USA > Arizona > History of Arizona and New Mexico, 1530-1888, Volume XVII > Part 65
USA > New Mexico > History of Arizona and New Mexico, 1530-1888, Volume XVII > Part 65
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The various secret and other societies of Masons, Odd Fellows, etc., are firmly established in most of the Arizona towns; and a very good account of such organizations is found in the work of Elliott & Co. Hamilton, Resources, p. 251-3, and E. & Co., p. 151-3, give church statistics, from which it appears that there are 25 churches in the territory, of which the catholics-under J. B. Salpointe as bishop of Tucson-have 8, the methodists-with G. H. Adams as president of the mission-6, baptists 4, presbyterians 3, congregationalists 2, and episcopalians 9, besides the Mormon churches on the Colorado Chi- quito, Gila, and Salt River. The figures given represent church buildings, but the different associations do some missionary, charitable, and Sunday- school work in other settlements. There are also some religious exercises- both Christian and aboriginal-on the different Ind. reservations. According to the census of 1870, there were only 4 churches, worth $24,000. The finest edifice is the old mission church at Bac, where services are held every Sunday.
A list of Arizona newspapers in 1884 is given by Elliott & Co. as follows: Phoenix (D. and W.) Ariz. Gazette, from '80, H. H. McNeil, editor. Phoenix (D. and W.) Herald, from '79, N. A. Morford, ed. Phoenix (W.) Union, from '83, Aguirre & Célis, ed. Phoenix (W.) Mercurio, from '84, F. T. Dávila, ed. Clifton (W.) Clarion, from '83, D. L. Sayre, ed. Tucson (D. and W.) Citizen, from '70, W. W. Hayward, ed. Tucson (W.) Mining Index, from '83, G. W. Barter, ed. Tucson (D. and W.) Star, from '77, L. C. Hughes, ed. Tucson (W.) Live Stock Journal, from '84, Cameron, ed. Tucson (W.) Fronterizo, from '78, C. I. Velasco, ed. Tucson (W.) Ariz. Methodist, from '81, Geo. H. Adams, ed. Quijotoa (W.) Prospector, from '84, H. Brook, ed. Globe (W.) Ariz. Silver Belt, from '78, A. H. Hackney, ed. Prescott (D. and W.) Ariz. Journal, from '72, J. C. Martin, ed. Prescott (D. and W.) Courier, from '82, J. H. Marion, ed. Prescott (D. and W.) Ariz. Miner, from '64, W. O. O'Neil, ed. Flagstaff (W.) Champion, from '83, A. E. Fay, ed. Tombstone (D. and W.) Epitaph, from '80, C. D. Reppy, ed. Benson (W.) Herald, from '83, W. A. Nash, ed. Florence (W.) Ariz. Enterprise, from '80, L. F. Weedin, ed. St John (W.) Orion Era, from '83, M. P. Romney, ed. St John (W.) Apache Chief, from '84, Geo. A. McCarter, ed. Mineral Park (W.) Mojave Co. Miner, from '82, J. J. Hyde, ed. Yuma (W.) Ariz. Sentinel, from '71, J. W. Dor- rington, ed. Holbrook (W.) Times, from '84, H. Reed, ed. Wilcox (W.) Sulphur Val. News, from '84, Montague, ed. Several other papers, suspended before '84, have been incidentally mentioned elsewhere. The oldest was the Arizonian, pub. at Tubac and Tucson, in 1858-9. The pioneer press used for this paper was later used for the Tombstone Nugget, and was rendered worth- less by one of the fires, acc. to E. & Co. The Mineral Park Miner of Aug. 30, '85, mentions the Casa Grande Voice of Ariz., Phoenix Territorial Chronicle, one at Kingman, and another at Nogales, making 28 at that date. See also Pettingill's Newsp. Dir., 197 et seq .; Barter's Dir. Tucson, 1881, p. 38-9; Pac. Coast Dir., 1871-3, p. 154-5; Tucson D. Citizen, Oct. 14, 1880; S. F. Bulletin, Feb. 6, 1882.
CHAPTER XXIV.
COUNTIES AND TOWNS OF ARIZONA. 1864-1887.
COUNTY MAP-APACHE COUNTY-COAL, LIVE-STOCK, AND MORMONS-ST JOHN AND HOLBROOK-YAVAPAI-MINES OF GOLD AND SILVER-CITY OF PRESCOTT-MOJAVE AND PAH-UTE-MINING DISTRICTS-MINERAL PARK-YUMA-COLORADO BOTTOM-GOLD PLACERS-HOT DESERTS- YUMA CITY AND EHRENBERG-PIMA-A LAND OF HISTORY AND TRA. DITION-PAPAQUERÍA -- TUCSON THE METROPOLIS-QUIJOTOA-COCHISE- LAND OF THE CHIRICAHUAS-MINERAL WEALTH-TOMBSTONE, BISBEE, BENSON, AND WILLCOX-NEW COUNTIES OF THE GILA VALLEY-MARI- COPA-FARMS AND CANALS-PHOENIX-PINAL COUNTY-MINING AND AGRICULTURE - FLORENCE - CASA GRANDE - GILA COUNTY - GLOBE- GRAHAM COUNTY-GRAZING LANDS AND COPPER MINES-PUEBLO VIEJO VALLEY-SOLOMONVILLE AND CLIFTON.
A MAP showing the county boundaries, as accurately as is possible on a small scale, is given on the next page. Apache county, so named from the Indian tribe, or perhaps immediately from the fort, has an area of 20,940 square miles, ranking second in extent. It was created from Yavapai by act of 1879 and cur- tailed in 1881 by the cutting-off of that part of Gra- ham between the Black and Gila rivers. The county seat was originally at Snowflake, but was moved to Springerville in 1880, and to St John in 1881. That portion north of latitude 35°, or of the railroad, is a region of plateaux and mesas from 4,000 to 7,000 feet above the level of the sea, with peaks rising to nearly twice those heights. The few streams run in deep cañons and are dry in summer, and though the plateau produces good grass, the country is for the most part valueless for agricultural purposes. Here, however, ( 608 )
609
APACHE COUNTY.
are immense coal deposits, which are sure to assume great value in time. The northern portion is covered by the Moqui and Navajo Indian reservations, having
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COUNTIES OF ARIZONA.
practically no white inhabitants. The Moqui towns and the ruins of Chelly Cañon are among the most interesting relics of antiquity to be found in the United States; Fort Defiance is the oldest post in the county ; and the famous 'diamond-fields,' of 1872 are to be found-on the maps-in the extreme north. South HIST. ARIZ. AND N. MEX. 39
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610
COUNTIES AND TOWNS OF ARIZONA.
of the railroad the county is well watered by the Colorado Chiquito and its branches, supporting a population of nearly 6,000, a prominent element be- ing the Mormons, numbering about 3,000, and whose occupation dates from 1876-7. Besides the grazing and farming lands, there are valuable forests of pine. The extreme south, about Fort Apache, is included in the San Carlos, or White Mountain, Indian reser- vation. St John, the county seat, is a thriving village of over 1,000 inhabitants, with two newspapers; and Holbrook on the railroad, with a population of about 500 and one newspaper, is the distributing point for all the county.1
Yavapai county, so named from the Indian tribe, was one of the four original counties created by the first legislature of 1864. At that time it included over half of the whole territory- all north of the Gila and east of the meridian of 113º 20'; and it still comprises more than one fourth, with an area of about 28,000 square miles.2 North of latitude 35°, or of the rail-
1 The successive county changes have been noticed in chap. xxi., in connec- tion with legislative proceedings; so also the Ind. reservations, coal-fields, Mormons, and some other topics in other chapters. Census statistics of 1880 are as follows: pop. 5,283; by towns, St John 546, Springerville 364, Snow- flake 275, Brigham City 191, Walker 165, Sunset 161, Woodruff 66; no. of farms 96, value $62,596, implements, etc., $4,384, produce $63,960; crops, barley 20,761 bush., wheat 11,075, corn 4,368, oats 564; improved land 5,389 acres; horses 665, mules and asses 72, oxen 440, cows 1,693, cattle 3,857, sheep 30,606, swine 96; wool 86,681 lbs., butter 5,742 lbs., cheese 94,85 lbs., value of live-stock $123,992; assessment $600,000, tax $15,570. Hamilton's stat. for 1882-3 are, pop. 6,816, St John 1,200, Holbrook 500 (200 acc. to E. & Co.); land under cultivation 13,000 acres, cattle 43,000, borses 3,000, mules 1,500, sheep 600,000; assessed valuation of all property in 1884 $1,090,000.
The stock industry is rapidly increasing in late years. E. & Co. state that the Mormon settlements have been nearly abandoned on account of alkali in the soil. The St John papers are the Apache Chief and Orion Era, the latter a Mormon organ; at Holbrook is published the Times. Near Holbrook are extensive petrified forests. Winslow is a new railroad town in the east, cor- responding nearly to the old Brigham City. Eben Stanley of Ia, a soldier in the war of 1861-4, first came to Ariz. with a drove of govt cattle in 1866, returning in 1869. For seven years he was a chief of scouts under Gen. Crook, and since 1879 has been raising stock near Springerville. He has a wife, Mary Stickard, and two children. R. C. Kinder, engaged in sheep-raising, is a native of Ill., who came from Cal. in 1876.
2 A part of Maricopa was cut off in 1871 and 1877, part of Pinal in 1875, Apache in 1879, part of Gila in 1881, and finally a part of Mojave in 1883. See legisl. acts in chap. xxi. Hamilton gives the area as 30,015 sq. m., but he seems not to have accounted for the loss of the N. w. corner. E. & Co. make the area 37,000 m.
611
YAVAPAI COUNTY.
road, is the Colorado plateau, cut to a depth of 1,000 to 6,000 feet by the grand cañon of the great river, and by the hardly less wonderful cañons of the Colo- rado Chiquito and other branches. This region has some fine forests and extensive grazing lands, but as a rule little water available for agriculture; and it is for the most part unoccupied, except by the Hualapai and Suppai Indians, and by a few Mormons on the Utah frontier. South of latitude 35°, the country is moun- tainous, but has many fertile valleys, of which that of the Verde is most extensive. It is well timbered, and has in most parts plenty of water, the climate being the most agreeable to be found in the territory. Here the lands are tilled to some extent without irrigation. All the mountains are rich in the precious metals; but most of the mines, as of the population, about 10,000 souls-perhaps considerably more3-are in the south- western corner of the county. Prescott, founded in 1864 on Granite Creek, at an altitude of about 5,500 feet, is delightfully situated, and has many fine build- ings of wood, brick, and stone. More than others in Arizona, it is described as resembling an eastern town. In 1864-7, Prescott was the temporary seat of gov- ernment, and since 1877 has been the permanent cap- ital; it has many large mercantile establishments; is well supplied with banks and with public buildings; and has three daily newspapers, including the Arizona Miner, the oldest journal of the territory. Its popu- lation is about 2,000. Flagstaff, with perhaps 500 in- habitants, is the leading railroad town, and the centre of an active lumbering and mercantile industry. The Arizona Central Railroad to connect Prescott with the Atlantic and Pacific in the north, and with Phoenix in the south, is expected to accomplish great things for the capital and for the country.4
3 Hamilton gives the pop. in 1882 as 27,680, which is doubtless a great ex. aggeration, though I have no means of determining the correct figures. Acc. to the U. S. census of 1880, Yavapai had a pop. of 5,013, and Prescott 1,836. Hodge gives the county pop. as 13,738 in 1876. Hinton, 15,000 in 1878. All this is very confusing.
" Census statistics of 1880 are as follows: no. of farms 244, extent 45,013 a., average size 184 a., improved 11,239 a., value $337,950, val. implements
612
COUNTIES AND TOWNS OF ARIZONA.
Mojave, named from the Indian tribe, was another of the four counties organized in 1864. At that time
$20,352; horses 2,685, mules 267, oxen 286, milk-cows 1,936, cattle 12,034, sheep 34,680, swine 570, value of live-stock $435,502; wool clip 201,320 lbs .; milk sold 27,376 gal., butter 31,895 lbs., cheese 7,050 lbs .; crop of barley 16,944 bush., corn 14,841, wheat 5,070, value of farm produce $149,872, assessment $1,808,402, debt $152,570, tax $69,202. Hamilton's stat. for 1883 are, cattle 75,000, horses 6,000, mules 2,000, swine 1,000, sheep 50,000; land cultiv. 6,500 a .; assessment for 1884, $3,785,131. Vote in 1882, 2,171.
Prescott is also the military headquarters of the territory, Ft Whipple be- ing situated at a distance of only one mile, and Camp Verde about 50 m. east. It has two territorial libraries, law and miscellaneous. There is a fine brick school-house and 5 churches. The newspapers are the Miner (estab. by Gov. McCormick in 1864), Journal, and Courier. Some of the first things are as follows: Ist house of logs Fleury's, still standing; Ist clergyman Wm H. Reid, who estab. a Sunday-school in '64; Ist marriage J. H. Dickson to Mary J. Ehle, Nov. 17, '64, by Gov. Goodwin; first child born Molly Sim- mons Jan. 9, '65; Ist ball Nov. 8, '64; Ist Masonic lodge '65, Odd Fellows '68; Ist and only earthquake '71; telegraph '73. Town incorporated 1881 and 1883. Ariz., Acts, 11th sess., 136; 12th sess., 66-107. See also on Prescott, es- pecially its earlier history, besides Hinton, Hamilton, and Elliott & Co., Hayes' Scraps, Ariz., i. 197, 200, 269; ii. 120-2; Hodge's Ariz., 14, 148-51; Hoyt's Ariz., MS., 27-8; U. S. Govt Doc., 39th cong. 2d sess., H. Miscel. Doc. 24; Ind. Aff. Rept, 1864, p. 155; Land Off. Rept, 1865, p. 120; McCormick's Oration, July 4, 1864, 12mo, 15 p; Rusling's Across Amer., 397-418; Ariz. Scraps, 120-4; Prescott Miner, Jan. 26, Mar. 9, June 29, July 20, Dec. 21, 1877; Dec. 27, 1878; June 11, 1880; Truman, in S. F. Bulletin, May 3, 1867; Prescott Arizonian, Aug. 17, 1879; Tucson Star, Mar. 6, 1879.
Other towns of Yavapai are simply mining camps, one of the most flour- ishing being Jerome, at the United Verde Co.'s copper wines, with about 400 inhab. Mines of this and other counties have been briefly noticed in the pre- ceding chapter. Flagstaff is noted for its stone store, its elevation of 6,500 ft, and fine climate, its forests, mills, game, and farming lands. A trail leads to the wonderful Grand Canon, but Peach Springs is the R. R. station nearest to that most wonderful natural attraction, and also to the Hualapai Ind. res- ervation.
Pauline Weaver, one of the earliest Americans who visited Ariz., perhaps before 1830, certainly as early as 1832, was a native of Tenn., about whose life in detail very little is known. He was a famous trapper and explorer, acquainted with all the broad interior and its Ind. tribes. He discovered in 1862 the Colorado placers, and the next years the Hassayampa mines, in the district bearing his name. In 1865 he was tilling a patch of land on the same stream. I have not found the date or circumstances of his death. Joseph R. Walker crossed Ariz. between 1830 and 1840, was captain of the prospectors of 1861-3, and discoverer of many mines in Yavapai. For a biog. sketch of this famous guide and mountaineer, see Pioneer Register, in Hist. Cal., v. A. E. Fay of N. Y. came to Ariz. in 1876, and for two years edited the Tuc- son Star; was clerk of the 10th legisl .; establishe i the Tombstone Nugget in 1879; was clerk of the house, 12th legisl .; and in 1883 started the Arizona Champion at Flagstaff, where he now resides as proprietor and business editor of the paper. His wife was Amanda Hicklin. "Edmond W. Wells, a lawyer of Prescott, is a native of Ohio, who came to the territory in 1864. He was for a time clerk in the Q. M. dept, and has been three times a member of the council. His wife was Rosa Baughart, and they have four children. Wm Wilkerson of Mo. crossed the plains to Cal. in 1853, and came to Ariz. in 1869, mining for a time at Lynx Creek. He was for many years clerk of the district and supreme courts, and was four times elected county recorder. He resides at Prescott with his wife, who was Hattie Skinkle. S. C. Dickenson, a native of N. Y., came to the territory in 1875, and is a farmer at Date Creek, with a wife and several children. Joseph R. Walker, born in Mo.
613
MOJAVE COUNTY.
it included all that part of Nevada south of latitude 37, the county seat being Hardyville. In 1865 all north of Roaring Rapid, or about 35° 50', was set off as Pah-Ute county, with the county seat at Callville, moved the next year to St Thomas. In 1866 that part of both counties lying west of the Colorado and longitude 114° was attached to Nevada; in 1871 what was left of Pah-Ute was reattached to Mojave; in 1877 the county seat was moved to Mineral Park;
1832, was one of the famous party of prospectors under his uncle, Capt. Joe Walker, in 1861-3. Ind .- fighter and miner for many years, he was sheriff of Yavapai in 1878-80, and since has raised stock and carried on a butchering business at Prescott. Portrait in E. & Co.'s Hast., 60. W. J. Mulomon of Mass. came in 1875 from N. Mex. He has been a miner; also deputy sheriff and sheriff of Yavapai, residing at Prescott. Win Powell of Ill. came from Nebraska in 1875, and is a stock-raiser at Cherry Creek. His wife was Julia A. Allen, and he has a family of six children. Charles B. Rush of Mo. came overland via Cal. in 1877. He is a lawyer and stock-raiser of Prescott, hav- ing held the office of district attorney. He married Mary Givens in 1880, and has two children.
Charles L. Spencer, a merchant of Prescott, is a native of Ohio, born in 1852. He was in Ariz. 1870-3, and came hack in 1875. W. W. Hutchinson, a wealthy cattle-man of Prescott, came to Ariz. in 1870. He was born in Mo., came across the plains to Cal. in 1850, and was subsequently a miner at Frazer River and in Idaho. He was married in 1877 to Mary Hawkins, and in 1885, while on a pleasure trip in the east with his wife and adopted daughter, died suddenly at N. Orleans. He had been member of the legisla- ture and county supervisor. James L. Hall of N. H. was a soldier in the 5th U. S. inf., serving in the Navajo wars of 1860-1 in N. Mex. Later he was a miner, trader, and butcher in Id., Or., and Cal., until he came to Ariz. in 1877. He is a butcher at Prescott, having also held the positions of mayor and probate judge. His wife was Catharine Odell of Canada, who has borne him five children. He sends me some items about Navajo customs.
James M. Baker, a Missourian who came overland to Cal. in 1853, and travelled over the Pac. territories from 1861, came to Ariz. with Dr Jones from Salt Lake in 1866, married Sarah Ehle in 1870, and has been engaged in stock-raising near Prescott.
Frank Kenly Ainsworth, M. D., was born in Vt, and came to Ariz. in 1880. His wife is Nellie H. Trowbridge. He has been member of the coun- cil, surgeon-general of the territory, and president of the Medical Soc., re- siding at Prescott.
John Goulder Campbell is a Scotchman, aged 60, who came to Cal. over- land by way of Mexico and Mazatlan in 1849. In 1864 he came to Arizona, becoming a prominent merchant and stockman at Prescott. He was twice a member of the legislature, county supervisor in 1871-2, and delegate in con- gress in 1879. He married in Cal. 1857, and again at Washington in 1880, having three children. I. N. Berry sells liquor at Flagstaff. He came from Indiana, and spent some years in N. Mex .; wife, Mary Parker.
Charles S. Black, from Maine, drove a band of cattle from Cal. in 1873, having a farm and stock ranch in Kirkland valley.
Robert Connell, a liquor merchant of Prescott, and member of the legisla- ture in 1883, is a native of Ark., who came from Col. in 1874. He went to Ill. for a wife in 1878, and has several children.
John Chartz raises cattle in Thompson valley. He is a Canadian, age 30, who has been a sailor, and came from Cal. in 1873.
614
COUNTIES AND TOWNS OF ARIZONA.
and in 1883 the county north of the Colorado was ex- tended east some 50 miles to Kanab Wash. The present area is about 12,500 square miles. The region is traversed from north to south by a succession of mineral-bearing mountain ranges, separated by narrow valleys, fertile, but for the most part without water, though prospectively valuable for grazing purposes with the aid of artesian wells. The most valuable agricultural lands are embraced in the Colorado bot- tom. The county has many rich mines of gold, silver, copper, and lead, and from the beginning has been the field of frequent excitements, alternating with periods of depression. The railroad, however, has brought the promise of increased prosperity. Its population is about 1,500, of which Mineral Park, the county seat, contains nearly one third. It is built chiefly of adobe, and is the distributing point of supplies for the different mining camps. Kingman is the principal
railroad town.5
5 Statistics from the 10th census are as follows: pop. 1,190, at Mineral Park 318, Ft Mojave 78; no. farms 41, average size 84 ac., extent 3,430 a., improved 1,557 a., value $39,670; implements, etc., $1,925; value of farm products $19,998; horses 388, mnles 66, oxen 18, milk-cows 248, cattle 3,483, swine 161; value of live-stock $62,555; crop of barley 5,817 bush., corn 430, wheat 320; milk 712 gal., butter 1,565 Ibs. Assessment 8470,943, tax $13,731, debt $23,253. Hamilton's stat., pop. 1,910, assessed val. of property $1,756,000, land cultivated 1,000 a., cattle 10,000, horses 1,000, mules 500, swine 200, sheep 2,000.
The region north of the Colorado is for the most part uninhabited, and but partially explored. A portion of the Mojave Ind. live near the fort, and not on the reservation farther south, frequenting the station at the Needles, where the R. R. crosses the river. Ft Mojave dates from 1858. Hardyville, so named from Wm H. Hardy, a prominent pioneer, is at the practical head of navigation on the Colorado, was formerly county seat, and was in early mining excitements a bustling place, but is now nearly deserted. Aubrey Landing, at the junction of the Colorado and Williams fork, is a point of dis- tribution for the southern mining districts of Mojave. Large quantities of ore are shipped at Kingman station both east and west. The Mojave Miner is published at Mineral Park.
W'm or 'Bill' Williams, for whom a branch of the Colorado was named, was a famous mountain man, who in early years visited most parts of Ariz. as of other regions in the great interior. He is said to have been in Mo. a Methodist preacher, and was finally killed by the Ind. I find no reliable dates or details respecting his Ariz. explorations. Adamson Cornwall, a na- tive of Oregon, and sometime teacher in Cal., resides since 1875 near Signal as a ranchero. He has been a member of the legislative assembly.
Robert Steen, of N. Y., came to Nev. in 1859, served as sheriff of Nye co., and came to Ariz. in 1873. He was a miner until 1882, and since that time has been sheriff of Mojave co., residing at Mineral Park.
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615
YUMA COUNTY.
Yuma is another of the original counties, named like the rest from its chief aboriginal tribe; and it is the only county whose boundaries have never been changed. It has an area of 10,138 square miles, and is for the most part an arid desert, marked in the west by parallel north and south ranges, and in the east by detached spurs. The chief characteristic of its climate is extreme heat. It will never do to publish a work on Arizona without repeating John Phoenix' old story of the wicked Yuma soldier, who, after death, was stationed in a region reputed to be hot, yet was obliged to send back for his blankets. The heat, however, is much less oppressive than the thermometer would in- dicate, the air being pure and healthful. Agricultural possibilities depend mainly on the reclamation of Colo- rado bottoms by extensive irrigation works, and there are also broad tracts of grazing lands that may be utilized by means of wells. With these artificial aids, it is by no means improbable that in time Yuma may take a very prominent rank among the counties of the territory. Its placers on the Gila and Colorado were the foundation of several 'rushes' from 1858 to 1864, and are still worked to some extent, the sands in many places being rich in gold if water could be obtained for washing. Deep mines, as elsewhere noted, have yielded rich treasures of silver, lead, and copper, the mining industry here having been less disastrously affected than elsewhere by Indian hostilities, and by transportation difficulties. Yuma, or the region about the Gila and Colorado junction, figures prominently in the early Spanish annals, as already presented in this volume, though the ill-fated missions were on the California side, where also in later emigrant and ferry times Fort Yuma, now abandoned, was the centre of desert life. A remnant of the Yuma Indians, a once powerful tribe of the Gila valley, has now a reserva- tion on the California shore at the old fort. Arizona City, since called Yuma, opposite the fort, came into existence with the old ferry establishment, and though
616
COUNTIES AND TOWNS OF ARIZONA.
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