Calabazas Mission - exterior - National Parks Gallery

The name Calabazas first appears in a baptismal record of June 2, 1756. It was evidently established as a mission earlier that year when Father Francisco Xavier Pauer relocated at least seventy-eight Pimas to the site from their village of Toacuquita, a Spanish rendition of the Pima words "do'ag cugidaga," meaning "peaked mountain." This village was located closer to the Santa Cruz River. When the mission was moved up away from the river, it was given the name "San Cayetano de Calabazas." Calabazas means "squash" or "gourds" in Spanish -- the name may be a reference to the wild "coyote gourds" that grow in the area, or to the domestic squash cultivated by the O'odham. Records are scanty but it is known that construction of the church was half complete in 1761 and it was functional by 1773.