581 for grand larceny.

Jun

2019

Yuma Crossing's Executive Director Travels to D.C.

While Yuma Mayor Doug Nicholls was in Washington, D.C., Wednesday to testify about the migrant crisis in front of the House Budget Committee, Lowell Perry Jr. of the Yuma Crossing National Heritage Area was also in the nation’s capital to lobby for more funding for his and other heritage areas.

Perry said Nicholls got to sit in with him on his meetings with Sens. Kyrsten Sinema and Martha McSally, after Perry watched part of the mayor’s testimony. “We’ve had quite a day so far, and it’s been very productive,” he said Wednesday afternoon.