It was established in 1692 by Jesuit missionary Eusebio Francisco Kino as a visita, or "visiting chapel", of the nearby Mission San Xavier del Bac.

The mission would be built, near the Sobaipuri village of Chuk Shon which Padre Eusebio Francisco Kino named San Cosmé del Tucson.

Here Father Kino established a visita, or "visiting chapel", of Mission San Xavier del Bac in 1692.

[1] In 1852, John Russell Bartlett visited the mission, writing:[2] The houses of Tucson are all of adobe, and the majority are in a state of ruin.

No attention seems to be given to repair; but as soon as a dwelling becomes uninhabitable, it is deserted, the miserable tenants creeping into some other hovel where they may eke out their existence.Between 1950 and 2010, the site served as a landfill for the city of Tucson.