Presidio Santa Cruz de Terrenate was a Spanish frontier fort established in 1775 on a bluff above the San Pedro River in present-day Cochise County, Arizona, as part of New Spain’s northern defensive line. Founded by Colonel Hugo Oconór for King Charles III, it was one link in a chain of presidios and was garrisoned by leather-armored soldados de cuera. The post was never completed and quickly suffered from corruption, failed crops, supply shortages, raids, and Apache attacks, leading to its abandonment in 1780. Archaeology shows the site also preserves earlier Sobaipuri, Hohokam, and Archaic occupation, making it a layered record of colonial and Indigenous history.