Fredonia in Mohave County, Arizona — The American Mountains (Southwest)
Boundaries and Fencing
— Pipe Spring National Monument —
—John Wesley Powell, explorer
Since the late 1700s all the public lands belonging to the United States have been legally described using a rectangular survey system. Boundaries were set up on strict north-south, east-west lines. Mountains, hills, and streams were completely ignored.
The 40-acre “quarter-quarter section” that today is set aside as Pipe Spring National Monument is an example of the way the American West was divided into grids, as if those millions of acres were a gigantic piece of graph paper. Surveyors played a key role in converting wilderness into private property.
Fencing throughout the West today divides grazing allotments on public lands, defines private property, and separates land uses. Here, the national monument is closed to grazing, while the Indian reservation can be grazed.
Notions of property, boundaries, grazing divisions — and the fencing that came with them — were alien to Indian Peoples.
Erected by National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Native Americans • Settlements & Settlers.
Location. 36° 51.846′ N, 112° 44.526′ W. Marker is in Fredonia, Arizona, in Mohave County. Marker can be reached from North Pipe Spring Road, 0.3 miles north of Arizona Route 389, on the left when traveling north. Marker is located along the Ridge Trail in Pipe Spring National Monument. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 406 North Pipe Spring Road, Fredonia AZ 86022, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Cut Off By The Grand Canyon (within shouting distance of this marker); Remnants of a Frozen Sahara (within shouting distance of this marker); Plateau Country Trees (within shouting distance of this marker); Tup' (within shouting distance of this marker); Suh-uhv' (within shouting distance of this marker); Boulders to Building Blocks (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Oos'eev (about 300 feet away); Kwi'-uv (about 300 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Fredonia.
Related markers. Click here for a list of markers that are related to this marker. Pipe Spring National Monument
Also see . . . Boundaries and Fencing. (A National Park Service link for this marker.) (Submitted on May 5, 2020, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)
Credits. This page was last revised on May 7, 2020. It was originally submitted on May 4, 2020, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. This page has been viewed 112 times since then and 15 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on May 5, 2020, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.