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Atchison Topeka & Santa Fe, 1890
A community of the Navajo Nation live in the Allentown area. ***
Alpine
Alpine/Fort Bushy- With the beauty of White Mountains, surrounded by the additional beauty of what is now the Apache- Sitgreaves National Forests as a backdrop, no one would suspect the ugliness of some of its history. Indians under the leadership of Victorio went through this are and killed six men and women and left them where they dropped. They were buried where they fell by soldiers from Fort Bushy who found them. Alpine was founded by Mormons near the headwaters of the Frisco River. It developed from a one-room log house at an elevation of 8,000 feet built by Anderson Bush who arrived in 1876. Two years later, his son, M.L. died and his grave was the first one in the Alpine Cemetery and can still be located as you go though the front gates to the left. The cabin however, is no longer standing. He sold his land and his cabin in 1879 to William Maxwell and Fred Hamblin. They in turn sold it to Mormon settlers from Luna, New Mexico. Fred’s brother, the famous Mormon explorer, Jacob Hanblin is buried at Alpine. In 1880, the settlers built a log-house fort about one mile southeast of the present Alpine. Bush Valley is said to be the highest place in United States where farming is successful. The post office opened on January 7, 1885 with William G. Black, Jr. as postmaster and closed in 911 with Eliza J. Burk as postmistress. The latitude of Alpine is 33.8182 and a longitude of -109.202.
Eagar Amity/ Eager- When this area on the northeastern slopes of the White Mountains was first settled by Latter Day Saints sent by Brigham Young, they called it Amity. It was one of the two wards of the original Round Valley settlements. The other was Omer. They later combined under the name Union. The community was named after homesteader John Thomas Eager and his brothers, William and Joel. The Amity cemetery started as a family cemetery on homestead land that was deeded to Simeon Nobil Ray on April 9, 1893 by Benjamin Harrison. The cemetery is now landlocked on the 26 Bar Ranch which is presently owned by the Hopi Nation. Life was hard and childbirth dangerous evidenced by the eleven graves of children who did not make it to their first birthday. There is no access to the cemetery. The latitude of Eagar is 34.111N. The longitude is -109.29W.
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C. E. Cooley Apache- On July 12, 1869, C. E. Cooley and A. F. Banta, and Henry W. Dodd, left the Zuni Villages with a small party of Indians to hunt a gold mine known as the “Doc Thorn.” Doc Thorne was an Army surgeon in the 1850s and serving at a New Mexico Army Camp. He had the occasion to treat a captured Apache prisoner wearing war paint, with an advanced case of chronic contagious conjunctivitis, an affliction that was sure to being with it, blindness. Concerned with the welfare of his troops, the Colonel wanted him released, but after much pleading by Thorne, the Apache was kept that the fort and treated. The Apache showed no thanks, even when the disease was cured and he was set free. Months passed and the incident was forgotten. Doc Thorne was called to the Colonels office and to his surprise there was the Indian brave and two warriors, none wearing war paint. The had come to the camp asking that the Doc help the people in his tribe who were all severely suffering the dangerous, blind causing eye infection. Although Doc. Thorne was warned against going, lived up to his calling and agreed to go and treat those afflicted at the Indian camp. After traveling several days, he was blindfolded and led into the Indians’ Rancheria, where the community lived a communal style with temporary type housing with flat roofs with woven cane or wattle and daub walls. Houses were built in clusters with a shared ramada, and unwalled roofed patios that allowed for ventilation and shaded spaces for their daily activities and sleeping. These shared conditions allowed the contagious eye infection to spread and all most everyone in camp was suffering from it. Days turned in weeks and weeks turned in to months and before the months could turn into a year, he taught the Indian medicine man how to treat the eyes. He left with him, all the medicine he had. He started for home, blindfolded with the same three escorts that brought him to the rancheria. After traveling about an hours, the Indians stopped and removed his blindfold and he found himself in a canyon glittering with gold. The Indians showed him gold nuggets and filled his saddlebags. It was their way of saying “thank you.” Thorn tried to memorize the geographic features he saw especially a sombrero shaped butte. All the while he acted disinterested in the shiny gold nuggets that were spilling on the ground from his saddle bags. He made it back to the army post, resigned from the Army and organized a prospecting party, determined to find the “gold canyon.” They approached the Apache land without any Indian difficulties, but were unable to find the canyon. Disappointed and disillusioned they returned home empty handed. Despite sever al attempts with new partners, Doc Thorn grew old still looking and talking to others about his Canyon of Gold. Cooley, a native of Virginia, came to Arizona in 1869 on a mining expedition. He was a prominent scout and served under General Crook with distinction. By 1875, C. E. Cooley's built a home where he lived with his wife, "Mollie", daughter of old Chief Pedro of White Mountain Apache Tribe. In 1881, Cooley sold half interest in his place to Henry Huning of Las Lunas, N.M. and they branched out in many ways. A first class saw mill was built, and the C.C. herd of cattle established and run for many years. They enclosed some 100,000 acres of land with barbed wire fence which soon got them into trouble with the government and had to come down. They also had a large store and did a good business with settlers. About 1890, they fell out and the ranch was sold to W. J. Flake for the Mormon Church. Cooley moved back on to the Apache Reservation where he died, March 15, 1915.
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Aztec
Aztec- In 1866, Congress authorized the construction of a railroad line along the 35th parallel, and the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad arrived in the Little Colorado River basin in 1881 The advent of the railroad offered a critical employment opportunity for the local Mormon population and made the acquisition of food and supplies easier and less costly in this remote region. Aztec, according to the U.S. Atlas of 1895 was located in the central part of the state with no post office and no express office. It did have a railroad. Aztec was shown on a 1918 map of the Apache area. ***
Bagley-Taylor- The Town lies in a broad valley in east-central Arizona. The Mogollon Rim is to its west and the White Mountains to the south. The Town's elevation is 5,640 feet. The mountains form an almost continuous barrier protecting Taylor from severe winters and creating a semi-arid climate. The first community called Taylor was on the Little Colorado River at where John Kartchner and eight Mormon families from Utah started a community on January 22, 1878. Between that date and July, they built five dams, everyone one of which washed out. They then moved to Silver Creek where Daniel Bagley had already settled. Under John Kartchner, they arrived here in January 1878 from the first Taylor. The settlers selected the name Walker for their post office, but the Post Office Department turned it down as there was already a Walker post office in Arizona territory. The Mormons then selected Taylor to honor John Taylor, English-born president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, wounded by the mob which killed Joseph Smith in 1844. The post office was established on March 28, 1881 with Jesse N. Perkins as post master. T18N/R19E
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Bannon- This was a small farming settlement with a post office that arrived on March 19, 2910 under the key of Elizabeth S. Mable and closed on December 31, 1942. The town was named for James Bannon, an early settler and cattleman. South of U.S. 60, east of Show Low. Latitude: 34.25389 : Longitude: -109.74194
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Beaver Branch/Reidhead- See Reidhead
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Bibo- A flag station and a trading post on the Atchison Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad on the Puerco River, from 1880-1890. Named for Simon Bibo, trader and supplier who opened the road from Santa Fe to Fort Apache, between 1866-1868
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Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Billings- A station on The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway named for the Billing Cattle Company that was founded in 1883. The station was named on the U.S. Atlas with no post office, but a railroad and an express office.
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*** Campbell- A town listed on a 1918 map.
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Casa Malpais
Casa Malpais-The name Casa Malpais means House of the Badlands, which was given to the site by early Basque sheepherders who referred to the surrounding volcanic lava field as "badlands." The Springerville volcanic field contains over 400 volcanoes within a fifty mile radius of Springerville, making it the third largest volcanic field in the continental United States. The first visit to Casa Malpais by a professional anthropologist was in 1883, when Frank Cushing , an anthropologist living at Zuni, visited a site at "El Valle Redondo on the Colorado Chiquito", and was impressed by what he termed "the fissure type pueblo" he found there. In his journal he sketched dry masonry, bridging fissures, upon which the pueblo is constructed. Unique and unusual features characterize the site. The Great Kiva painstakingly constructed of volcanic rock, is the centerpiece. A steep basalt staircase set into a crevice of the high red cliff wall leads to the top of the mesa. Both the Hopi and Zuni Indian tribes still consider Casa Malpais a sacred ancestral place. The town is close to theApache-Sitgreaves National Forest which runs along the Mogollon Rim.
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Chalcedony Park Chalcedony Park- Its occurrence gives the name to Chalcedony is the special name for quartz with microscopically small crystals. Unlike quartz, chalcedony is not clear and glasslike. It is translucent and waxy. It can take on any color. Rock Hounds
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R.B. Burham Trading Post
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Mail Station Draw near North boundary Chilcott Ranch- The ranch is located in west central Apache County approximately 20 miles east of Show Low and 15 miles west of St. Johns, Arizona and immediately west of Concho Valley. State Highway 61 runs through the ranch from west to east with approximately two thirds of the ranch north of the highway and one third south of the highway. The ranch holds the adobe remains on an old mail station. The majority of the deeded land is contained in two primary blocks, both being south of Highway 61 at Laguna Salado and Mineral Creek.
Clabber City- Its co-ordinates are latitude 33.8658842 and Longitude -109.30036. *** Cliff-/ McNary ***
Colter-James G. H. Colter came from Eau Claire, Wisconsin and settled four miles from the present day Springerville. The post office came in on September 15, 1913 with, Duge Colten, as postmaster and was it was discontinued on September 15, 1922. The town, southeast of Eagar was named for James G. H. Colter. He was first deputy of the United States Marshal in the district and said, “In the 80’s, the only law in Round Valley was the six-gun shot from the hip.” Colter is located on the Little Colorado River, four miles from Springerville. 360916N - 1093307W.
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Commerce- It was a small camp but almost didn’t get its post office despite the efforts of William B. Gardner. He was unable to raise the money for his bond, but the post office finally opened on March 19, 1887 with Gardner as postmaster, but quickly closed on April 18, 1887.
*** Concho /Concho Creek/Erastis- Concho is one of the original pioneer towns in the White Mountains, a late 19th century farming community. It was named for the "shell" - like basin in which it was located. When the first settler arrived in the Concho, Don Manuel Antonio Candelaria was in the Concho area in the 1840's as a captive of the Mascalero Apaches. He remained a captive for several years. While still a small child he was given to an elderly Apache woman who adopted Manuel as her son. He learned the Apache language as well as their customs. When Don Manuel Antonio became a young man he joined the Apaches in several raids. He referred to the Apaches as brothers. Later, he decided to leave the Apaches; he bid his Apache mother farewell and headed back to Cubero, New Mexico. Manuel Antonio returned to his people at Cubero, and from there after he was called "El Cautivo", the Captive. When Manuel Antonio Candelaria returned to Concho the second time in 1861 there were but a handful of pioneers living along the Concho Creek. The town’s post office was established in 1881 under the name Erastus. Manuel Antonio Candelaria is recorded on the Moquim called Hopi today. The Apache County Bank in Concho, Arizona, was the first bank in Northeastern Arizona Territory with a capital asset of $15,000.00 in cash. There was an attempt to rob the bank in Concho, once. The following incident is told by the late Manuel Antonio Candelaria who worked at the bank as a bookkeeper. He lived just behind the bank building, in a separate house. Home one dark night around midnight he heard noise, a squeaking noise, he jumped out of bed, got dressed, and taking his pistol, approached the bank building near a window, he saw a man lifting up the bank window. He had already lifted it about six inches. Pointing the pistol at the robber’s ribs, he shouted both in Spanish and English "stick-em-up". The robber appeared to raise his arms, then suddenly he turned around to grab M.A.'s pistol. M.A. pulled the trigger twice, but it did not discharge, some one had used the pistol and failed to reload it. The two men tangled in a wrestling match on the ground. The robber gets loose and jumps up, grabbing a steel rod, the same rod he used in lifting the window, and hit Candelaria over the head. He then took off on a waiting saddled horse. It was never known who the robber was, but M.A. Candelaria carried a scar on his head, caused by the blow from the iron rod, the rest of his life.
This town is found at the intersection of AZ 61 and 180A. About 50 miles southeast of Holbrook with a number of adobe buildings, of Concho is not technically a ghost town, since it still has a few inhabitants. The town’s latitude is 34.4286 and a longitude of -109.689.
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Copper Mine
Copper Mine- Based, as the name indicates, on nearby copper deposits; after the deposits played out, it was a trading post for the Navajos of the area and located Northeast of The Gap. The camp has extensive standing structures. The copper deposit was apparently originally discovered in the 1880s, and extracted by the Coconino Copper and Chemical Company, which used some immense and unique steam-powered half-tracks to pull the ore wagons to Flagstaff for processing
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Cornfields
Cornfields-
The Cornfields Trading Post was established in 1896 and remained until
1928 under the ownership of Juan Lorenzo Hubbell. The post office
was established on August 4, 1922 with William Black as postmaster and
discontinued on March 15, 1923. It was a corn raising area, thus
the name. The post was southwest of Ganado with latitude of 35.652235,
and a longitude: 35.652235. ***
Craig Craig- A Dr. Craig, sheep man and county physician had his summer came here. The post office was established on January 24, 1911 with Ellis W. Witbank as postmaster, and it was discontinued on September 30, 1912. ***
Dry Lake- This location is listed and shown on a 1918 map. ***
Eagar/Eagarville/Union- This Mormon settlement in Wetler Canyon was founded by “John Thomas Eagar and his three brothers. Their deed for the land in Round Valley is dated 1878. John lived in Fort Milligan and from there moved to what would become the town named for him. He lived here for twenty-five years. The town was established in 1888 on ground given by the Eagar brothers for that purpose. Post Office opens February 4, 1898. The first name of the town was Union, but the name soon changed to Eagarville which was retained until December 1892, when the "ville" was dropped in renaming the school district. A notable battle of outlaws took place on the hill back of what is now the Eager cemetery. Nine men of the Snider gang were killed." The town is four miles south of Springerville.
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Eagle Creek
Eagle Creek- A number of old homesteads and grave sites along the creek. Paddy Creagh, deputy sheriff and James Richmond were killed along this creek while returning from Clifton and the Gila Valley. They had been assessing the property which then belonged in Apache County.
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Atchison Topeka & Santa Fe Emigrant Springs- Six miles south of Sanders Station on the Atchison Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad. From here westbound emigrants round good water and safe camping.
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Erastis
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Floy Floy/Plenty- was a small farming settlement that established it post office on November 28, 1919. Reopened on May l, 1933 and closed on July 15, 1937. Laguna Salada, with the Little Ortega Lake site, is one of two sites that occupied the ancient beaches of brackish lakes east of the ghost town of Floy. Laguna Salada is a non-pottery flint factory and a desert culture (e.g. archaic) campsite. Artifacts recovered included chipped stone tools, manos, metates, charcoal, and some bone. The chipped stone artifacts are evidence of a prehistoric campsite. The concentration of milling and hearth-stones indicates that several camps existed. It is located near Concho on private property. Remnants unknown,
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Apache Springs Trail Forest Dale- In March 1878, the settlers included Merritt Stanley, Oscar Mann, and Ebenezer Thayne, David E. Adams, Joseph H. Frisby, Alfred Cluff, Isaac Follett, Orson Cluff and several unmarried men. In September, Erastus Snow found a very prosperous settlement and established a ward organization. Seven springs of good water, known as Apache Springs formed the headwaters of Carrizo Creek. They lived there for a few years, leaving when it was made clear to them that the site they inhabited was on the White Mountain Indian Reservation, now the Fort Apache Reservation. While some families left the Arizona Territory altogether, others relocated off the Mogollon Rim to such communities as Show Low, Pinedale, Fool's Hollow, and Lakeside, where many of their descendants live today The missionary efforts failed and the Indians simply demanded everything in sight. Reports came that the locality really was on the reservation and the white population drifted away, mainly into the Gila Valley. The spring of 1883 found Forest Dale’s deserted houses, fences, corrals, and every improvement left behind.
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Fort Apache
Fort Apache/Camp Mogollon/ Fort Thomas/ Fort Ord-(1870-1920) On May 16, 1870 they began construction of Camp Ord. Over the course of the next year, the remaining troops at Camp Goodwin moved to the site, and the camp would be renamed Camp Mogollon (8/1/1870), then Camp Thomas (8/70), and finally, Camp Apache (1871). The post was designated Fort Apache (4/15/1879). The mission was to assist the White Mountain Apache Tribe to peacefully protect their lands. Fort Apache was an isolated outpost of Anglo expansion and highlights the tensions that existed between the government and pioneers and the Western Apaches. The name Fort Apache is closely tied to such famous Indian names as Geronimo and Cochise. In January of 1861, a young, inexperience Army Lieutenant faced the wily, more experienced Indian chief, Cochise, his son, and a few warriors. The Lieutenant accused the chief of stealing a Mexican boy and some horses which was violently protested by the Indian chief. When the Lieutenant threatened to hold all of the Indians until the boy was returned, Cochise pulled out a knife, and was able to slit the canvas tent and escape. The rest of the Indians were unable to make an escape and held as hostage. Cochise’s warrior in retaliation ambushed three white men on a stage coach after killing the driver and a passenger, they kidnapped the third man Their plan was to exchange hostages, but the offer was refused. Cochise had his hostage killed and the Lieutenant had all of the Indians hostages, including Cochise’s son hanged. With these events, the Apace War began. It was the White Mountain, Apache Scouts, including Chiefs Alchise and Diable who were instrumental in bringing a lasting peace to the Southwest. The post and surrounding area was designated as a reservation for the tribe. In 1992, Congress disbanded the military at Fort Apache It was the last Cavalry in operation in the United States. Located on the premises are prehistoric ruins, prehistoric and historic petroglyphs, the old military cemetery, the Apache Cultural Center and a recreated Apache Village. Fort Apache is owned by the White Mountain Apache Tribe and located four miles south of Whiteriver, AZ. Fort Apache is accessed by State Highway 73, east from Carrizo or south from Pinetop. It is twenty- two miles from the turnoff.
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Fort Defiance-1870s
Fort Canby/ Fort Defiance/ Tséhootsooí The Indians called it Tséhootsooí, the Indian word for “Meadow in Between the Rocks” Early military maps show Fort Defiance in New Mexico even after the creation of the territory of Arizona, but by 1869 Fort Defiance is shown clearly in its correct location. During the Civil War, troops were withdrawn on April 25, 1861 and sent to Fort Fauntleroy, New Mexico. " In July 1863, Col Christopher (Kit) Carson was assigned to conquer the Navajos. He reached Fort Defiance, which he renamed Fort Canby, with more than 700 soldiers and Ute Indian scouts. The Utes tracked down the Navajos, killed the men, and seized the women and children as slaves. The soldiers burned Navajo cornfields, slaughtered their sheep, and confiscated their cattle and horses. As time went on, small groups of starving Navajos straggled into Fort Canby to surrender. By the end of the year, the only refuge left was Canyon de Chelly. When the campaign ended, it was abandoned. James H. Carleton’s forces entered Canyon de Chelly from the east and west. Carson fought no pitched battles with the Diné, but he once again systematically razed their fields and destroyed their herds. By February, hundreds of famished Navajos had embarked upon their Long Walk to the desolate Bosque Redondo. Carleton reported that Bosque Redondo held 8,354 of them by January 1865 along with a few hundred Mescalero Apaches. Carleton completed his mission. The fort has the distinction of having the first post office with C.N. Russell as postmaster in 1883, in what is now Arizona. Fort Defiance was abandoned old Fort Defiance became the new Navajo-Indian Agency with Major Theodore Dodd as agent. in 1880, the missionaries established a school in an abandoned adobe house. The boarding school was completed in 1883, the first in the Navajo nation. Fort Defiance Plateau is four miles north of Window Rock between Chinle and Window Rock along Highway 7, near the New Mexico state line at an elevation of 6836 feet. ***
Old Leonard Trading Post Ganado/Pueblo Colorado/Hardison - The first trading post at Ganado Lake built in 1871 by Charles Crary. John Lorenzo Hubbard worked as an interpreter at Fort Defiance, Arizona, and then as a clerk at the trading post at Fort Wingate, New Mexico. With some clerking and trading post experience under his belt, John Lorenzo went to Ganado Lake in 1876 and opened his first trading post at what was then called the Hardison place. The Leonard Trading Post was bought out by Juan Lorenzo Hubbell in 1878. Construction on the present trading post building was started in 1883. The post office was established on February 14, 1883. Census records of 1895 showed 22 residents. The original Leonard buildings were out in front of the present home and trading post. The Leonard buildings were razed in the 1920s. Hubbel the new owner changed the name to Ganado. It was named for Ganado Mucho, a Navajo. He was the last peace chief of the Navajos and the twelfth to sing the peace treaty of 1868. J.L. Hubbel took on a partner, C.N. Cotton, who ran the business while Hubbell pursued a political career. John Lorenzo was sheriff of Apache County and a territorial senator during the years before Arizona became a state. His political ambition ended when he was defeated in an expensive race for the U.S. Senate. During his lifetime, Hubbell built a trading post empire that included freight and mail lines as well as 30 trading posts in California, New Mexico and Arizona. As he became more influential, people came to know him as "Don" Lorenzo, the Don being a Spanish term of respect. He died on November 12, 1920 and is buried on Hubbell Hill overlooking the trading post, next to his wife and his closest Navajo friend, Many Horses. One old man said this about the sadness of his fellow Navajos” “When you wear out your shoes, you buy another pair;
When the food is all gone, you buy more. You gather melons and more
will grow on the vine; You grind your corn and make bread which you eat;
And the next year you have plenty more corn, But my friend Don Lorenzo
is gone, and none to take his place.”
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Ganado
Ganado/Pueblo Colorado/Hardison- The Pueblo Colorado Wash is the most significant natural resource at Hubbell Trading Post. The wash is by far the most important element responsible for the presence of the cultural resources for which the national historic site was established The first trading post at Ganado Lake built in 1871 by Charles Crary. John Lorenzo Hubbard worked as an interpreter at Fort Defiance, Arizona, and then as a clerk at the trading post at Fort Wingate, New Mexico. With some clerking and trading post experience under his belt, John Lorenzo went to Ganado Lake in 1876 and opened his first trading post at what was then called the Hardison place. The Leonard Trading Post was bought out by Juan Lorenzo Hubbell in 1878. Construction on the present trading post building was started in 1883. The post office was established on February 14, 1883. Census records of 1895 showed 22 residents. The original Leonard buildings were out in front of the present home and trading post. The Leonard buildings were razed in the 1920s. Hubbel the new owner changed the name to Ganado. It was named for Ganado Mucho, a Navajo. He was the last peace chief of the Navajos and the twelfth to sing the peace treaty of 1868. J.L. Hubbel took on a partner, C.N. Cotton, who ran the business while Hubbell pursued a political career. John Lorenzo was sheriff of Apache County and a territorial senator during the years before Arizona became a state. His political ambition ended when he was defeated in an expensive race for the U.S. Senate. During his lifetime, Hubbell built a trading post empire that included freight and mail lines as well as 30 trading posts in California, New Mexico and Arizona. As he became more influential, people came to know him as "Don" Lorenzo, the Don being a Spanish term of respect. He died on November 12, 1920 and is buried on Hubbell Hill overlooking the trading post, next to his wife and his closest Navajo friend, Many Horses. One old man said this about the sadness of his fellow Navajos” “When you wear out your shoes, you buy another pair;
When the food is all gone, you buy more. You gather melons and more
will grow on the vine; You grind your corn and make bread which you eat;
And the next year you have plenty more corn, But my friend Don Lorenzo
is gone, and none to take his place.”
Fossils
Petrified Araucarioxylon arizonicum
CAUTION- Collecting vertebrate material in the US requires landowner or government permission ***
Ganado Mission was established in 1901 by the Presbytery of Arizona through the Board of Home Missions. A decade later, the board approved a 12-bed hospital at Ganado. This was the first non-governmental funded hospital on an Indian reservation in the U.S. Approximately 60 buildings were built before 1957, including: first manse, the first building on the site (1903) used as a residence, church, and school; Adobe West (1911), a dormitory built to accommodate boys and girls, a teacher's residence, a kitchen, pantry, and dining room; Dining Hall (1920) one of the oldest and largest two-story adobe structures in the U.S., and the largest adobe structure in Arizona; and Almira College (1929), the first public school in Apache County. The Sage Memorial Hospital School of Nursing was the nation's first accredited nursing training program for Native American women.
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Steam Engine
Hardy-This location is listed in the 1895 U.S. Atlas as having no post office, but a railroad station and an express office. Found also on a 1918 map.
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Houck/Houck’s Tank-In 1874 Houck was a mail carrier from Prescott to Fort Wingate, New Mexico. In 1877, he set up a trading post called Houck's Tan on the south side of the Puerco and ran sheep in the area. It was the scene of the murder of William Walker and William Smith by Indians in 1880. Houck moved away to Holbrook in 1885. The post office opened in 1884 as Houck's Tank with James W. Bennett as postmaster and changed to Houck on November 23, 1895. Wells Fargo opened a station here in 1907.The post office was discontinued then reopened on December 1930 as Houck. The town has a store, post office and service station. The town has a section house for the Atchison Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad. two cottages, a depot, concrete bunkhouse, coaling station, water columns, order board, mail cranes, sidings and yard tracks. The 1855 census showed twenty-nine residents. The station is the third station west of the New Mexico state line. Latitude: 35.28 N, Longitude: 109.24 W.
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Hunt/Greer -Col. James Clark Hunt settled downstream from St. John's about seventeen miles in 1872. An agricultural settlement developed with Thomas L. Greer having a ranch about seventeen miles East, from which the area took the name Greer Valley. The post office came on July 12, 1902 with John H. Greer as postmaster and discontinued on September 13, 1927.
*** Kam Kanyon - Listed on the 1880 Federal Census with thirty-two residents in 1895 with a post office, but no railroad and no express office.
*** Kinlichee- The community names derives from the Navajo for “place of the red house.” A trading post here was owned by Juan Lorenzo Hubbell from 1934- 1938. The ruins have largely disappeared from where they once were near the Red Clay Wash. Latitude: 35.7561244, Longitude: 35.7561244.
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Kin Tiel- This village was located 22 miles south of Ganado --halfway between Zuni and Hopi First Mesa. It was built around 1275 AD and probably abandoned before Spanish arrival in the 1600s.The site is bisected by a wash (tributary of the Pueblo Colorado Wash)--compare to Taos Pueblo plan. Overall dimensions are 310 ft. x 560ft. (3 acres)The village contained about 1038 rooms. There were only three entry passages found in perimeter wall. The kivas were rectangular supporting the Zuni oral traditions that this was one of their ancestral homes.
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Klagetoh- The community’s name comes from the Navajo for “water in the ground.” Twelfth century ruins are located here. It once had a day school, a settlement, and a trading post. The post office arrived on July 27, 1934 with William H. Rush as postmaster and then discontinued on April 15, 1944. Juan Lorenzo Hubbell was, by most accounts, the leading trader of the early Navajo Rug Period and owned several trading posts around the Reservation as well as a large warehouse in the railroad town of Winslow, Arizona.. Weavers around the nearby trading post at Klagetoh, Arizona (also owned by Hubbell) often worked in the same colors and patterns as Ganado, but reversed the color scheme and used a grey ground with red, white and black central motifs. The Ganado and Klagetoh style Navajo rugs continue to be made to this day and are among the most popular of all Navajo rug designs. Note: In 1986 the historic Wide Ruins Trading Post was lost in a fire. The location is just west of Klageton Wash. The latitude is 353007N- 109319W
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Leguna Salad
Laguna Salad- This is a prehistoric campsite as evidenced by the large number of chipped stone artifacts. Chipped stones tools, manos, mutates, charcoal and some bone was found. The concentration of milling and hearthstones indicated that several camps existed near Concho. It sits on private property with unknown remnants. Little Ortego Lake site is one of the two sites that occupied the ancient beaches of brackish lakes, east of the ghost town of Floy, AZ.
*** Lone Pine Crossing/Reidhead- See Reidhead
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Lupton-Lupton was named for George W. Lupton, but he has more of a connection with railroads than with cows. Mr. Lupton was the station master in Winslow in 1905 and later the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe superintendent in San Francisco. The tracks reached Lupton on May 1, 1861 as the Santa Fe owned Atlantic and Pacific Railroad beat Southern Pacific to the Querino Canyon, blocking its access to northern Arizona. Chief Yellow Horse died here on September 27, 1999 of a heart attack. A trading post served the population of seventy-five people. Curious sandstone formations are on each side of track -- red, brown, yellow above, hollowed out and worn smooth by winds. The state line of New Mexico and Arizona are at the east end of village. Post office arrived on May 25, 1917 with Joseph D. Gorman as postmaster. Take I-40 exit 359, St. Anslem Rd. Latitude is 352114N – Longitude-1090311W. Maddox- As shown on a 1918 map. ***
Maine- See Parks
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Mai Pai- The post office was established on June 7, 1890 with John W. Phipps as postmaster and discontinued on August 4, 1890. Mai Pai means “bad land” in Spanish.
*** Mansfield Camp- Named for Major General Joseph King and located seven miles south of Fort Defiance ***
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Maverick- The camp was located on the White Mountain Apache Reservation, about 5 miles south of Reservation Lake. It is occupied, and considered a ‘closed area’ by the Apaches with old and new structures, even a heliport. Maverick Arizona was not a cow-town, it was a logging camp owned by Southwest Lumber Mills. They had a 99- year lease that was broken when the great Indian push of going back to nature happened. There was one general store owned by the company, a single school with grades 1 through 4 in one room and grades 5 through 8 in the other. Snow in Maverick was very deep all winter and the men could not work in the woods so you got food at the company store all winter and then they kept your pay in the logging season until you had re-paid your debt. Many people became trapped by this system as when their debt was finally paid, and the snow came again. Elevation is about 7,800 ft. Post office came in 1948 with Grace I Chambers as postmistress. The latitude is 334434N – 1093248W.
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Max- Post office was established on February 24, 1881 with Redden Allred as post master. It was discontinued.
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McNary Sawmill McNary/Cooley/Cliff/Cienega-A company owned saw town. It was called Cooley until James McNary bought it approximately 1924 and the name was changed to McNary on January 11m 1924. Mormon Bishop Benjamin Cliff who cut hay for Fort Apache owned the town from 18709-1880. The post office came on January 7, 1919 with James C. Webster as postmaster.
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Meadows-In late 1879 Messrs. Ira Hatch, Thomas Brookbank, E.C. Richardson, and J.B. Wakefield built a house. A settlement soon developed and was just as soon abandoned. In 1884, the 24 Cattle Company used it as their headquarters. It was located northwest of St. Johns
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Mexican Water
Mexican Water- A trading post located at the junction of Walker and Clinlee Creeks. The beginning came with three Mexicans, while passing through, dug wells and later became a reference for the place and community name. The community was certified as a chapter in the summer of 1956. In those days, community members met in front of the trading post until a chapter house was built. The store was condemned. The latitude is 36.924 and longitude is -109.604.
*** Milligan Settlement- The first settlement in 1870 called Milligan Settlement and founded by William R. Milligan, Oren W. Mc Cullough and Anthony Long. Hispanic families followed. Milligan had grain and wood contracts at Fort Craig. The farmers were given a team of oxen, plow, scythes and a wagon. The May 18, 1872, Prescott Arizona Miner wrote “ The new settlement is up one of the branches of the Little Colorado River about seventy miles north of Camp Apache and at least 240 miles east of Prescott. Mr. Milligan said settlers had constructed three irrigation ditches. The area is well stocked with bear, elk, deer, antelope, and turkey. The editor of the Citizen wrote on January 10, “1876, William R. Milligan appears to be the “daddy” of the settlement. He is putting up a good grist mill, water power with an eighteen foot wheel.” In the early days the Mormons settlers used it as a fort. It was built around a hollow square for protection. It was located one mile from Eager. *** Mineral Springs- Appeared in an 1880 Census.
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Mortensen/ Pinedale –See Pinedale *** Navajo- The 1900 census boasted 22 residents. The U.S. Atlas of 1895 designates a post office, but no railroad or express office. According to Wells Fargo, Navajo had an office from July 3, 183 with J.A. Smith as postmaster on July 3, 1883. The post office hung around until 1907 and with Beulah B.S. Root closing its doors.
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Navajo Springs- The U.S. Atlas of 1895 lists no post office, but a railroad and express office. Although listed in the Atles, Navajo Springs was only a watering place for cattle.
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Nazlini- An old Navajo camp site that had a trading post on Nazlini Creek near a canyon with many Indian ruins.
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Nero/ Walnut Grove/ Richfield- The post office opened on February 15, 1935 with James Wilkin as postmaster. The name, Walnut Grove was short lived and was given by a temporary based Mormon colony in 1883. The Nero post office opened on February 15, 1883 with James W. Wilkins and discontinued on May 5, 1883. The post office was re-established as Richville on June 23, 1892 with William H. Sherwood as post master and discontinued on May 24, 1907.
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Nutrios
Nutrios- The town got its name from a beaver and a bear. The word for “nutria” is beaver and word “oso” is for bear. The latitude of Nutrioso is 33.953N and the longitude is 109.208W. The town is listed in the 1880 census. It was a haven for the Mormons from the Indians. They settled in 1800, and built a fort. A post office opened on April 12, 1883 with John A. Clark as postmaster.
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Obed- During 1876 the Mormon colonist established United Order towns as Obed on the lower Little Colorado River.
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Oljato, or “Place of the Moonlight Water” near the Arizona-Utah border. The old Winslow Wetherill post: Te Dzin Trading Post, in the western and northern area of the De Na Zin Wilderness lay in runs. Later the U.S. Government which licensed these posts and traders broke up this triad of posts for being too competitive, or monopolistic. This was the reason that Winslow and Wetherill abandoned their posts after only several years in this area.
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Rhodes
Park/Rhodes/Maine-Originally, the town began as nothing more than a depot in an old boxcar in 1898. The depot also served as the post office that arrived on February 5, 1885 discontinued June 19, 1886. James F. Wallace was the postmaster under the name, Rhodes. However this name was short-lived and when the word Rhodes was cross end out, it was replaced by the name, Maine. The town primarily catered to the area’s lumber industry. The town soon sported a saw mill. When the first highway came through the area, the town relocated two miles to the east. In 1907, a new store opened in town which also served as the post office. The mercantile was owned by a man named Parks, so the town’s name changed again, in honor of the storekeeper. It was established on February 5, 1885 with James F. Wallace as the postmaster and discontinued on June 19, 1886. It is located at exit #178 from the I-40.
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Percheron/ Pinedale-See Pinedale
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Covered bridge, Pinedale, AZ
Pinedale/East Pinedale- The village of Pinedale was settled in January 1870 by Niels Mortensen and sons and Niels Peterson. The first location was at what is now called East Pinedale, also known as Mortensen and Percheron. In the following winter, a small sawmill was brought in from Fort Apache and I 1882 came a larger mill, the original Mount Trumbull mill. In that year, a town site had rough survey by James Huff ad in 2885 they built a schoolhouse. The U.S. Atlas of 1895 listed the town with a post office but no railroad or express office. The brethren had much trouble with desperados, horse and cattle thieves, but peace came after the Pleasant Valley war in Tonto Basin in which thirty of the range riders, patrolling the area, were killed. The town is located twenty miles southwest of Snowflake.
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Pine Springs- The town had a gas station and some log cabins of which most is gone. Remains of the old Pine Springs Trading post still guard the road and the old sheep camp still sits in the canyon. Like many old structures in the rural Southwest, the buildings are made of local materials and to a great extent from the very ground they stand on. (Some of the rock may have been "mined" from Wide Reed Ruin.) The rock was set up with adobe mud. Adobe bricks were probably made on site. Clay and sand and straw were the usual recipe. Adobe mud was mixed in a pit with hoes and the bare feet of the workers .One of the "problems" with adobe is that it is vulnerable to the effects of wind and water, a case of earth to earth and dust to dust. Exit at Devil Dog from I-40 and go south for about two miles until the 1931 alignment of Route 66- 351419N-
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Pineyon-The post office was established on June 26, 1918 with Mary A. Calloway as post master and was discontinued on August 15, 1929. It was located ten miles northeast from Pinetop.
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*** Pinta- A flag station noted in the book of Arizona Roads, first published around 1912. On Highway 140, exit 320 go south on a dirt road for two mile, then take the dirt road that goes south to the flag station. The train would only stop if signaled to do so either a flag hung out or waved. ***
Plenty/ Floy-When it was time to name this tiny town, they voted for its name from the names of the village girls. Floy Greer won and the town was called Floy. There was so confusion with Eloy in Pinal County so the name was changed to Plenty. The post office was established as Floy in 1919 with Rosa Despaoien as post master. The name was changed to Plenty in 1933.The post office discontinued in 1937.
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Abandoned Redrock Airfield Redrock- Redrock Airport, The Redrock Airport was originally built as one of the Department of Commerce's network of Intermediate Fields, which were established in the 1920s & 1930s to serve as emergency landing fields for commercial aircraft flying along airways between major cities. The date of construction of the Redrock Airport has not been determined. The earliest reference to the airfield which has been located was on the 1935 Phoenix Sectional Chart, which depicted it as Site 38B along the San Diego - El Paso Airway. 32.6 North / 111.34 West (Northwest of Tucson, AZ).
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Showlow Creek Reidhead/ReidheadCrossing/Woolf’s Ranch/Lone Pine Crossing /Beaver Branch- All names for one of the most deserted points of early settlement, historically important mainly in the fact that it was the home of Nathan B. Robinson who was killed nearby by Apaches on June 1, 1882. Fear of the Indians then drove away the other settlers although they later returned. It was finally abandoned in 1893. Reidhead sits on Showlow Creek, ten miles above Taylor and ten miles from the Cooley’s ranch. It was one of the first places of first white settlement in northeastern Arizona, a Mexican having had his ranch there even before Cooley came into the country. Then Woolf, came, from whom squatter rights were bought in April 1878 by John Reidhead of Utah.
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Rhodes- See Parks ***
Richville Richville/ Richey /Nero/ Walnut Grove- The town was moved because of the floods on the Little Colorado River with no remains. This town was founded as Nero in 1883. Its name was changed to Richey in 1892 and then in the same year to Richville. The actual village was washed away even though the area has been re-inhabited. It had a post office in 1883 (as Nero) and then as Richville from June 23, 1892 to May 24, 1907.
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Rock Point Trading Post site Rock Point- A trading post and a day school made up the town. The post office was established June 10, 1926 with Raymond C. Dunn and discontinued June 4, 1930.Fifteen miles west of the Lukachukai Mountains on W. Lukachukai Creek.
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Round Valley-William R. Milligan was the first white man to settle in Round Valley in 1870. His irrigation ditch covered about a thousand acres. He brought in a ten-horse power threshing machine, and then he built a saw mill and a grist mill.
*** Salina-Salina was located near some very impressive scenery and rock pinnacles; in fact, the name Salina is a corruption of the Navajo word ‘tselani’, meaning 'standing rock'. Still found are some walls of stores, and some abandoned single-family houses. Salina appears to have been a small farming settlement which was recently abandoned, and probably originally founded due to a nearby spring. The town's hinterland still has many residents, so the abandonment of the town is a bit of a mystery. Fossils
Gryphaea
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Sanders / Cheto - A station on the Atchison, Topeka & San Francisco Railroad, close to a trading post owned by Art Saunders. The name was changed to Cheto. The post office moved in on December 15, 1915 with Orville L. Hathorn as postmaster. It was listed in the U.S. Atlas of 1895 with no post office, but a railroad and an express office.
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Sawmill/ Niegehe- A Navajo town with a trading post since 1907. The post office was established in 1941, under name Niegehe with Genes Alex Baird as postmaster. It was rescinded on December 30, 1941. The town changed its name to Sawmill with a new post office on November 3, 1952 with Myrtle B. Lee as postmaster. Sits along the Fort Defiance to Chinle Road.
Rock Hound
An area known to be rich in semi-precious stones
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Shepolovi- Hopi Pueblo on the 2nd or middle Meas- 1906-from the 18th century.
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Show Saw Creek- Listed on the 1880 census.
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Shumway- Charles Shumway and N.P. Beebe bought the mill rights on Silver Creek acquired through location the previous year by Nathan C and Jesse Wanslee. They brought machinery from the East and within a year started a grist mill that is still a local institution. The village of Shumway never has had more than a score of families. Charles Shuway died May 21, 1898.
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Silver Creek Located in the White Mountains of Arizona, north of Show Low. Silver Creek lies in the Mogollon Rim region of east-central Arizona, a transitional zone at the southern edge of the Colorado Plateau. Archaeological evidence indicates use of the project area as early as the Archaic period (ca 8000-100 BC), but the most intensive occupation was during the Pueblo period (AD 1000-1400). In addition, places in the area have significance to the White Mountain Apache, Zuni, Hopi, and Navajo tribes. It was listed in the 1880 Census. Take Shumway road West off of State Route 77.
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Sin Let Az He- Trading post built by Juan Lorenzo Hubbell in 1886, location unknown.
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Springerville- Settlement developed in 1871 by William Milligan, Anthony Long and Joe Mc Collough. The post office arrived on October 29, 1879 with Charles Franklin Banita. It became the seat of the New Apache County on July 9, 1880. The town sits on the Little Colorado River. It appears in the 1900 census.
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St. John-
St John Fossils
Vertebrates
CAUTION: Collecting vertebrate material in the US requires landowner or government permission
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St. Joseph- Listed in the 1895 Atlas with a post office serving twenty-one residents with a railroad and an express office. The location is listed as St. Joseph in the 1880 census. Through tithing redistribution, those Mormon towns that experienced a poor harvests or a dam failure gained access to the agricultural surpluses produced elsewhere in the basin. In addition, since the Church credited individuals for the labor they spent on dam construction as part of their annual tithing obligation, communities such as Woodruff and St. Joseph received repeated assistance from other towns in the frequent rebuilding of their dams. As St. Joseph, Woodruff and the other towns in this sub-region struggled and suffered under the cumulative effect of floods, poor harvests and recurring dam failures, they could no longer continue to contribute the manpower needed to maintain supplementary operations located 75 miles away in the southern highlands. Moreover, because the lower valley communities were all located in the same sub-region and experienced the same schedule of environmental variation, they all experienced simultaneous drains on their meager resources. When one town was unable to spare the manpower needed to maintain the various conjoint enterprises, so were all the others.
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Sunrise Springs-A white settlement on Pueblo Colorado Wash Navajo Indian Reservation. The post office came on April 12, 1912 with Benjamin E. Harvey as postmaster. The settlement was located between Greasewood and Gandao, eight miles southwest of Ganado.
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Thodes/ Park- See Park
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Tule/El Tule-Post Office established on September 7, 1898 with Servo Chavez as postmaster and discontinued on August 20, 1903. A small Mexican settlement, fifteen miles south of St. John’s on the Little Colorado River.
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Walker- Listed on the1880 Census
*** Washington Station- Listed on the 1880 Census
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Wide Rim- A trading post and a settlement sits across Wide Ruin Wash. The post office arrived on March 20, 1934 with Mrs. Dora W. Balcomb and was discontinued on March 31, 1938.
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Woodruff- A listing on an 1880 census Woodruff was a Mormon town that existed because of the church members tithing redistribution. When the town had a bad harvest or suffered flooding from a broken dam, they were able to get their needs from other church communities. As St. Joseph, Woodruff and the other towns in this struggled and suffered with the effect of floods, poor harvests and recurring dam failures, they could not help their brothers and sisters in communities far away from their area. When one town was suffering in an area, most likely all the other towns were suffering as well.
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Woolf’s Ranch-/Reinhead- See Reinhead
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Interesting Facts Apache Beliefs- Spirits, ghosts, and monsters are a vital part of Apache life. The Apache had a horror of death. They did not speak of the dead and they deserted a dead Apache’s home. Apache believed that is you spoke about death or the deceased; death might come to you or your relatives. The cutting of hair and prolonged wailing were ways of demonstrating their grief for a lost one. In case of murder, the next of kin was obliged to take revenge. There was a fear of enemies doing harm by voodoo. An apache was very careful not to leave a part of himself for some adversary bent on doing evil. Such things as leavings from defecation, hair and fingernail trimmings were always disposed of so they could not fall into evil hands ***
Becker Lake- Julius and Gustov made a lake by damming a natural spring to irrigate. Several outlaws were buried near by and now are resting in peace at the bottom of that lake.
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Bekihatro Lake
Bekihatro Lake- Old Navajos were afraid of this lake because they believed it held a water monster. Loud groaning sounds come from the waters which just added to their belief.
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Bruille Park- - Bruille Park was deemed sacred to the Navajo and used to perform the Wind Ceremony.
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Mount Baldy - Sitting at11,590 foot elevation, the site is so sacred a place that only a select group of White Mountain apaches can go for pilgrimages and prayer.
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Ike Clanton
Springerville- Ike Clanton, a major player in the events that led to the gunfight at the O.K. Corral, was shot dead in Springerville by a detective named Jonas V. Brighton for resisting arrest on charges of cattle rustling on June 1, 1887. 230800N-1091707W
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Former Headquarters Saloon xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxWarren Earp Grave Wilcox- Warren Earp, the brother of Wyatt Earp was shot and killed here on July 6th, 1900 while in a drunken fight in the Headquarters Saloon where he was the bartender. He is buried in the town cemetery.
Treasure
Apache County- Located in either Apache or Coconino Counties, a Navajo silver mine was found by two prospectors, “Merrick” and Mitchell who were later killed by Indians and their mine never found.
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Freight Wagon Fort Apache-In 1874, a Quarter Master’s wagon was loaded and pulled up a steep grade by six mules. The hitch broke and two mules escaped, but the other four went off the side of the 1,000 rim. On the wagon was the Army payroll intended for the 5th Cavalry, the 8th Infantry and the 23rd Infantry stationed at Fort Apache. The payroll was valued at $160,000 and $860,000. The wagon was also loaded with guns 45/70 Springfield carbines and U.S. Army Colt 45 Cavalry side arms.
*** Lupton- Zuni Indians are said to have hidden a cache of gold and silver and some church vessels in a cave under the mesa during the Indian Rebellion of 1680. It is located somewhere South of Lupton to the North Mexican border.
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Pine Springs
Pine Springs- Outlaws led by Henry Seymour robbed a stagecoach in 1879 of $225,000 in coins in three boxes at the Pine spring Station located between Beaverhead Station and Brigham City. They took the gold into the station while holding out against a posse. They never found the gold coins, buried somewhere in or near the old Pine Springs Station.
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Pueblo Colorado Wash- The gold placer mine of Jim Carson and lies somewhere along the Pueblo Colorado Wash Rock Point.
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Rock Point Mesa- Spaniards with an oxcart loaded with gold plates, bowls and other items were placed in a cave in the cliffs and covered over after they were attacked by Indians. The cave is west of the Rock Point Trading Post and past the formation called Rock Point. The search area is just around the hill from the top of the mesa.
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White Mountains
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