Appendix I. Mormon Settlements, with Maps, Settlement Dates, Previous Names, Additional Information, and References

The initial challenge for a list of Mormon settlements in Arizona is to define a Latter-day Saint community. For our purposes, Latter-day Saints must have been the first to settle an area, or they must have been early settlers and numerous enough for the town to have generally been known as a Mormon settlement. This definition would exclude some towns which have previously been on lists of Mormon settlements (e.g., Tempe, Holbrook, and Springerville).[1] Charles Hayden was at Tempe by 1871, well before the B. F. Johnson family came to Arizona. Juan Padilla and Berado Frayde were at Horsehead Crossing (Holbrook) by that same date, and even though an A.C.M.I. was built at Holbrook because of the railroad, an LDS branch was not organized there until 1913. At Springerville, Dionicio, Elalaio, and Juan Baca, Gabriel Silva, Tony Long, William Mulligan, Marion Clark, and Johnny McCullough came into Arizona in 1869, called their colony Valle Redondo, and built Fort Milligan; then Henry Springer and the Becker, Rudd, and Coulter families came in 1875. Mormons did not settle at Amity until 1879, and by 1885 there were enough disputes between these two groups that Mormons coalesced at Eagar, not Springerville.[2]

Heretofore, the best map of Mormon settlements in Arizona is found in Walker and Bufkin’s Historical Atlas of Arizona. They tried to show the current name of a town, all the original names, and whether it was still occupied mainly by Mormons. Unfortunately, many of the small towns are so close together that their exact location is imprecise. For example, Taylor, Aripine, Pinedale, and Forestdale are lumped together and placed somewhere west of and between Shumway and Show Low, which they are not. This overcrowding is particularly apparent in the Little Colorado River and Gila Valley areas.[3]

Although Walker and Bufkin’s explanatory information is generally accurate, some of the dates of settlement in the following sentence are incorrect and there is no reference for where this information was obtained: “The main thrust of the move was up the valley of the Little Colorado River: Joseph City (1865), Springerville (1871), St. Johns (1880), and Show Low (1890).” Brigham Young first sent settlers to four areas along the Little Colorado River (including Joseph City) in 1876.[4] A partial explanation could be the date of non-Mormon settlement verses the date of Mormon settlement; many Mormon settlements were on land purchased from earlier inhabitants. For example, William J. Flake purchased the land at Show Low from Henry Huning in 1903, although there were Mormon settlers in this area by 1880.

One of the sources that Walker and Bufkin used was Granger’s Will C. Barnes’ Arizona Place Names, and therefore, with limited knowledge of Mormon history, it is easy to repeat errors. An example is Granger’s entry for the town of Shumway which begins: “On February 4, 1864 [sic], Charles Shumway was the first Mormon to cross the Mississippi during the Mormon exodus and he was one of the . . . pioneers who arrived in Salt Lake the following summer. . . . According to Barnes, Shumway settled in Arizona at an early date.”[5] However, Charles Shumway crossed the Mississippi in 1846, arrived in Utah in 1847, and came to Arizona in 1880, initially settling at Concho. The 1864 date was simply a typographical error, but coupled with Barnes’s statement about Charles Shumway coming into Arizona at an early date, one might suspect a date earlier than 1880. In addition, although the town was named after Charles Shumway, it had a few earlier settlers, some of whom stayed while others moved to different Arizona towns or returned to Utah.[6]

These examples illustrate the difficulties encountered with list of Mormon towns in Arizona. Although the maps and descriptions published here are more nuanced, the information is simply too brief and too generalized to be the ultimate resource; references cited should be consulted for additional details. Dates of settlement are particularly difficult to assess. In 1980, Ryder Ridgway wrote that “Thatcher’s centennial is in the offing,” and then he said that the “date of this landmark year is now a matter of discussion and conjecture.” His personal preference was 1883, but he also gave reasons for later dates; he did not mention the other events and dates listed in Arizona Place Names.[7]

Although the US post office saw to it that no two towns had the same name (which became the basis for many early name changes), it should be noted that in several instances, the same name was used for different areas. For example, today Round Valley generally refers to the Springerville-Eagar area in southern Apache County. However, a portion of northern Gila County (four miles south of Payson) was also called Round Valley.[8] Further, Pleasant Valley, as used today, refers to the Tonto Basin in Gila County (particularly with regard to the Tonto Basin or Pleasant Valley War). However, Mormon Lake in Coconino County was called Pleasant Valley in early histories.[9]

The most confusing problem with Arizona town names, however, is that a town may not be in the county of the same name. Historian Marshall Trimble thought this was a problem for “newcomer and native alike” and then gave the following example: “The town of Pima is not located in Pima County, but Graham County. The town of Navajo is in Apache County, while Fort Apache is in Navajo County.”[10] There are many other examples which could be given, but at least two are important to PWA. First, the Gila Valley (Safford, Thatcher, Pima, etc.) is not in Gila County but is in Graham County; Payson, Strawberry, Pine, Globe, and the Tonto Basin are in Gila County. Second, Maricopa Station, the early town of Maricopa, and Maricopa Wells are actually in Pinal County and not Maricopa County.[11]

The entries below describe each of the Mormon settlements in Arizona and some of the non-LDS areas (in brackets) that were important to these emigrants. Also included are a few towns in New Mexico and Nevada which were closely connected to the Arizona settlements. Because of the extensive travel between Arizona and LDS settlements in Mexico beginning in 1885 (and because RFC lived in Mexico from 1910 to 1916), some discussion of colonization in Mexico is included.

Today, maps are usually linked to a particular time (e.g., railroads as they existed in 1880, mines active in 1960, etc.), but the events in Arizona as reported in PWA occurred over nearly a century. These maps, therefore, show Mormon settlements as they existed in approximately 1900, with the exception of the map for southern Arizona. Several of the towns on the map of southern Arizona came into existence after the exodus from Mexico in 1912.

For convenience in presenting the maps and the descriptions of Mormon settlements in Arizona, the state is divided into three areas: Arizona Map 1—Northwestern Arizona: the Arizona Strip, the Muddy River Settlements, and the Lower Colorado River Ferries; Arizona Map 2—The Little Colorado River and Tonto Basin Settlements: Gila, Navajo, and Apache Counties; and Arizona Map 3—Southern Arizona: the Salt River, Gila Valley, and San Pedro River Settlements. Each town is identified by area; current name (existing communities in bold); date of LDS settlement (date of non-LDS settlement in brackets), early names, and additional information. The map of Mexico includes Mormon colonies established before the Mexican Revolution and areas important to RFC when she lived in Mexico from 1910 to 1916.

Arizona Map 1—Northwestern Arizona: the Arizona Strip, Muddy River Settlements, and Lower Colorado River Ferries

Lower Colorado River Area

Much of this area is now under the waters of Lake Mead.

Pierce Ferry; 1876; Pearce’s Ferry. This ferry was established by Harrison Pearce at the Grand Wash, 280 miles downriver from Lee’s Ferry. Although it is occasionally spelled as Pearce Ferry, maps generally show it as Pierce Ferry.[12]

Stone’s Ferry; pre-1875. Located where the Virgin River empties into the Colorado River, this ferry was operated in 1877 by John Abbott Emery and may have been operated by Daniel Bonelli for a short time.[13]

Bonelli’s Ferry; 1875 [1871]; Junction City, Rioville. Named after Daniel Bonelli who purchased it in 1875, this ferry was located about six miles below the mouth of the Virgin River (Nevada side).[14]

Scanlon Ferry; c. 1881. Established by prospector Mike Scanlon, this ferry was located at the Hualapai Wash (Arizona side).[15]

Callville; 1864; Call’s Landing. Located at Black Canyon, 150 miles north of Hardy’s Landing and named after Anson Call, this ferry became part of Nevada in 1865 and was abandoned in 1867. Callville was the first county seat for Arizona’s Mohave County.[16]

[Hackberry]; 1870s; Gardiner Spring. Lt. Edward Fitzgerald Beale created a wagon road through this area in 1857, but it was not until the 1870s that this little mining camp was called Hackberry. Many Mormon emigrant companies which used the western route stopped at Hackberry—some for a few days and others for a few years.[17]

The Muddy River Settlements

These settlements were originally part of the Territory of New Mexico (and therefore the Territory of Arizona when it was created in 1863). Two earlier Utah-Nevada border changes (in 1862 and 1866) mainly affected other LDS towns (e.g., Panaca), but these changes left the Muddy settlers in doubt as to whether they were living in Arizona, Utah, or Nevada. Although the cession to Nevada of everything south of latitude 37 degrees and west to the California border in 1867 meant the area was definitely not in Arizona; settlers along the Muddy River assumed they were part of Utah. An official survey during the winter of 1870–71 found that all the Muddy settlements were in Nevada. This meant taxes were now to be paid to Nevada in silver, and the settlements were abandoned.[18] Several of the women in PWA were first Muddy River settlers (e.g., Ellen Perks Johnstun, Margaret Casteel Kartchner, Emma Swenson Hansen, and Lydia Ann Lake Nelson).

St. Thomas, Nevada; 1865. Located three miles on the Muddy upstream from the Virgin and Muddy Rivers junction, this settlement was established by, and named for, Thomas S. Smith; the settlement was abandoned in 1871.[19]

St. Joseph, Nevada; 1865. Originally nine miles above St. Thomas, this site was abandoned in 1866.[20]

Mill Point, Nevada; 1865; new St. Joseph. Located between St. Thomas and St. Joseph, in 1866 when settlers from St. Joseph moved to Mill Point, the name was changed to St. Joseph. It was abandoned in 1869.[21]

Overton, Nevada; 1868; Mill Point, St. Joseph. Located about one mile southwest of the original Mill Point, this area proved to be a good location and by 1870, Helaman Pratt presided over the settlement.[22]

West Point, Nevada; 1868. Located twenty-five miles above St. Thomas, this settlement was abandoned in 1871.[23]

Arizona Strip Settlements and Others Southwest of St. George

Bunkerville, Nevada; 1877. Located on the Virgin River about 30 miles north of the confluence with the Colorado River and immediately west of the current Arizona/Nevada border, Bunkerville was technically never part of Arizona. This area was originally settled by Edward Bunker with his family, relatives, and close friends, specifically to live the United Order.[24]

Littlefield; mid-1860s; Millersburg, Beaver Dams. In the extreme northwestern corner of Arizona (three miles east of the Nevada border and five miles south of the Utah border), Littlefield was briefly abandoned in 1867 because of flooding. Within ten years, other settlers arrived, and this became a permanent settlement with many little farms.[25]

Cane Beds; 1868. John D. Lee explored this area in 1852 and located a small settlement at the junction of the Virgin River and Ash Creek; the settlement was almost gone by 1910 but then experienced a revival.[26]

Pipe Springs; 1863; Winsor Castle. Although Jacob Hamblin stopped here in 1858 and this party gave the spring its current name, it was not until 1863 that Dr. James M. Whitmore and his brother-in-law, Robert McIntyre, developed the area into a ranch. Both were killed by Native Americans in January of 1866. In 1870, the property was purchased by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and Anson Perry Winsor began operating the ranch and formed a cooperative livestock association: the Winsor Castle Livestock Growers Association. In 1923, this area became Pipe Springs National Monument.[27]

Fredonia; 1885; Hardscrabble. Fredonia, three miles south of the Utah-Arizona border and directly south of Kanab, was settled specifically for Mormons to escape persecution from polygamy.[28]

Jacob Lake; 1870s; Jacob’s Pools. Jacob Hamblin first explored this area in 1858, but he did not establish an emigrant trail into Arizona through this area until the 1870s. This place was never a town, but it was a watering place for livestock along the trail.[29]

House Rock; 1870s; Rock House Hotel. This location was not a town but was a stopping place on the Mormon Wagon Road about twenty-five miles west of Lee’s Ferry. It included a good spring and two large rocks which had fallen together giving the pioneers some shelter.[30]

The Colorado River

Lee’s Ferry; 1870s; Johnson’s Ferry, Lonely Dell. Located at the mouth of the Paria River, Jacob Hamblin first crossed the Colorado River at this area in 1864. John D. Lee established a ferry here in 1872 and operated it until his death in 1877. Later his widow, Emma Lee, sold it to the Mormon Church, and Warren M. Johnson operated it. The Emmit family then operated it until Navajo Bridge was completed in 1929.[31]

Tuba/Moenkopi; 1875 [ancient]; Tuba City, Moencopie, Moen Copi. Located sixty miles southeast of Lee’s Ferry, Mormon explorers passing through this area included Jacob Hamblin in the 1850s and 1860s and Horton D. Haight in 1873. In 1875, James S. Brown began work on a fort. Erastus Snow laid out the present town site in 1878, but it was later deemed to be on Indian lands. John W. Young built a woolen mill at this location in 1879, but by 1903 the land was returned to the Indian Affairs Department, and Mormons ceased to live in the area.[32]

Moe Ave; 1871; Moenave, Moabi, Moen Abi. Jacob Hamblin founded a Mormon settlement at the springs in this area; by 1900 only three Mormon families remained, and the land was sold back to the Indian Affairs Department.[33]

Fort Valley; 1878 [1853]; Leroux Spring, San Francisco Spring, Fort Moroni, Fort Rickerson. Although originally named after Antoine Leroux (an early guide who traveled with the Mormon Battalion), Lt. Amiel W. Whipple, and Lt. Edward F. Beale, Mormons often called this area San Francisco Spring. In 1878, John W. Young purchased a “promising claim” which proved problematic. Nevertheless, he held on, used the area for tie cutting in 1881 when he had a contract for railroad track construction, and erected a “fort” as headquarters for his Moroni Cattle Company. In 1883, he sold out and the name was changed to Fort Rickerson; today it is simply known as Valley Fort.[34]

Mormon Lake; 1878; Pleasant Valley. Although never a typical settlement, Mormons from Sunset, Brigham City, and St. Joseph established a summer dairy, pasturing cows and producing butter and cheese, and a sawmill on the west side of this lake, which is just south of Flagstaff. Tanner and Richards thought that “had the Mormons concentrated upon raising stock their venture on the Little Colorado might have been financially successful, but they centered their efforts on farming.”[35]

Arizona Map 2—The Little Colorado River and Tonto Basin Settlements: Gila, Navajo, and Apache Counties

The Little Colorado River and White Mountain Settlements—Navajo County

Brigham City; 1876; Ballinger’s Camp, Ballinger. Jesse O. Ballenger, captain of the company which settled here, arrived almost a month later than leaders of the other Little Colorado River settlements. By 1881 most of the Mormon settlers at Brigham City had moved elsewhere, and the site was abandoned shortly after 1890.[36]

Sunset; 1876; Lot Smith’s Camp. Lot Smith was in charge of this settlement which was located near Sunset Crossing (also known as Blanchard or Breed’s Crossing). By 1878, most colonists had abandoned this site, in part due to Smith’s domineering ways; Smith and his family were the last to leave in 1888.[37]

Obed; 1876; Lake’s Camp. George Lake led pioneers across the river about three miles southwest of present-day Joseph City to settled at Obed. Settlers drifted away in part due to leadership problems and continual sickness; the location was abandoned by 1878.[38]

Old Taylor; 1878. Located about three miles west of present-day Joseph City, when five dams washed out between January and July, the site was abandoned. Also contributing to its demise was the relocation of William J. Flake and others to the Silver Creek area. Originally known as Taylor, this area is now referred to as “Old Taylor” to distinguish it from present-day Taylor south of Snowflake.[39]

Joseph City; 1876; Cummorah, Allen City, Allen’s Camp, St. Joseph, Joseph. William C. Allen was captain of a group of Utah emigrants who settled here, the only successful settlement along the Little Colorado River. Apparently Allen’s quiet leadership led to a more democratic form of the United Order, which in turn helped the town survive Arizona’s harsh pioneering conditions. Located about twelve miles west of Holbrook, residents of Joseph City provided much of the produce and dairy products for the neighboring non-Mormon towns of Winslow and Holbrook.[40]

[Holbrook]; [1871]; Horsehead Crossing, Berardo’s Station. Early settlers from New Mexico, including Juan Padilla and Berardo Frayde, established a small station about two miles east of present-day Holbrook. When the railroad arrived in 1881, the community was relocated, and in 1882, John W. Young changed the name of the town to Holbrook in honor of railroad engineer, Henry Randolph Holbrook. A branch of the A.C.M.I. at Holbrook was particularly important, both providing employment for LDS men and commodities for local residents.[41]

Woodruff; 1877 [c. 1870]; Tenney’s Camp. Early non-LDS settlers here included Luther Martin (later at St. Johns) and Felix Scott; in 1877, Nathan C. Tenney and his three sons bought the land from Scott and established a permanent camp. Other early settlers included Lorenzo Hill Hatch, Louis Cardon, William Walker, Hans Gulbrandsen, and Charles Riggs who joined the Tenneys. Dams along the Little Colorado River providing water for irrigation were washed out by floods seven times between 1880 and 1890, but the settlers persisted.[42]

Zeniff; 1904; Dry Lake. Located about twenty miles west of Snowflake and twenty miles north of Heber, this basin was originally used by Snowflake people for summer pasture of dairy cattle. Between 1904 and 1906, men from Woodruff including Lehi Heward and Levi M. Savage began farming this area; later John and Preston Bushman from Joseph City also moved here. By 1956, there were only five people living at this site; today it is a ghost town.[43]

Wilford; 1883; Adam’s Valley. Located about seven miles south of present-day Heber, the families of Jerome Jefferson Adams, Edmund Richardson, Charles Whiting, Andrew Peterson, and Sullivan Richardson, all from the dwindling settlement of Brigham City, arrived in 1883. By 1885, many of the polygamous families had moved to Mexico, and non-Mormon cowboys had moved in. Jesse N. Smith said that Wilford was abandoned (with the remaining Mormons moving to Heber) by 1888, but he must have just meant abandoned by Mormons; others occupied this area until 1926.[44]

Heber; 1883. About thirty-five miles west of Snowflake in the ponderosa pine forest is the town of Heber, originally settled by families from Joseph City. Although John Scarlett of the Arkansas Company is often listed as founder of Heber, four families came at the same time including Scarlett, James Shelley, Hans Nielson, and Lehi Heward. Of these four, Shelley is the only one that made a long-term commitment to this settlement.[45]

Snowflake; 1878; Snow Flake, Stinson Valley. The purchase of a ranch on Silver Creek in July 1878 by William J. Flake from James M. Stinson opened this area to settlement by Latter-day Saints who were either abandoning earlier settlements along the Little Colorado River or simply coming from Utah or other states.[46]

Taylor; 1878; Bagley, Walker. Located three miles south of Snowflake on Silver Creek, James Pearce stopped at this area in early 1878. Arvin Palmer wrote, “The Pearce and [John H.] Standifird families have long been put forth as the founders of Taylor, but . . . [this] can only be supported if one argues that Shumway was part of Bagley or Walker from the beginning.” He further noted that “Taylor has always been a community with many scattered population centers or enclaves.” A post office was established here in 1881, giving the area the official name of Taylor.[47]

Shumway; 1878 [1875]; Spring Valley, Mill Settlement. Although this area, which is about eight miles south of Snowflake, was named after Charles Shumway, he was not the first settler or even the first Mormon settler. John H. Standifird first came in 1878; a little later, Nathan and Jesse Wanslee, and George Buckler also settled in this area. Charles Shumway and Nelson Beebe set up a grist mill on Silver Creek in 1882, and Shumway operated it for many years.[48]

Aripine; 1883; Longmore Ranch, Joppa. The name of this area, twenty-five miles southwest of Snowflake, is from a combination of “Arizona” and the beautiful pines. By 1883, this area was being used by cattle owners from Snowflake for grazing and dry-farm crops such as corn, beans, and potatoes. Between 1910 and 1915, several families from Snowflake filed homestead claims and a dependent branch of the Snowflake Ward was organized in 1918.[49]

Pinedale; 1879; Percheron, Mortensen, Snow Flake Camp, Flake’s Camp. Twenty miles southwest of Snowflake, this area was originally settled by Niels Mortensen, his family, and friends. The name was changed to Pinedale, and a Pinedale ward was organized in 1887. In 1960 the Pinedale Ward was discontinued and this area became part of the Claysprings Ward.[50]

Claysprings; 1916; Walker, Woodrow, Clay Springs. Prior to 1900, a number of ranchers (Perkins brothers, Thomas brothers, etc.) “took up land for a short time in this section but none of the holdings were permanent,” wrote Roberta Flake Clayton. This area was an outgrowth of Pinedale and Taylor. In 1916, the post office, Church, and school district names were all changed to Clay Springs.[51]

Linden; 1878; Juniper, Reidhead Settlement. This area, located about seven miles northwest of Cooley’s ranch (Show Low), was initially settled by John Reidhead in 1878. In the 1880s, other families joined him (Samuel Johnson, David Adams, and Spencer Shumway); by 1894 there were five Mormon families and four non-Mormon families.[52]

Show Low; 1890 [c. 1875]; Showlow, Cooley’s Ranch. This area was first settled by C. E. Cooley who was married to two daughters of Chief Pedro of the White Mountain Apaches. The card game which gave the area its name is generally thought to be between Marion Clark and Cooley; Cooley turned over a deuce of clubs and Clark moved further south. Mormons also moved into this area, settling mainly at Adair and Forestdale; some of them worked for Cooley (and later Henry Huning who purchased the ranch from Cooley). About 1900, Huning wanted to sell out and approached William J. Flake. Flake completed purchase of the ranch in 1903 and opened up the area for settlement by Mormons. An LDS ward was established for this area in 1884 and included Mormons living from Adair to Fort Apache. Their ward had no central meeting place—Bishop Hans Hansen lived in Fair View, with his counselors living in Ellsworth and Adair. Bishop Hansen would travel to all these towns on his little bay mule; it would take him a month to make the circuit. By 1903, many had moved into Show Low proper, and Forestdale and Adair were abandoned.[53]

Adair; c. 1880; Bagnall Hollow, Fools Hollow. This location is about two miles north of Cooley’s ranch at Show Low. Sometime before 1880, three Adair brothers, Thomas, Samuel, and Wesley, and some of their married children, left southern Utah for Arizona. In 1880, Thomas and Samuel were at Show Low Creek, and Wesley was at St. Johns. George Bagnall was another early resident, probably living here from 1881 to 1885. Although Barnes lists Aaron Adair as important to the founding of the town of Adair, and Aaron was indeed in the area in 1880, other family members played a more important and more long-term role in the settlement of this area; Aaron Adair was committed to the Insane Asylum in Phoenix in 1882 (where he died in 1911). Today, nothing exists at this location (now called Fool Hollow Lake Recreation Area) except the small cemetery. By 1900, the Adair families had scattered; some lived at Pinetop, some at Nutrioso, and others had moved to New Mexico (Luna, Socorro County, and Bloomfield/Fruitland, San Juan County).[54]

Lakeside; 1906 [1878]; Fairview, Woodland. Named after an artificial lake sixty miles south of Holbrook, this area was first used by non-Mormon ranchers and sheepmen to pasture their animals. At Fair View, an LDS Sunday School was established in 1893 as part of the Show Low Ward. Then in 1905 when prices were low for sheep, Will Amos wanted to sell his land; Niels S. Hansen purchased it and moved his family onto the ranch. Other Mormons from further down the Little Colorado River drainage soon followed, becoming farmers, stockmen, and sawmill workers. Domestic water came from Adair Spring.[55]

Ellsworth; 1880; Chaffs. Located about 1.5 miles south of the Cooley ranch at Show Low, Mormons at Ellsworth were originally organized as a dependent branch of the Taylor Ward. Both a sawed-log fort and a rock fort were constructed and then used by Mormons, non-Mormons, and Mexicans for about three months in the winter of 1881–82 during Apache unrest.[56]

Pinetop; 1887 [1886]; Mal Pai, Penrod. This area, three miles south of Lakeside, was home to the William L. Penrod family, although earlier it was a saloon run by Johnny Phipps served soldiers from Fort Apache. In 1892, the important four-stake (St. Johns, Snowflake, Maricopa, and St. Joseph) conference was held at Pinetop.[57]

Forestdale; 1877; Forest Dale. Located about eight miles southwest of Show Low, this area was first settled by Orson Cluff in 1877. Other families (Joseph Frisby, Merritt Staley, Oscar Mann, Ebenezer Thayne, and David Adams) soon followed. However, by 1883 this land was deemed to be on the Apache reservation and the settlers moved on—some to Show Low or Pinedale and others to the Gila Valley.[58]

The Tonto Basin Settlements

Pine; 1879. The first Mormons to explore this area came from St. Joseph in 1876, and another exploratory party came in 1877. In 1879, Rial Allen brought settlers from the East Verde Settlement and began the small town of Pine. Ecclesiastically, this town was associated with Joseph City (and Snowflake), but the settlers made one trip a year to Phoenix and/or Flagstaff for supplies.[59]

Strawberry; c. 1880 [1864]; Wah-poo-ata, Strawberry Valley. When Henry Clifton, a member of King S. Woolsey’s second expedition of 1864, explored this valley, he named it Wah-poo-ata in honor of a Tonto chieftain. When Mormon settlers arrived, they renamed it Strawberry Valley for the plants they found growing wild. Strawberry is located five miles northwest of Pine.[60]

Gisela; c. 1882 [c. 1876]. Arizona Place Names lists Gisela as near Tonto Natural Bridge, but Barnes was apparently confusing it with the small town of Tonto which is about five miles south of present-day Gisela. The town of Gisela is located about twenty-five miles southeast of Tonto Natural Bridge. Both areas, however, were originally settled by David Gowan. Mormon settlers purchased ranches at Gisela about 1882, but they did not remain long term.[61]

Young; [late 1870s]; Pleasant Valley. The turbulent history of this area (Tonto Basin or Pleasant Valley War) meant that a post office was not established here until 1890, and then it was named after the first postmistress, Olla Young. Mormons in this area have been ranchers and few in number; the area has been part of the Snowflake, then Maricopa, Snowflake, St. Joseph, Snowflake, and finally Taylor Stakes.[62]

East Verde Settlement ; 1878; East Verde River, East Fork of the Verde. Located about ten miles west of Payson, Mormons settled here for one winter but then abandoned this area in 1879 when the settlers moved to Pine.[63]

The Little Colorado River and White Mountain Settlements—Apache County and New Mexico[64]

Hunt; 1878 [?]; Greer Valley. Although the most prominent “Hunt” resident was Ida Hunt Udall, this area, seventeen miles downstream from St. Johns and therefore between St. Johns and Holbrook, was named for James Clark Hunt, a soldier from Fort Apache. The Thomas L. Greer ranch was located a mile to the east. As LeRoy and Mabel Wilhelm wrote, “In the early days of the St. Johns Stake the status of a ward was sometimes unpredictable,” meaning the life spans of many wards and branches were short, as was true for Hunt. This area was never an actual Mormon settlement, but it had an established ward around 1900 when many members moving out of Concho came to Hunt. However, the ward was soon dissolved, and members then became part of the Vernon Ward.[65]

Ramah, NM; 1876; Savoia, Navajo. Located about forty miles southwest of Gallup, Mormons first came to this area in 1876 as missionaries to the Navajos and Zunis. By 1877, Lorenzo H. Hatch, John Maughn, John Hunt, Luther C. Burnham, and Ernest Tietjen had brought their families. During the winter of 1877–78, there were thirteen deaths from smallpox which was brought by the Saints from Arkansas, Georgia, and Alabama. By 1882, many of the Savoia settlers had moved to Snowflake and St. Johns. Mormons from Zuni and Savoia eventually coalesced in Ramah. Anton Westgard’s description of attending a dance at Ramah in the mid 1910s attests to the long-term commitment of these pioneers; in 1900 all had been released from their callings to settle in this area. As the Wilhelms wrote, “The people of Ramah were free to choose for themselves whether they would stay or go elsewhere. But, as was expected, the hardy, tried and true pioneers remained. . . The final call to stay and build a community . . . came not from Church headquarters, but from within the hearts of those who loved the land.”[66]

Bluewater, NM; 1894. Bluewater is located about 107 miles west of Albuquerque and 125 miles northeast of St. Johns. The Wilhelms noted that “Bluewater is significantly different from that of other Mormon communities in this stake in at least two respects, time of settlement and location.” After Ramah was well established, Ernest Tietjen bought a ranch on the eastern slope of the Continental Divide and invited family and friends to join him. The Bluewater Ward was established in 1906 with Collin R. Hakes, originally from Mesa, as bishop; this area eventually became part of the Albuquerque and then Gallup New Mexico Stakes.[67]

The Meadows; 1879 [1870]. Northwest of St. Johns about seven miles, Frank Walker erected a cabin here in 1870. Mormon missionaries Ira Hatch, Thomas Brookbank, E. C. Richardson, and J. B. Wakefield, built houses about 1879. This area was eventually abandoned in favor of the settlement of St. Johns. Its ephemeral nature is illustrated by the Wilhelms’ description of the Church organization in this area.[68]

St. Johns; 1879 [1873]; El Vadito, San Juan, Salem. This area was initially settled by Solomon Barth and his brothers Nathan and Morris. When Sol Barth sold land to Ammon Tenney in 1879, the Mormons originally located their town about one mile north of St. Johns. They moved their settlement to higher ground (near the Hispanic settlement) in 1880.[69]

Concho; 1879 [late 1860s]; Erastus. Originally a Hispanic community established by the Candelaria family, Mormon settlement began in this basin, located fifteen miles west of St. Johns, when William J. Flake and Bateman H. Wilhelm purchased land in 1879. Mormons named their community Erastus after Erastus Snow who accompanied Wilhelm on his original trek into Arizona. The Mexican village of Concho and the Mormon town of Erastus existed side by side until 1890 when the combined towns became known as Concho.[70]

Vernon; 1894 [c. 1880s]; Mineral. Members of the Casimiro Padilla family were the first to settle at the mouth of Mineral Canyon, located between Springerville and Show Low. Barnes lists B. H. Wilhelm as settling here in 1894, but this would be B. H. Jr. who was usually called Haight. By about 1900, Haight, George, and John Wilhelm, all sons of B. H. Sr. and Lydia Hannah, had relocated to this area. Homesteaders and displaced Mormons from Mexico, including the Whiting brothers, also located here between 1918 and 1920. The area became known for ranching and sawmilling.[71]

Greer; 1879; Lee (or Lee’s) Valley. This area, located about twelves miles southwest of Eagar and at the mouth of the canyon marking the upper Little Colorado River, was originally settled by the John Willard Lee Jr. family and called Lee’s Valley. Later, Americus Vespucius Greer moved to this area, and when the U.S. postal service wanted a shorter name, the town was called Greer. There was no LDS Church organization here until 1896 (when Ellis W. Wiltbank became bishop), and then the ward was discontinued in 1910. Because of the small number of scattered Latter-day Saint families living here (mainly ranchers), in 1916 this area was organized as a dependent branch of the Eagar Ward.[72]

[Springerville]; [1870s]; Omer, Round Valley, Valle Redondo. Henry Springer, a merchant from Albuquerque, New Mexico, came to Round Valley in 1875 and established a large store. However, he soon went broke, was back in Albuquerque by 1880, and left nothing but his name for the town. The Mormon village of Omer was at this approximate location, but Mormons were not the first settlers. Both Hispanic and Anglo settlers (including the Bacas, Beckers, Rudds, and Colters) moved into this area from New Mexico as early as the 1870s. Although an Omer Ward was established in 1880, Springerville became a non-Mormon town (with Mormon settlers mostly at Eagar), and it was not until 1969 that a Springerville Ward was organized. The Springerville chapel was not completed until 1980.[73]

Eagar; 1878; Amity, Union, Eagarville. When Mormons first came into Round Valley, they settled at Omer (the lower end of the valley) and Amity (the upper end of the valley). The Eagar brothers, John, Joel, and William, homesteaded land here in 1878. In 1886, the Omer and Amity Wards were combined to form the Union Ward. In 1888, the Eagar brothers donated land for a townsite which became Eagarville, later shortened to Eagar.[74]

Alpine; 1879 [1876]; Frisco, Fort Bush, Bush Valley, Williams Valley. Originally called Bush Valley after Anderson Bush who came to this area in 1876, Mormons William Maxwell and Fredrick Hamblin, the younger brother of explorer Jacob Hamblin, purchased the land from Bush in 1879. Edward A. Noble was bishop for nearly twenty years, some of which time included a combined Alpine/Nutrioso Ward, and he travel back and forth to serve both areas.[75]

Nutrioso; 1880 [1875]. Nutrioso is located at the south end of Dry Valley and at the foot of Escudilla Mountain. Although Nutrioso is supposed to be named after the Spanish for beaver and bear (oso), castor is the Spanish name for beaver and nutria is the otter, which was also common in pioneer times. This area was originally settled by James G. H. Colter who sold his farm to William J. Flake in 1879. Coulter then moved into Springerville where he became important both in the community and in state politics, including a run for governor. Flake parceled the land out to Mormon settlers, as he did with other ranch purchases, and Mormons built a fort here in 1880. During most of its early history, Nutrioso had its own ward.[76]

Luna, NM; 1883; Grant, Heber. Originally scouted out by William and Melvin Swapp in 1881, Mormons settlers (John and William Swapp, Lorenzo Watson, John and George Earl, and Samuel B. Tenney) arrived in 1883. Almost immediately Solomon Luna and his brother arrived with sheep ready to lamb in the area they had been using for years. After long and difficult discussions, the dispute was settled; the Mormon settlers stayed, but the town became known as Luna. A ward was organized in November 1883, and the community was eventually supported by a sawmill, farms, and ranches. Luna, Pleasanton, and Mule Creek, New Mexico, became an important corridor for travel between southern Apache County and the Gila Valley.[77]

Arizona Map 3—Southern Arizona: the Salt River, Gila Valley, and San Pedro River Settlements

Salt River Settlements

Lehi; 1877; Camp Utah, Fort Utah, Utahville, Jonesville, Bottom City. Daniel W. Jones led a party of seventy-one settlers (nine families), traveling south from St. George and crossing the Colorado River at Stone’s Ferry. Because they were traveling with the faster horses (no oxen), the trip took just 44 days. They stopped at the McDowell ford and established the first Mormon settlement on the Salt River. Five months later, Philemon C. Merrill led a group south, leaving only three families at Lehi. Fortunately, other settlers soon arrived from Utah. A Jonesville (Lehi) ward was established in 1882; today this area is part of Mesa.[78]

Mesa; 1878; Hayden, Zenos, Mesaville, Mesa City. The Crismon, Sirrine, Pomeroy, Robson, Mallory, Schwartz, and Newell families from Bear Lake, Idaho, and Salt Lake County, Utah, later known as the Mesa Company, traveled south from Idaho and Utah in the fall of 1877 and arrived in the Salt River Valley on February 14, 1878. Their journey was by way of Lee’s Ferry and the Verde Valley. Settling on the mesa just south of the Salt River, the men immediately began building canals so they could plant crops. A Mesa ward was established at the same time as the Jonesville Ward (in 1882). The Maricopa Stake offices where housed for many years in the all-purpose hall built by the Vance family, originally called the Vance Auditorium and later the Mezona. Chad Willis reported that by 1895, “Church visitors from Utah frequently commented on the number of non-Mormons in the community.”[79]

Tempe; 1882 [1871]; Butte City, Hayden’s Ferry, San Pablo. Although Carl Hayden first arrived in 1871 and set up a flour mill and ferry on the Salt River, Mormon connections did not come until 1882 when B. F. Johnson purchased eighty acres from Hayden. With five wives and forty-five children, the family had lived in one huge house in Utah. His wives initially refused to come to Arizona with him, and when they did, they insisted on separate houses, although Johnson reasoned that this would work better as a “base of supply for future movement into Mexico.” Johnson, however, failed at relocating his family to Mexico. Most members of his family moved to Nephi, two miles west of Mesa, when the Maricopa and Phoenix Railroad tracks ran through their eighty acres in 1887.[80]

Alma; 1882; Stringtown. The first settlers at this location, about one mile west of Mesa, were the families of Henry Standage, Hyrum W. Pugh, Chauncy F. Rogers, and William N. Standage, originally from Cache County, Utah. The name, Stringtown, was often used because the houses were built along a country road (now Alma School Road). Although many of the settlers arrived in 1880 and immediately began working on a canal, the first houses were not built until 1882. Eventually, the settlers were organized as a fourth ward in Mesa.[81]

Nephi; 1887; Johnsonville. Three miles west of Mesa, this area was initially settled in August 1887 when many of the B. F. Johnson family members moved from Tempe.[82]

Gila Valley Settlements

Graham; 1880. Located on the north side of the Gila River, opposite Thatcher, and eight miles southeast of Bryce, land was purchased here by Jorgen Jorgensen, George W. Skinner, Andrew Anderson, and James Wilson in November 1880. By January 1881, other settlers arrived, building a stockade house, but with many living at first in tents, wagons, and sheds. Crops were watered by the Graham Canal which leaves the Gila River about three miles upstream. The ephemeral nature of a community is illustrated with the LDS Church organization—sometimes it functioned as a ward and sometimes a branch. The community never had a store or post office; the town is abandoned today.[83]

Hubbard; 1890s; now Kimball. As a separate community later named Kimball, this area was originally part of the Graham and Bryce wards until 1900; a post office was established in Hubbard in 1902. Located six miles northwest of Thatcher, Hubbard received its name from the first bishop, Elisha F. Hubbard Sr.[84]

Bryce; 1883. Homesteading land north of the Gila River opposite the town of Pima, Ebenezer and Mary Ann Bryce brought their family to Graham County via Alpine, Nutrioso, Williams Valley, Mule Creek, and Ash Peak in 1882. By January 1883, Bryce and his sons began a ditch which was completed in 1884 and was known as the Bryce Canal. The Bryce Ward was organized in 1890 with Alma Mattice as bishop. Bryce’s original cemetery, located northeast of the Bryce home, suffered intermittent flooding from the Peck Wash and so was relocated about a half mile northwest at the mouth of the canyon.[85]

Eden; 1881; Curtis. The settlement at this location along the Gila River, about fifteen miles northwest of Thatcher, was first named Curtis after the extended Moses Curtis family who were the original settlers. By 1883 when the St. Joseph Stake was formed, the name was changed to Eden. It was a vibrant community which boasted four stores until the Great Depression; in 1979, Ryder Ridgway called it “but a shell of its former self.”[86]

Glenbar; 1880; Matthewsville, Matthews, Fairview, Hogtown. Brothers Joseph, David, Solomon, and Charles Matthews came from Eagar to farm this area, ten miles west of Thatcher. Even with a flour mill, growth was slow, and it was not until 1888 that a ward was created.[87]

Pima; 1879; Smithville. In February 1879, W. R. Teeples, Hyrum Weech, and others came to the Gila Valley searching for a suitable place to settle, and, with other immigrants, a town was begun that spring and named after President Jesse N. Smith. It is located six miles northwest of Thatcher.

Central; 1883. Joseph Cluff and his sons, David William and Joseph Edwin, were the first to homestead in Central, entering the valley in 1879. In 1881, they planted the first crops at this location three miles northwest of Thatcher. However, it was not until 1883 that Joseph built an adobe home and moved his family to this location. Cluff, as did several other early settlers, came to the Gila Valley from Forestdale. At first they were part of the Smithville (Pima) Ward, then the Thatcher Ward, and in December 1883, a Central ward was organized with Joseph Cluff as the first bishop. Other families that were here by 1883 include William G. Clemens, Charles Dubois, George M. Haws, Almon M. Lambson, Hyrum Norton, George Shurtz, and Daniel Witbeck. In 1894, Andrew Jensen wrote, “Central Ward comprises the Saints living in a scattered condition on their farms between Thatcher and Pima; like Thatcher, it embraces a strip of country three miles wide extending from the Gila River on the north to the Graham mountain on the south.”[88]

Thatcher; 1882; Moody’s Ranch. John M. Moody was the first Mormon to move to the Thatcher area; in July 1881, he purchased the Conley Ranch. By 1882, four other families had joined him: the Cluff, Zufelt, Pace, and Brinkerhoff families. Christopher Layton, as president of the St. Joseph Stake, organized the Thatcher Ward in 1883 with John M. Moody as bishop. In 1891, a church academy (high school) was established, and after 1906, Andrew C. Peterson had charge of the school most of the time. Although St. David was originally the headquarters for the St. Joseph Stake, from the beginning quarterly conferences alternated between St. David and Thatcher. Within a very few years, the Gila Valley had several wards, and Thatcher became the headquarters of the St. Joseph Stake.[89]

Layton; 1883. Located about one mile south of the town of Safford and across the railroad tracks, this branch, and then ward, served Mormons living in the Safford area. Named after Stake President Christopher Layton, early settlers included brothers John, Joe, Alfred, and Adam Welker, Benjamin Peel, George Morris, and Charles Warner. John Welker became the first branch president on March 2, 1884 and then made bishop nine months later. In 1915, a large amusement hall, Layton Hall, was erected and used for many civic events. Because Safford provided employment opportunities beyond farming, Latter-day Saint numbers grew in this area; in 1938, the St. Joseph Stake was divided, creating the new Mt. Graham Stake. Today the town of Layton is simply part of the city of Safford.[90]

Algodon; 1900; Lebanon, Lebanon Hot Springs, Cactus Flat. South of Safford, this area was originally the Goodspeed Ranch which was purchased by John A. and William Franklin Lee in 1900. Other Mormon settlers arrived, and a small town flourished for a short time. Although grains were mainly planted in the beginning, by 1914, cotton was the principal crop, and the county’s first gin was constructed at Algodon or Cactus Flat.[91]

Artesia; c. 1903. In the Gila Valley, artesian water was first located at Lebanon, but other wells soon followed, including at Artesia, about eighteen miles southeast of Thatcher. A post office was established in 1904 with the name of Artesia. A one-room (or later two-room) school began in 1903 and persisted until 1930. Mormon influence is inferred with the names of residents (i.e., Wakefield, Allred, and Pace).[92]

Franklin; 1895. Located about fifty miles east of Safford in Greenlee County, the town of Franklin was built by several Latter-day Saint families who moved into this valley about 1894. James Alonzo McGrath and Thomas J. Nations were the leaders of this group which also included the families of James Gale, Martin Mortensen, Henry Tippetts, Benjamin Echols, and Samuel Echols. Near the Arizona/New Mexico border, this became the LDS unit farthest east in the St. Joseph Stake. The Franklin Branch was first organized in 1897; it became a ward in 1898.[93]

Virden, NM; 1915. When Mormon colonists fled Mexico in 1912, they originally thought they would be returning soon. As hopes faded, some began looking elsewhere in New Mexico and Arizona to establish towns. In 1915, the Gila Ranch and Cattle Company (a consortium represented by Ernest W. Virden and Walter L. Cherry) wanted to sell five separate pieces of land totaling 800 acres, located up river from Duncan and across the border into New Mexico. A group of refugee Mormons formed an unincorporated company with four officers to sign the note; these included the Harris, Jones, Merrell, Mortensen, Payne, Pierce, Smith, Wahlin, and Whipple families and three unrelated individuals. The acreage was divided into twenty-one parcels, and a townsite was selected. Lots were drawn to determine ownership. Several other pieces of land were also added, but it was not until ten years later, when mortgage was paid in full, that individual deeds were created. A dependent branch of the Franklin Ward was formed December 29, 1915. When the Franklin Ward was discontinued in 1980, all members became part of the Duncan Ward.[94]

Pleasanton, NM; 1881 [1879]; Williams Valley, Luna Valley. Located four miles south of Glenwood, New Mexico, this area was named for Pleasant Samuel Williams, a son of George Calvin “Parson” Williams. Although the extended Williams family was not LDS when they moved to New Mexico, they soon converted and participated in the early Mormon settlements of New Mexico. They moved to Mexico when Mormons fled during the times of polygamy prosecution and lived at Colonia Juárez, the Williams Ranch (near Cave Valley and north of Colonia Pacheco), and later Colonia Oaxaca. A ward was established at Pleasanton in 1882 but was short-lived; when Andrew Jenson passed through in 1894, he found only a few non-Mormon families. Jacob Hamblin died at Pleasanton but was later reinterred at Alpine.[95]

The San Pedro and Southern Arizona Settlements

Binghampton; 1899. In 1899, the extended Bingham family, brothers Nephi, Jacob, and Daniel, along with their father Erastus Jr., first began farming just north of Tucson near Fort Lowell along the Rillito which flows west and empties into the Santa Cruz. Realizing the need for a year-round water source, Nephi built a reservoir and gravity ditch. Soon other settlers joined the Binghams, particularly relatives from Mexico. Also, with an LDS congregation available, people from the Gila Valley felt comfortable coming to Tucson for university study or employment. The Binghampton Branch was organized in 1910 with Heber Farr as president, and in 1921, the Tucson Branch was organized with David W. Hulet as president; both were part of the California Mission. Today, Binghampton has been absorbed into Tucson.[96]

St. David; 1877; MacDonald (southern portion). On January 1, 1877, twenty families left St. George, traveling to Arizona via Pierce’s Ferry, and arriving in the Salt River Valley in March. After one hot summer, Philemon C. Merrill led a group of eight families further south. They worked at a sawmill in the Santa Rita mountains during the fall and arrived at the San Pedro River on November 29, 1877. Their settlement grew with the addition of families from Utah and the Gila Valley, and in 1883, the St. David Ward was created as part of the St. Joseph Stake (which originally was headquartered at St. David). Early farmers supplemented their income with freighting, especially from the railroad to Tombstone and Nacozari, Mexico.[97]

Pomerene; 1910; Robinson. James M. Cosby lived in Benson and about 1900 began a dam and canal on the east side of the San Pedro River. By 1910, several LDS families (the extended Coons, Goodman, Johnson, Proffitt, Sabin, and Sherman families) moved to the area from Curtis Flats just south of St. David. This area was also settled by refugees from Mexico after 1912. A Robinson branch was organized in 1911 with Millard Powell Cosby as president, but the name was changed to Pomerene in 1915 when a post office was established. In 1920, Robert L. McCall moved from Miramonte; he became the branch president and later the first bishop.[98]

Miramonte; 1913; Klinesdale. The first Mormon refugees from Mexico homesteaded land on the “bench” west of Benson in 1912; by 1913, at least twelve families had filed homestead claims, including Robert L. McCall and his two wives. McCall was called as branch president when the branch was organized in 1915, although church services had been held earlier in various homes. The name Klinesdale was from a school of that name. After five years, the community was abandoned because it lacked a good water source; the post office was discontinued in 1919.[99]

[Bisbee]; [1880]. Prospecting and mining began in this area as early as 1877, but a town (i.e., post office) was not established until 1880. The town was supported by the Phelps Dodge/Copper Queen mine. A few LDS families came to work in the mine, and in 1904 a branch was organized. It became a ward in 1905 but was discontinued in 1910, and the few members became part of the St. David Ward.[100]

[Douglas]; [1901]; Black Water. As early as 1878, this area in the Sulphur Valley was known as Black Water, but it was not until 1901 that a town was established. When Joseph Fish was returning to the United States from the Sonoran colonies, he came via the Sulphur Valley. In 1912, the Mormon colonists in Sonora did not flee Mexico until the end of August, and then they crossed into the United States at Douglas. Ed Haymore of Colonia Morelos was kidnapped in Mexico, and when released, joined his companions at Douglas. Tents were provided by the US government for use by the refugees. When the Saints knew they would not be returning to Mexico, some families settled at Douglas permanently, and the Haymore Mercantile was established. It was directly across the border at Agua Prieta that Joseph Lillywhite was killed just seven hours after documents were signed in 1921 returning Mormon lands to the Mexican government.[101]

Elfrida; 1915. Located at the lower end of Sulphur Springs Valley and about thirty miles north of Douglas, Elfrida coalesced from Whitewater on the east and Webb on the west. Originally, this area was a station along the Southern Pacific Railroad where land had been donated by G. I. Van Meter; the community was later named after Van Meter’s mother. When Mormons came out of Mexico in 1912, some settled here, and a post office was established in 1915.[102]

Mormon Settlements in Sonora and Chihuahua, Mexico

Although early Mormon missionaries looked to northern Mexico as a possible area of settlement, colonists did not arrive until 1885. The first settlements were on the plains of Chihuahua, a huge basin whose rivers have no outlet to the sea and an area which is bordered on the west by the Sierra Madres. Settlers gradually moved west into the mountains and into Sonora. When colonists fled Mexico in 1912, they crossed the border into Douglas, Hachita, and El Paso. The El Paso and Southwestern Railroad from Douglas to El Paso was built from 1901 to 1902 and became an important transportation route for these refugees. This rail line was abandoned by 1968 in favor of the 29-mile shorter northern route (through Lordsburg, not shown on map).[103] The southern portion of this map also includes areas where Clayton lived between 1910 and 1916.

Colonia Díaz; 1885; Teasdale, St. George. Located on the plains of Chihuahua about 200 miles southwest of El Paso, Texas, across the Casas Grandes River from La Ascencíon and three miles north, Colonia Díaz was the first of the Mormon settlements in Mexico. In 1886, William Derby Johnson was made bishop. A candy factory, grist mill, and broom factory supplemented farming incomes. After the Mormons fled in 1912, a fire destroyed the town, and it was never rebuilt.[104]

Colonia Dublán; 1888, Colonia Huller, San Francisco Branch. Colonia Dublán, located on the plains of Chihuahua about five miles downstream from Casas Grandes and about sixty miles south of Díaz, became the largest of the Mormon colonies. In 1888, George M. Brown from Provo, Utah, purchased farmland from Lewis Huller, and water for irrigation came from the Casas Grandes River. In 1897, the railroad reached Dublán from El Paso and then continued twelve miles further south to an area that became known as Pearson. Here, a large saw mill was built where many of the men and boys from Dublán found employment, particularly as freighters. The railroad also meant that produce could be easily shipped from Dublán. Although the Dublán church was burned during the Exodus, it was rebuilt when Latter-day Saints returned and reclaimed their homes.[105]

Colonia Juárez; 1885. On the plains in Chihuahua, Colonia Juárez is situated on the Piedras Verdes about six miles above its junction with the San Miguel and about eighty miles south of Colonia Díaz. The first settlers arrived December 7, 1885, and immediately surveyed a townsite. Unfortunately, the next year they were found to be located on land belonging to Don Luis Terrazas and so had to move two miles further upstream. George W. Sevey was appointed bishop, and this area became well known for its abundant produce, including fruit. A Church academy was built here, and Colonia Juárez became the center of the stake. Colonia Juárez was one of only two colonies that were repopulated after the Mexican revolution.[106]

Cave Valley; 1887. Located in the mountains of Chihuahua eight miles northwest of Colonia Pacheco, Cave Valley was named for the numerous caves (including the famous Olla Cave) that were used by earlier inhabitants. On land originally purchased by Moses Thatcher and located on the Piedras Verdes River, this area was the only Mormon settlement in Mexico to practice the United Order. However, many of the residents had moved to other colonies by 1894.[107]

Colonia Pacheco; 1887. Mormon settlers, including George C. Williams and his son-in-law Peter Dillman, first moved into this area in the mountains of Chihuahua about twenty-five miles southwest of Colonia Juárez in 1887. Other settlers soon followed including Jesse N. Smith Jr., who was made the first bishop in 1891. High-elevation crops, such as apples, strawberries, cabbage, sorghum, corn, and oats were grown here. When settlers from the mountain colonies fled Mexico in 1912, they crossed over into the United States at Hachita, New Mexico.[108]

Colonia Garcia; 1894; Round Valley. In 1894, the Alonzo Farnsworth family moved to Round Valley in the mountains of Chihuahua, thirty-five miles south of Colonia Juárez. A ward was organized in 1898 with John T. Whetten as bishop. Besides ranching and farming, lumber and shingles were freighted to the plains colonies or to Pearson.

Chuhuichupa; 1894; Mariano, “Land of the Mist.” As also happened for Colonia Garcia, Anthony W. Ivins traveled to Mexico City to purchase the Chuhuichupa lands—6,250 acres. Located in the mountains of Chihuahua about thirty-five miles south of Garcia, this was the most remote of all the Mormon colonies and was near the Chihuahua/Sonora border.

Colonia Oaxaca; 1892; Los Horcónes, Fenochio. Colonia Oaxaca was located on Rio Bavispe and was initially settled by George Calvin “Parson” Williams and John Conrad Naegle as an outgrowth of the mountain colonies in Chihuahua on land purchase from Colonels Emilio Kosterlitzsky and Juan Fenochio. A ward was established in 1894 and hosted a vibrant settlement based mostly on grazing until most structures were destroyed in the spring flood of 1905. No lives were lost, but more than eighty percent of the inhabitants abandoned the area; some moved to the United States, and others moved twenty-five miles down river to Colonia Morelos.[109]

Colonia Morelos; 1899; Batepito Ranch. A Sonoran colony which was located where the Rio Batepito joins the Rio Bavispe (i.e., at the bend of the Bavispe where the river changes from flowing north to flowing south) and twenty-five miles from Oaxaca, Romney lists Colonia Morelos as the last colony established by Mormons in Mexico. Anthony W. Ivins purchased about 9,000 acres in 1899 and then encouraged settlers to come from the colonies in Chihuahua. A branch of the Oaxaca Ward was established on February 11, 1900, with L. S. Huish as the Presiding Elder.[110] When Mormons fled Mexico in 1912, the Saints at Colonia Morelos crossed into Arizona and were provided succor in a tent city on the outskirts of Douglas. Some colonists periodically tried to return for a number of years, but in 1921 the land was officially sold to the Mexican government. There is a town of Colonia Morelos today, but it is not a Mormon town.[111]

Colonia San José; 1909; Rosevalle. Romney does not list this area in Sonora as a Mormon colony probably because it was only in existence for three years. In 1909, after the flood of 1905 had swelled the population of Colonia Morelos, some of the families relocated upstream on the Batepito, named their settlement San José, and began growing wheat. Although a ward was created here, the colony was short-lived due to unrest during the Mexican Revolution.[112]

Notes

[1] See Dale F. Beecher, “Colonizer of the West,” in Black and Porter, Lion of the Lord, 172–208. Both Beecher’s list and McClintock’s 1921 list of “Mormon Settlement Place Names” do not differentiate between towns and areas where one or two Mormon families settled (e.g., Tonto Basin for Beecher and Lone Pine/Reidhead for McClintock). McClintock, however, does note that by 1921 there was no settlement at Reidhead. McClintock, Mormon Settlement in Arizona, 281–86.

[2] We recognize that this entire discussion is very Eurocentric as seen in the commonly used phrase “the first white child born” in an area. Both Moenkopi and Moen Ave had earlier Havasupai and Hopi settlers. Also, the contributions of early Hispanic settlers are not always acknowledged. Ganger, Arizona Place Names, 21, 23, 78–79, 240.

[3] Walker and Bufkin, Historical Atlas of Arizona, 28 (only the information page opposite the map contains pagination). Also helpful is McClintock’s map and list of “Mormon Settlement Place Names,” McClintock, Mormon Settlement in Arizona, x, 281–286.

[4] Tanner and Richards, Colonization on the Little Colorado, xiii.

[5] Granger, Arizona Place Names, 249.

[6] Ibid.; Walker and Bufkin, Historical Atlas of Arizona, 28; Palmer, History of Taylor and Shumway, 66.

[7] Burgess, Mt. Graham Profiles, 2:216; Granger, Arizona Place Names, 132.

[8] Finally, it should be noted that Scipio, Utah, was also called Round Valley.

[9] Northern Gila County Historical Society, Rim Country History, vi, 159.

[10] Trimble, Arizona, xxiii.

[11] In addition, it should be noted that Alpine is in Apache County while Aripine is in Navajo County, and Granger lists some form of the name “Apache” in ten of Arizona’s fourteen counties. Granger, Arizona Place Names, 429–30.

[12] Granger, Arizona Place Names, 219; Belknap, Powell Centennial Grand Canyon River Guide; Arrington, Mormons in Nevada, 44.

[13] Ferguson, “Stone’s Ferry,” 96–101; Granger, Arizona Place Names, 224; Mary J. Musser, “Stone’s Ferry,” FWP essay, ASLAPR.

[14] Granger, Arizona Place Names, 203–4; Arrington, Mormons in Nevada, 44–45.

[15] Granger, Arizona Place Names, 222.

[16] Ibid., 200; Arrington, Mormons in Nevada, 32–36, 44.

[17] Granger, Arizona Place Names, 211–12. See Caroline Marion Williams Kimball, XXX.

[18] Arrington, Mormons in Nevada, 43, 52 (map); McClintock, Mormon Settlement in Arizona, 101–3.

[19] Arrington, Mormons in Nevada, 38–42.

[20] Ibid., 40–43.

[21] Ibid., 42–43.

[22] Ibid., 43–44.

[23] Ibid., 42–43.

[24] Ibid., 46–52.

[25] Granger, Arizona Place Names, 214.

[26] Ibid., 204.

[27] Ibid., 220; Peterson, Utah’s Black Hawk War, 219–24, 287, 299. See Mary Louisa Whitmore Price Garner Cutler, XXX and Sarah Ann Potter Winsor, XXX.

[28] Granger, Arizona Place Names, 71; McClintock, Mormon Settlement in Arizona, 99–100.

[29] Ibid., 74.

[30] Ibid., 73.

[31] Ibid., 75; Reilly, Lee’s Ferry.

[32] The federal government has always been concerned with Indian relations. The department, created in 1824, has been variously called Indian Affairs office, bureau, department, and service. In 1947 it became the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Granger, Arizona Place Names, 78–79, 88; Tanner and Richards, Colonization on the Little Colorado, 129–32; Jo Ann Hatch, “Tuba City,” in Erickson, Story of Faith, 202.

[33] Granger, Arizona Place Names, 78. See Susan Temperance Allen Randall, XXX.

[34] Granger, Arizona Place Names, 70–71, 76; Peterson, Take Up Your Mission, 165–66, 210;

[35] Granger, Arizona Place Names, 79–80; Tanner and Richards, Colonization on the Little Colorado, 33–34, 76, 87, 145.

[36] Granger, Arizona Place Names, 236; Tanner and Richards, Colonization on the Little Colorado, 139–42.

[37] Granger, Arizona Place Names, 251; Tanner and Richards, Colonization on the Little Colorado, 143–49.

[38] Granger, Arizona Place Names, 246; Tanner and Richards, Colonization on the Little Colorado, 133–36.

[39] Granger, Arizona Place Names, 251; Tanner and Richards, Colonization on the Little Colorado, 136–38; Jo Ann Hatch, “Old Taylor,” in Erickson, Story of Faith, 201.

[40] Granger, Arizona Place Names, 242–43; Tanner and Richards, Colonization on the Little Colorado.

[41] Granger, Arizona Place Names, 240; Wayte, “A History of Holbrook and the Little Colorado Country (1840–1962)”; Ellis, Holbrook and the Petrified Forest, 10; Jo Ann Hatch, “Holbrook,” in Erickson, Story of Faith, 192.

[42] Granger, Arizona Place Names, 254; Roberta Flake Clayton, “Woodruff,” FWP essay, ASLAPR; Brinkerhoff and Brewer, Our Town and People, 1–2; Jo Ann Hatch, “Woodruff,” in Erickson, Story of Faith, 203. See Susannah Hammond Deans, XXX; Lucretia Proctor Robison Owens, XXX; Annie Chandler Woods, XXX and others.

[43] Granger, Arizona Place Names, 254; Jo Ann Hatch, “Zeniff,” in Erickson, Story of Faith, 203; Hanchett, Crooked Trail to Holbrook, 185–207.

[44] Granger, Arizona Place Names, 253; Hanchett, Crooked Trail to Holbrook, 150–66; Jo Ann Hatch, “Wilford,” in Erickson, Story of Faith, 202.

[45] Granger, Arizona Place Names, 240; Hanchett, Crooked Trail to Holbrook, 168–85; Jo Ann Hatch, “Heber,” in Erickson, Story of Faith, 192.

[46] Granger, Arizona Place Names, 250; Ellis, Snowflake; Jo Ann Hatch, “Snowflake,” in Erickson, Story of Faith, 197–200.

[47] Granger, Arizona Place Names, 251; Palmer, History of Taylor and Shumway, 37–56, quotes 46; Jo Ann Hatch, “Taylor,” in Erickson, Story of Faith, 201.

[48] Granger, Arizona Place Names, 249; Palmer, History of Taylor and Shumway; Jo Ann Hatch, “Shumway,” in Erickson, Story of Faith, 196–97.

[49] Granger, Arizona Place Names, 233–34; RFC, “Aripine,” FWP essay, ASLAPR; Beulah Stratton, “Aripine,” in Erickson, Story of Faith, 190.

[50] Granger, Arizona Place Names, 237; Show Low Arizona Stake, 36–37, 168–185; Jo Ann Hatch, “Pinedale,” in Erickson, Story of Faith, 194. See Mette Sophia Hansen Johnson, XXX.

[51] Granger, Arizona Place Names, 237; RFC, “Clay Springs,” FWP essay, ASLAPR; Jo Ann Hatch, “Claysprings,” in Erickson, Story of Faith, 190–91; Show Low Arizona Stake, 158–166.

[52] Granger, Arizona Place Names, 244; Flammer, Stories of a Mormon Pioneering Community: Linden, Arizona; Jo Ann Hatch, “Linden,” in Erickson, Story of Faith, 193; Show Low Arizona Stake, 34–36, 186.

[53] Granger, Arizona Place Names, 249; Huso and Ellis, Show Low, 11, 15–48; Jo Ann Hatch, “ShowLow,” in Erickson, Story of Faith, 196; Show Low Arizona Stake, 26–32, 37–50.

[54] Granger, Arizona Place Names, 233; “Adair Village,” in Hatch, Lore and Legend, 11–17; 1880 census: Samuel J. Adair, Thomas Adair, and Aaron Adair, Show Low Creek, Navajo Co., Arizona; Wesley Adair, St. Johns, Apache Co., Arizona; George Adair, Nutrioso, Apache Co., Arizona; 1900 census: Wesley Adair, Nutrioso, Apache Co., Arizona; Mary Adair (widow of Thomas), Pinetop, and Fanny Adair (“widow” of Aaron Adair), Snowflake, Navajo Co., Arizona; AzDCs Aaron Adair, Fannie C. Adair, and Aport [sic] Adair.

[55] Granger, Arizona Place Names, 243–44; RFC, “Lakeside,” FWP essay, ASLAPR; Show Low Stake, 119–33.

[56] Ibid., 34.

[57] Granger, Arizona Place Names, 247; Luptak, Top O’ the Pines, 1–52.

[58] Granger, Arizona Place Names, 239; Smith, “Mormon Forestdale,” 165–208; Jo Ann Hatch, “Forestdale,” in Erickson, Story of Faith, 191–92. See Sarah Alice McNeil Mills, XXX and Mary Ann Smith McNeil, XXX.

[59] Granger, Arizona Place Names, 111; Northern Gila County Historical Society, Rim Country History, 82–83. PWA families that were important to this area were Ellen Celeste Woodward Fuller, XXX; Anna Elese Schmutz Hunt, XXX; Rosetta Schmutz Hunt, XXX; Ann Eliza Hakes Leavitt, XXX; and Ruth Campkin Randall, XXX. Susan Temperance Allen Randall (XXX) was the daughter of Rial Allen. The interrelationships between Moenkopi, Pine, Joseph City, Woodruff, and Heber can be seen in the many moves between 1879 and 1925 by Lehi and Elizabeth Heward. Northern Gila County Historical Society, Rim Country History, 131–32.

[60] Northern Gila County Historical Society, Rim Country History, 69–70. None of the women in PWA specifically list Strawberry as a residence, but Ruth Campkin Randall mentions LDS member Francis Adair Peach as a resident of Strawberry.

[61] Granger, Arizona Place Names, 103; Northern Gila County Historical Society, Rim Country History, 116–17; “Map of Arizona, 1912.” See Amanda Armstrong Faucett Sanders (who died at Gisela in 1885), XXX and Hannah Elmina Allred Sanders (who lived at Gisela until 1892), XXX.

[62] Granger, Arizona Place Names, 120; Jo Ann Hatch, “Young Branch,” in Erickson, Story of Faith, 203.

[63] Granger, Arizona Place Names, 102; Northern Gila County Historical Society, Rim Country History, 82.

[64] Of the early LDS settlements in New Mexico, Luna, Ramah, Fruitland, Kirtland, and Bluewater are the only ones still in existence and/or are predominantly Mormon. The LDS settlements of Fruitland, Kirtland, Waterflow, and LaPlata are not included here because they have always been associated with the Blanding and Bluff settlements of southeastern Utah. Arrington, “Mormons in Twentieth-Century New Mexico,” in Szasz and Etulain, Religion in Modern New Mexico, 101–23.

[65] Granger, Arizona Place Names, 13; Wilhelm and Wilhelm, History of the St. Johns Arizona Stake, x, 72, 125–28. See Catherine Ellen Camp Greer, XXX; Sarah Wilmirth Greer DeWitt, XXX; and Ida Hunt Udall, XXX.

[66] Jo Ann Hatch, “Ramah,” in Erickson, Story of Faith, 195; Wilhelm and Wilhelm, History of the St. Johns Arizona Stake, 74–79, 86–88; Westgard, Tales of a Pathfinder, 47; Arrington, “Mormons in Twentieth-Century New Mexico,” in Szasz and Etulain, Religion in Modern New Mexico, 106–7.

[67] Arrington, “Mormons in Twentieth-Century New Mexico,” in Szasz and Etulain, Religion in Modern New Mexico, 107, 111; Wilhelm and Wilhelm, History of the St. Johns Arizona Stake, 86–88. See Mabel Ann Morse Hakes, XXX; Melissa Caroline Johnson Hunsaker, XXX; Margaret Henrietta Camp Brantley Baird, XXX; and Eliza Luella Stewart Udall, XXX.

[68] Granger, Arizona Place Names, 15; Jo Ann Hatch, “Meadows, Walnut Grove and Sawmill,” in Erickson, Story of Faith, 194; Wilhelm and Wilhelm, History of the St. Johns Arizona Stake, 72–73. See Effie Berry Ellsworth, XXX; Elsina Peterson Isaacson, XXX; and Aretha Morilla Bates Wakefield, XXX.

[69] Granger, Arizona Place Names, 21; Wilhelm and Wilhelm, History of the St. Johns Arizona Stake, 20–71.

[70] Granger, Arizona Place Names, 9; Jo Ann Hatch, “Concho,” in Erickson, Story of Faith, 191; Wilhelm and Wilhelm, History of the St. Johns Arizona Stake, 122–126.

[71] Granger, Arizona Place Names, 25; Ellis and Turner, White Mountains of Apache County, 64, 72–73; Wilhelm and Wilhelm, History of the St. Johns Arizona Stake, 127–34.

[72] Granger, Arizona Place Names, 12; Wilhelm and Wilhelm, History of the St. Johns Arizona Stake, 206–7.

[73] Granger, Arizona Place Names, 23; Wilhelm and Wilhelm, History of the St. Johns Arizona Stake, 164–71, 193–204; Ellis and Turner, White Mountains of Apache County, 11, 17–21, 27–31.

[74] Granger, Arizona Place Names, 10–11; Wilhelm and Wilhelm, History of the St. Johns Arizona Stake, 195–204; Jo Ann Hatch, “Round Valley,” in Erickson, Story of Faith, 195–96; Ellis and Turner, White Mountains of Apache County, 22–24, 29, 34–35.

[75] Granger, Arizona Place Names, 3; Wilhelm and Wilhelm, History of the St. Johns Arizona Stake, 89–94; Jo Ann Hatch, “Alpine,” in Erickson, Story of Faith, 190. Note: although occasionally this location is called Williams Valley, Arizona, when reference is made to Williams Valley, this usually means New Mexico (see Pleasanton, NM). See Ann Jane Peel Noble, XXX.

[76] Granger, Arizona Place Names, 18; Jo Ann Hatch, “Nutrioso,” in Erickson, Story of Faith, 194; Wilhelm and Wilhelm, History of the St. Johns Arizona Stake, 95–102.

[77] Jo Ann Hatch, “Luna,” in Erickson, Story of Faith, 193; Wilhelm and Wilhelm, History of the St. Johns Arizona Stake, 103–8; Ellis, “‘Arizona Has Been Good to Me,’” 7, 14, 30–31; Lorenzo Watson, “History of Luna Beginning 1883,” MS 13218, CHL.

[78] Granger, Arizona Place Names, 186; Willis, “Early Mesa,” 22–25, 44; McClintock, Mormon Settlement in Arizona, 201–10.

[79] Granger, Arizona Place Names, 25–30, 44, 55; Turner and Ellis, Latter-day Saints in Mesa, 9–42; Willis, “Early Mesa,” 25–30.

[80] Granger, Arizona Place Names, 195; Willis, “Early Mesa,” 30–32.

[81] Ibid., 175; McClintock, Mormon Settlement in Arizona, 218.

[82] Granger, Arizona Place Names, 189.

[83] Granger, Arizona Place Names, 127; Dodge and Dodge, “Our Family Book,” 496; Burgess, Mt. Graham Profiles, 2:216.

[84] Granger, Arizona Place Names, 128.

[85] Ibid., 124; Burgess, Mt. Graham Profiles, 2:71–72; Dodge and Dodge, “Our Family Book,” 598–600. See Mary Ann Park Bryce, XXX.

[86] Granger, Arizona Place Names, 125. See Sarah Jane Curtis Kempton, XXX.

[87] Ibid., 126–27.

[88] Ibid., 124; Hooper, Century in Central, 5–7, 11.

[89] Granger, Arizona Place Names, 132; Taylor, 25th Stake of Zion, 335–63.

[90] Granger, Arizona Place Names, 129; Burgess, Mt. Graham Profiles, 2:7–11.

[91] Granger, Arizona Place Names, 123; Burgess, Mt. Graham Profiles, 2:216.

[92] Granger, Arizona Place Names, 123; Burgess, Mt. Graham Profiles, 2:337; Taylor, 25th Stake of Zion, 216–18.

[93] Granger, Arizona Place Names, 167.

[94] Johnson, Legacy of Virden, 25–34; Arrington, “Mormons in Twentieth-Century New Mexico,” in Szasz and Etulain, Religion in Modern New Mexico, 110–11. See Mary Ann Mitchell Smith, XXX and Nancy Ann Freeman Smith, XXX. Note: The Columbus Branch and El Paso Ward are not discussed here (although they were part of the St. Joseph Stake) because they are not adjacent to the Arizona/New Mexico border. The Columbus Branch may have included some of the Mormon refugees who resided temporarily at Hachita, but the branch was discontinued by 1923 when members had moved to Virden and Franklin. Taylor, 25th Stake of Zion, 195, 223–24.

[95] Jo Ann Hatch, “Pleasanton,” in Erickson, Story of Faith, 195; Wilhelm and Wilhelm, History of the St. Johns Arizona Stake, 73; Kevin Blaine Williams, “The Life, Religion and Family of George Calvin Williams and Martha Bearl Easterly,” manuscript, 14–18, 36–43; https://familysearch.org/patron/v2/TH-300-43104-176-97/dist.pdf?ctx=ArtCtxPublic. See Annie Woods Williams Westover, XXX.

[96] Ellis, Latter-day Saints in Tucson, 7–8, 29–76; Rogers, “From Colonia Dublán to Binghampton,” 19–46.

[97] Granger, Arizona Place Names, 49; St. David Heritage and Cultural Arts Society, Mormon Pioneers of the San Pedro Valley, 1–28; Larson, Pomerene, Arizona and the Valley of the San Pedro, 21–24; Ellis, “‘Arizona Has Been Good to Me,’” 15.

[98] Granger, Arizona Place Names, 47; Larson, Pomerene, Arizona and the Valley of the San Pedro, 4–5, 95, 98, 119–21, 247–55, 265–66.

[99] Granger, Arizona Place Names, 44; Larson, Pomerene, Arizona and the Valley of the San Pedro, 266; Roe, “On the Bench,” 39–186.

[100] Granger, Arizona Place Names, 30; Taylor, 25th Stake of Zion, 167.

[101] Granger, Arizona Place Names, 36; Burns and Naylor, “Colonia Morelos,” 173–78; Krenkel, Life and Times of Joseph Fish, 386; McClintock, Mormon Settlement in Arizona, 272–74; Taylor, 25th Stake of Zion, 215.

[102] Granger, Arizona Place Names, 37; Roe, “On the Bench,” 3, 8–10.

[103] Myrick, New Mexico’s Railroads, 70, 92–103.

[104] Romney, Mormon Colonies in Mexico, 74–84; Johnson, Heartbeats of Colonia Diaz, 29–63.

[105] Romney, Mormon Colonies in Mexico, 95–101.

[106] Ibid., 85–94.

[107] Ibid., 102–8. For an example of the gradual movement south and west, see Phoebe Earston Johnson Scott, XXX, who lived at Cave Valley, Chuhuichupa, Oaxaca, and Morelos before fleeing to Duncan and then living in Pomerene, Gilbert, and Chandler. See also Lydia Ann Lake Nelson, XXX; and Annie Woods Williams Westover, XXX.

[108] Ibid., 108–10. See Nancy Ann Freeman Smith, XXX.

[109] Burns and Naylor, “Colonia Morelos,” 143–45; Romney, Mormon Colonies in Mexico, 115–20. See Lydia Ann Lake Nelson, XXX; and Phoebe Earston Johnson Scott, XXX.

[110] Godfrey and Martineau-McCarty, Uncommon Common Pioneer, 490.

[111] Burns and Naylor, “Colonia Morelos,” 142–80; Romney, Mormon Colonies in Mexico, 120–27.

[112] Burns and Naylor, “Colonia Morelos,” 173; Thomas, Uncertain Sanctuary, 89.