The following is an original production of AZPM News.

(Tom) This week on Arizona Illustrated, we take a trip to the community of Nogales to explore its history.

(Carlos) Like any region, there's also a really good side to it.

There are people living here with a good heart.

(Tom) Hear the unlikely story of this Nogales-born runner.

(Daniel) And regardless of what people think of Nogales, it's a special part of me.

It's a great town, it's a great community, and I saw it today.

(Tom) Meet a group preserving the legacy of Buffalo Soldiers.

(Michelle) This is Holy Ground.

This cemetery is located in the middle of what used to be the entirety of Camp Stephen D. Little here in Nogales.

(Tom) And learn about a 267 year old house in Tubac that's still a work in progress.

(Nancy) I came back and after a while, it was almost as if I felt like, why did I ever leave?

Hello and welcome to Arizona Illustrated.

I'm Tom McNamara, and we're joining you from the bi-national community of Nogales.

People have lived here for centuries, and recently this city has been sharing some important connections with its neighbor to the south.

So first up, a University of Arizona Assistant Professor and Nogales native takes us on a tour.

♪ UPBEAT PIANO ♪ (Carlos) Today we're in a very special corner of Nogales, Arizona.

The Crawford Street Residential Historic District, which is on a hill overlooking the downtown part of Nogales, Arizona and Nogales Sonora, Mexico.

On this hill is special and on the National Register of Historic Places since 1985 because of its different mansions which are located in this historic district, showing different architectural styles related to the early years and the early development of Nogales, Arizona.

One of the highlights of this neighborhood is this beautiful home right behind me, 429 West Crawford Street, which was built in 1910 in the neoclassical Spanish style out of Tufa Stone.

This home, initially built for a Nogales banker, is the former home of Raúl Héctor Castro, the first and so far only Hispanic governor of Arizona, in office between 1975 and 1977.

After retiring from politics, Raul Castro moved to Nogales, Arizona, and he lived here in the last years of his life.

Nowadays, in the 2020s, a lot of Americans are afraid to travel to Nogales, like, "Oh, the border is so dangerous."

But more than a century ago, in the early 1900s and 1910s, 1920s, this was the place to be.

One of the special things about this historic district is that it covers a wide swath of the western corner of the original town site of Nogales, Arizona, including the historic Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish, built in 1928 in the Romanesque style, which is one of the most breathtaking examples of architecture and community gathering spots in the Ambos Nogales community.

Morley Avenue is another one of Nogales, Arizona's great historic streets, and it is in fact the very first street which was created in this city as the railroad arrived here in 1882.

And named after Santa Fe railroad company engineer William Gray Morley, who surveyed the area which became the corridor for the first international U.S.-Mexico train crossing between Nogales, Arizona and Nogales, Sonona.

The Morley Avenue commercial district dates back to the 1880s, when this was the first street connecting Nogales, Arizona of Nogales, Mexico.

However, most of the current-day buildings in this district date back to the 1910s and 1920s, even though the modern-day facades of these buildings would suggest that these buildings were built more recently.

If you tear back the layers of these buildings, you can see buildings which date back to that time period, showing the architectures of those moments.

Growing up in Nogales in the 1990s and the 2000s, this was one of the busiest commercial streets in our city.

However, after the 9-11 terror attacks, visitors from Mexico, who were the lifeline of this commercial district, found it much difficult to cross the border for day trips, leading to the slow, gradual, but very noticeable decline of the Morley Commercial District in downtown Nogales, Arizona.

Efforts to revive the Morley Avenue Commercial District have met mixed success in recent years, but much work remains to be done to make sure this part of Nogales can see the full rebirth that it needs.

In addition to Morley Avenue, visitors of historic downtown Nogales, Arizona would also be interested in visiting Terrace Avenue, (Carlos) which is one of the other historic commercial streets in the center of the city.

Terrace Avenue leads to one of the other historic border crossings between Nogales, Arizona and Nogales, Mexico, complete with a historic 1935 U.S.

Customs House, built during the heart of the Great Depression under President Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal.

The 1935 U.S.

Customs House reflects the local character of this corner of the U.S.-Mexico border with Mexican clay tile roofing as well as a cupola on the top of the building.

We are now at the Nogales Public Library, which is another important component of Nogales' cultural landscape.

Here, we are at the mural titled "The Present Meets the Past," created in 2024 by local art teacher Miguel Grijalva and his students.

So to that end, this mural celebrates our long history in this community, beginning with the ancient Hohokam people dating back to the 10th century A.D.

and documenting aspects of the creation of the first U.S.-Mexico border fences here in Nogales, as well as the arrival of Spanish missionaries and the migrations of jaguars and other species through our Sky Island community.

(Fatima) As someone who's always been passionate about art and has always been in that area, getting to meet Mr.

Grijalva was a really great opportunity because he gets to do stuff like this.

And so just being on by his side for all those four years got me that great opportunity to come and work here at this mural.

I helped work with Father Kino here and his story, and getting to put that history onto the wall was really interesting.

(Miguel) Well, I thank the Lord that this is all taking place, it's all been permitted.

And I am very happy and I'm very happy to live in Nogales even though I'm not from here.

Like any region, there's also a really good side to it.

There are people living here with a good heart, with good intentions, with a vision.

People that are determined in life, people that are hardworking, devoted to their children growing up in school, making it out to college.

We have a strong community in this region.

(Carlos) When people think about the U.S.-Mexico border, they might think about barbed wire and fences and all manner of barriers.

However, for border residents, the real image of the U.S.-Mexico border are ports of entry like the Morley Gates behind me.

One of a literal handful of ports of entry between the United States and Mexico, which are pedestrian only.

At one point, this being the original port of entry between Nogales, Arizona and Nogales, Mexico, motor vehicles cross between here, which are following along the footsteps of stagecoaches before them.

The current structure dates back to 1931, but its history dates back even earlier to the 1850s, when this was the completely unfenced, unwalled US-Mexico boundary, and at the time marked only by a pile of rocks set in place by the 1855 US-Mexico Boundary Commission.

Returning to Nogales as a academic historian of the border is very special, as you can see a lot of the social dynamics and historical dynamics we explore in our research at play right here in Nogales.

This is a community which faces many significant challenges navigating the 21st century, but it's also a community which really reflects the larger story of Arizona, of different groups of people coming into contact with another, having cultural exchange, and building something.

♪ PIANO FADES ♪ Next, you'll hear the unlikely story of a Nogales native who rediscovered his love of running after an unexpected challenge changed his life forever.

♪ FUNKY GUITAR PLAYS ♪ (Daniel) Running makes me feel free again.

It makes me feel just like I'm in charge.

It just keeps my mind just preoccupied and just free of anything for those hours that I'm running, those 30 minutes, whatever, it's like I'm just up in the clouds.

I started running my sophomore year in high school.

I was fast, I was varsity, I was in the top seven runners.

And then once I graduated college, life happened.

I just stopped.

So I didn't think about running.

What brought you back to it?

My vision loss, actually.

I started losing my vision in 2011.

I had myopic macular degeneration in my right eye first.

So in 2018, 2019, I lost vision in my left eye.

And I had more surgeries.

And I had to go on long-term disability.

I had to stay home.

I was alone a lot.

So I got depressed while I was doing the vocational rehabilitation so I can try to continue to work and learn braille.

They ask you, like, "what is it that you like to do?"

And I was like, "well, I used to run."

And they were like, "well, as a matter of fact, do you know that there is a group here in Phoenix called Achilles International?"

(Patrick) I met Daniel a couple of years ago as part of the Phoenix Achilles group.

What we do is we pair up with various runners to help them run in races.

(Daniel) So I didn't know what to expect.

So it is like, you're gonna run with a tether and this is a guide.

And we just took off.

The minute I crossed the line, I was hooked.

I was like, wow, like, I wanna do this.

Like, this is great.

There's a euphoric feeling that was inside me.

Like, wow, like, yes, please.

[ CROWD CHEERING ] (Patrick) The key thing is, first off, there's a sense of trust because Daniel has to trust me.

And then also is just understanding how much do you communicate?

And so what we'll do is we'll say, "okay, in 50 feet, we're gonna take a sharp left turn."

And then when we get there, I've got the tether.

So I will pull him to the left so he knows, but I'll tell him when we're turning.

But the key thing is to hold on to the tether because if he should trip, which I've had people trip before, the key thing is you don't want them to fall.

[ ANNOUNCER OVER SPEAKER ] In 2022, I got accepted to New York.

So I ran the New York City Marathon, which was an experience of its own.

And then I continue to run.

And in 2024, I ran the Boston Marathon, which is probably my most precious achievement to say, "hey, I ran Boston."

And then you say, "oh, you ran Boston.

Like, you ran Boston."

It's like, yeah, I ran Boston.

It's like the most prestigious marathon in the world.

It really is.

[ ANNOUNCING IN SPANISH ] (Patrick) Today we did the Nogales half marathon.

So it was just great to get a feeling for what is Nogales.

Tuve la oportunidad de ir a Boston Fui a investigar, a ver cómo funcionaba todo.

Me dije :"Nogales ,¿por qué no se puede hacer un cuarto de maratón en Nogales?"

O sea , es muy difícil hacer un maratón eee , y así fue surgió el idea , nos brincamos a un medio maratón porque la gente lo estaba pidiendo (Daniel) I grew up here.

And regardless of what people think of Nogales, it's a special part of me.

It's a great town.

It's a great community.

And I saw it today.

I saw how the community came together.

A community of 20,000 people and just everybody was involved and the music and the vibe.

[ SINGING IN SPANISH ] y pues este año, hablando,por ejemplo de Sonora Ahora sé que vinieron desde Navojoa , Gusymas ,Hermosillo Caborca, Imuris , Magdalena o sea que se vino así y pues de Arizona , pues tenemos gente de Sierra Vista de Phoenix ,Tucson , tuvimos gente de Yuma (Daniel) All sorts of levels of running, the kids running, just people gathering together.

And we talked about New York and Boston, but I'm as proud to be a part of Nogales because Nogales is a small town.

And today seemed like one of the biggest events that I've ever seen in this community.

It was just beautiful to see.

Because when you lose your vision, for me personally it's like you lose something and you're not a part of the world.

And that's what running does for me.

It's something that is really important.

I feel like I belong.

[ LAUGHING ] Back in 1866, Congress created an all-Black peacetime regiment that became known as the Buffalo Soldiers.

And one of their major outposts out here in the West was right here in Nogales.

So next, meet some people who are working to keep that legacy alive.

♪ MELANCHOLY AMBIENT MUSIC ♪ ♪ CHOIR SINGING ♪ (Donna) On behalf of all descendants, welcome to the fifth annual salute to the Nogales Buffalo Soldiers.

This year marks not only our fifth annual celebration, but also the 160th anniversary of the formation of the United States Buffalo Soldier Regiment.

My name is Donna Jackson-Houston.

I'm the president and founder of the Nogales Buffalo Soldier Legacy Association.

And my grandfather was a 25th Infantry Buffalo Soldier stationed here in Nogales, Arizona at Camp Little.

All Black regiments and they were very much responsible for the westward expansion in American history.

One tradition we have followed is to have the names of almost 70 Buffalo soldiers that have been identified that are buried here in the Nogales Cemetery read aloud and acknowledged.

[ BELL CHIME ] (Announcer) Jack Poehler [ BELL CHIME ] Samuel Sylvester Poehler [ BELL CHIME ] (Michelle) This is Holy Ground.

This cemetery is located in the middle of what used to be the entirety of Camp Stephen D. Little here in Nogales.

My name is Michelle Biggs Benzenhoefer I am the historian for the Nogales Buffalo Soldier's Legacy Association and one of the founding members.

Our families are descendants of Buffalo Soldiers that were stationed here at Camp Little in Nogales, Arizona.

I was adopted by my grandparents at about age 11 so I was raised here and part of my growing up because I lived in the house right on the corner down on the street here was to come to the cemetery to visit somebody that we loved.

(Donna) Many of the Buffalo Soldiers who served at Camp Little and along the border they married local women and most of those women were from Mexico.

My grandmother Maria De Los Angelas Perez she is from Sinaloa, Mexico and these children were raised bilingual and bicultural and we have a very strong tie to Mexico.

This is the family plot for the Biggs.

My grandfather, Master Sergeant Levi Biggs Senior, is here and my grandmother Dolores Rivas and her father by the way was Santiago Rivas, a publisher for a newspaper in Cananea, Sonora, Mexico and next to them are my aunt and uncle.

My uncle was the only Tuskegee airman from here in Nogales who recently passed a few years ago.

George W Biggs Major retired.

The cemetery was an extension of our family home because we have many relatives buried here.

Not only several members of the 25th Infantry because my grandmother and her four sisters ended up marrying 25th Infantry soldiers and all lived along this same street.

There is also another family that had four daughters who married Buffalo Soldiers and settled here in Nogales.

We are all chitlins and rice and a little bit of beans, frijoles mixed in.

Because I was raised by a Buffalo Soldier I could hear the histories and hear the stories, where they were stationed, the struggles they faced as they traveled as an interracial family and I knew personally a lot of the soldiers that are buried here at the cemetery.

My name is Charles Hancock.

I am the current vice president of the Southwest Association of Buffalo Soldiers located in Sierra Vista, Arizona.

Created in the 1990s we are a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization so we go all over the state of Arizona giving Buffalo Soldier presentation and especially in light of what's going on in America right now where the administration is trying to minimize or erase history so we feel it's imperative that we continue to tell their story.

Buffalo Soldier, Black History Month, etc.

What has happened cannot be erased.

Anton De La Jose.

[ BELL CHIME ] (Donna) It is with such honor and pride that just right there is my grandfather Lucius Franklin Monroe Jackson 25th Infantry and my grandmother Angela Perez right there together and I would like to think that they would be very proud that we are telling their story.

So it's incumbent upon our generations and those behind us to spread that word about the valor, about the strength, about the courage and the dedication that these men showed to a country that didn't always reciprocate that respect.

♪ BUGLE CALL ♪ Next, we take you 20 miles north to Tubac, where Nancy Valentine spent part of her youth in a historic house while her mother pursued painting in the art colony.

Well, after a career on the East Coast, Nancy returned to the Lowe House, becoming its caretaker and allowing this centuries-old building to thrive.

♪ CALMING AMBIENT SONG ♪ (Nancy) In Tubac, we've been inhabited for over 10,000 years.

You can't dig a garden without coming up with some kind of artifact that is telling a story about the people who have been living here.

Our special building here is the historic Lowe House offers the opportunity of seeing what kind of folks and how they were living from the 1700s through to the present day.

I'm Nancy Valentine.

I'm here in the historic Lowe House in Old Town Tubac, Arizona.

I am the steward of this very spectacular historic adobe here.

We moved from Tucson.

I was a graduate of Rincon High School.

My parents were making this move to this wonderful location in this amazing building to start a new life, fully concentrating on mom's art.

My mom, Marion Valentine, was known for her wonderful technique in capturing the essence of Arizona and Tubac's flora, fauna, and people.

She was very popular.

Her work sold really well during the 1960s, 70s, and 80s, heydays of the Tubac artist colony.

And it was the perfect setting for her to do this.

And I, at the time, was very grateful for the opportunity of being here with them.

I loved my room that had this wonderful window.

My window on the world at that time was to view of the backyard and also the Santa Rita Mountains.

So I think my love affair with this region started then.

Being up and down on the east coast was my career.

But it was time to come back to help out with family, with my aging dad.

I came back, and after a while, it's almost as if I felt like, "Why did I ever leave?"

♪ CALMING AMBIENT SONG ♪ This building was a standalone by itself in 1767.

It was used primarily as a place to get out of inclement weather.

Cooking, daily toiletry business, and then the farming, taking care of the animals, all of that was done outside.

Primarily, it was just a one room where folks had some way of being able to escape the heat or the cold.

So in 1821, this whole region declared their independence from Spain and became Mexico.

The community was really based a lot on farming and being able to supply the presidio, and it was doing pretty well.

The Gadsden Purchase was won in 1854.

New settlement came in, mining, all sorts of new development, and a lot of immigrants were coming in.

This is a photograph of the patriarch of the historic Lowe House.

His name was Wilhelm Lowe.

He married into the Indigenous population himself.

He had three sons here, William, Albino, and Santiago.

And William here became very significant in Tubac.

William was a rancher.

He assumed all sorts of other public civic responsibilities, including he was justice of the peace among them.

We love this family, not only because of their history, but also because the family loves their history and are here, come and visit frequently today.

♪ CALMING AMBIENT SONG ♪ This is a marvelous artwork of Jane Horn, who's a Tubac resident, who uses this room as a studio, a working studio.

And she is one of four artists, five, actually.

We have a new artist coming soon, who are here to help continue to foster the tradition of Tubac where art and history meet.

Definitely feel the presence of those who've come before, including my parents.

Every morning, I come into this building, open it up.

I turn on a light in the living room before my living room.

I turn on a light here, and I turn on a light here.

As a way of paying tribute to all of those who've come before and saying, "You're here still, and thank you for all you've contributed."

Thank you for joining us from the bi-national community of Nogales.

I'm Tom McNamara.

We will see you again next week.