GLOBE — Most ancient ruins in Arizona are just that — ruins.

Overseen by government agencies, they are stabilized but never rebuilt because the philosophy is to preserve, not restore. But the old pueblo here, known as Besh-Ba-Gowah, has been partially rebuilt and nobody’s getting their nose bent out of shape because of it.

Besh-Ba-Gowah in Globe. Photo Credit: Sam Lowe

The site’s history has been traced back to about A.D. 750, but most of the building was done between A.D. 1225 and 1400, and as many as 150 members of the Salado tribe may have lived there. The Apaches took control after 1600 and kept it until the late 1800s. The name is a loose translation of “place of metal,” the Apache description of the area.

Federal excavations took place in the early 1900s, but the projects were abandoned and ruins went back to being ruins. But in 1981, the city of Globe took control and ordered a major restoration. Now it’s an archaeological park, clean and neat and a testimonial to thousands of volunteers who used the same rocks as the original inhabitants to rebuild a couple of the original structures

Besh Ba-Gowah is located at 1324 S. Jesse Hayes Rd. It’s open 362 days a year from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m (closed on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years Day). To learn more, visit the City of Globe.