koshare

Kiva History

A dream that originated in the minds of the Koshare members
in 1939, while they sat in the great sanctuary at Aztec National
Monument, came to realization on November 13, 1949. At
Aztec National Monument, the Koshares heard the ranger tell
the story of the prehistoric Indians who built the great
ceremonial Kivas a thousand years ago. From that visit and
other visits in 1941 and 1946, the Koshares resolved to invest
surplus Koshare money in the building of a giant Kiva.

At the end of World War II, the Koshares were beginning to get ready to plan their kiva and go
to work on it. They had the architect’s plans in hand. So far the Koshares had collected about
eight thousand dollars which was hardly enough to start, but they were ready to go. They
planned to start in September of 1948, but a committee of towns people wanted one month to
raise additional funds for the Koshares. This committee, a newly formed group by the Rotary
and Lions Club Members, collected an additional ten thousand dollars within one month. On
October 3, 1948, the ground was broke and the Koshares came to a fine start. However, many
obstacles were soon to come. more...