John G. Verkamp rented a tent from the Bright Angel Hotel in 1898 and began selling curios and Indian crafts for Babbitt Brothers' Trading Company. After several slow weeks he closed and sold his stock to the hotel. But he sensed Grand Canyon's . . . — — Map (db m39571) HM
Mary Colter's Desert View Watchtower creates an illusion of age. Concealed within the tower is an entirely different reality. Workers built a concrete and steel reinforced superstructure and then applied a veneer of native stone. The weathered . . . — — Map (db m169439) HM
Originally this building stood at Red Horse, 25 miles south of the Grand Canyon, where it was possibly used as one of the stage stops between the Grand Canyon and Flagstaff. In 1902, Ralph Cameron had it moved to its present site, where, with the . . . — — Map (db m236357) HM
The Santa Fe is going to build the most expensive hotel … at the Grand Canyon … the idea of the architect is to bring the building into harmony with the wonderful scenery of the canyon rather than to put a blot upon its beauty by the . . . — — Map (db m195830) HM
A rich architectural history awaits as you explore Grand Canyon Village. Eclectic in nature, the village is a mix of early pioneer, Santa Fe Railroad, and National Park Service structures. Entrepreneurial-pioneers started building here in the early . . . — — Map (db m95934) HM
For Mary Colter, [Hopi Housel was an opportunity to re-create the distinctive dwelling of an ancient culture and to acquaint the public with the richness and beauty of Native American art. – Virginia Grattan, Mary Colter: . . . — — Map (db m236334) HM
Your visit and rest here is part of a long tradition started in 1914 with the opening of Hermits Rest. After an 8-mile (13 km) buggy ride, you would be greeted by the resident caretaker and offered a refreshing drink to clear the dust from your . . . — — Map (db m108881) HM
Near here in late summer of 1540, soldiers from the Spanish expedition of Francisco Vasquez de Coronado became the first Europeans to see Grand Canyon.
After journeying for six months, Coronado's army arrived at the Hopi mesas, east of Grand . . . — — Map (db m125895) HM
He laid the foundation of the National Park Service, defining and establishing the policies under which its areas shall be developed and conserved unimpaired for future generations. There will never come an end to the good that he has done. — — Map (db m169438) HM
Catastrophe can happen even in spectacular beauty. When technological achievements and human actions fail, disasters may happen.
On June 30, 1956, a United Airlines DC-7 and a TWA Super Constellation maneuvered around towering cumulus clouds on . . . — — Map (db m124533) HM
Seven miles north of this point a band of Apache Indians were defeated by United States troops on July 17, 1882. A group of tribesmen from the San Carlos Apache reservation had attacked some ranches in the vicinity, killing several settlers. Cavalry . . . — — Map (db m67424) HM
Under the direction of General George Crook this trail was built in the early 1870's. Starting at Fort Whipple, it winds down to Fort Verde then eastward across the Mogollon Rim to Fort Apache covering 200 miles. It was used as a supply route by . . . — — Map (db m67419) HM
Under the direction of General George Crook this trail was built in the early 1870's. Starting at Fort Whipple, it winds down to Fort Verde then eastward across the Mogollon Rim to Fort Apache covering 200 miles. It was used as a supply route by . . . — — Map (db m67420) HM
This location has two markers
This steel lookout tower is 80 feet tall and has a 7 foot by 7 foot steel cab on top. It was erected in 1934.
As guardians of our nation's vast timber reserves, the U.S. Forest Service has always given fire . . . — — Map (db m94919) HM
Has been designated a
National Natural Landmark
This site possesses exceptional value as an illustration of the Nation's natural heritage and contributes to a better understanding of the environment. — — Map (db m94912)
Segments of centuries-old Indian trails between St. George and Long Valley were used by Mormon pioneers in 1864 to settle Long Valley and its resettlement in 1871 following Indian conflicts. The trail
divided at the area of this marker; the . . . — — Map (db m131299) HM
Text from: Historical Markers with The Arizona Department of Transportation right of way. Prepared by: Roadside Development Section April 1, 1997
Fatigued by a thirty mile ride, the padres picked their way down the rocky north slope . . . — — Map (db m39917) HM
In desperate search for a crossing of the Colorado River before the wild storms of winter might further weaken their starving bodies, Fathers Dominguez and Escalante led their expedition past this point on October 26, 1776.
Five days were spent . . . — — Map (db m94896) HM
John Deering (Bih Bitoodnii Nez) born 1870 of the Deer Water Clan, his wife Susie Deering, born in 1878, of the Maii Deeshgiizhinii Clan, and their nine children, pioneered the areas of the Gap, Copper Mine, Cedar Ridge, Bitter Spring, Page, Marble . . . — — Map (db m189730) HM
In memoriam to ironworker Lafe McDaniel
October 3, 1887 to June 12, 1928
The only individual to die during the construction of the Navajo Bridge, Lafe McDaniel, a well like and highly experienced Kansas City ironworker, fell from near . . . — — Map (db m206713) HM
From 1872 to 1929
principal route of travel
across the Colorado River
to Utah Settlements
First crossing made at the mouth of Paria Creek in 1864 by Jacob Hamblin. Regular ferry established by John Doyle Lee in 1872. Purchased by . . . — — Map (db m41998) HM
Because of long, deep canyons, Lees Ferry was the best crossing point along 500 miles (800 km) of the Colorado River.
In 1873, Mormon Church members opened a wagon road from Kanab, Utah, and built a ferryboat here. John D. Lee was the first . . . — — Map (db m41999) HM
Northern gateway to Arizona for 54 years - from 1873 to 1927 - is located six miles upstream from this bridge.
This monument erected to the founder
John Doyle Lee
who, with superhuman effort and in the face of almost insurmountable . . . — — Map (db m94892) HM
John D. Lee settled here in Dec. 1872 and established ferry service thirteen months later. After her husband's death, Warren M. Johnson ran the oar-driven ferry for Emma Lee, 1875 to 1879, when the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints . . . — — Map (db m41997) HM
Lewis Nez, born 1900 of the To’di’chi’i’nii (Bitter Water) Clan. He married twice, first to Fannie and second to Bessie Betoney. He had ten children. He was employed by the Cedar Ridge Trading Post. He was responsible for hauling supplies, U.S. . . . — — Map (db m189731) HM
A tourist lodge and trading post have operated near this site since 1929. Without them, travel through this isolated region would have been far more difficult. Marble Canyon Lodge was already in operation when the historic Navajo Bridge was . . . — — Map (db m94893) HM
Navajo Bridge
has been placed on the
National Register
of Historic Places
By the United States
Department of the Interior
August 31, 1981 — — Map (db m94885) HM
There are three markers on this end of the Navajo Bridge.(Marker on left:)
National Historical Civil
Engineering Landmark
American
Society of
Engineers
1852
Designated by the American Society of Civil Engineers . . . — — Map (db m94887) HM
This Erection Toggle Screw was used in the construction of the historic Navajo Bridge to maintain bridge vertical elevations and as a means of lowering bridge sections in place. — — Map (db m38469) HM
Welcome to Vermilion Cliffs National Monument, an isolated and spectacular landscape. Tucked away in north-central Arizona, this Monument is a wonderland of geologic formations and rugged terrain that supports a rich array of desert wildlife and . . . — — Map (db m94911) HM
Between 1876 and 1886, Hyrum Judd, under the direction of Lot Smith, supervised a Mormon Dairy one
mile northeast near Dairy Spring.
Beginning with a herd of 115 cows, large quantities of butter and cheese were produced. During the 1880s the . . . — — Map (db m35187) HM
Early in the twentieth century, wealthy ladies and gentlemen yearning for a peek at the fabled Grand Canyon found few urban comforts along its northern rim. While visitors on the South Rim relaxed in the luxurious accommodations of the cliff-hugging . . . — — Map (db m163551) HM
When Grand Canyon became a national park in 1919, the North Rim was scarcely developed. While the South Rim had grand hotels and many visitor programs and services, the hard-to-reach North Rim had only rustic tent cabins for 40 guests. The National . . . — — Map (db m163289) HM
Under the supervision of the Utah Parks Company and architect Gilbert Stanley Underwood, work crews labored to build a lodge that harmonized with its surroundings. Advertisements for this "Hotel in the Wilderness" boasted that it "seems to have . . . — — Map (db m163552) HM
A fire consumed the main lodge building at the height of the Great Depression. The September 1, 1932, fire claimed no lives but left only stones. For four years the ruins of the Grand Canyon Lodge stood undisturbed, silhouetted eerily against a . . . — — Map (db m163553) HM
Built more than 900 years before the Grand Canyon Lodge, the foundations of this small, two-room dwelling provide a glimpse of the kinds of lodging used by ancestral Puebloan farmers of the North Rim. These native farmers built field houses like . . . — — Map (db m163577) HM
This fountain is dedicated to the memory of our fellow employees who died October 8, 1997 in a plane crash near Montrose, Colorado.
Their names encircle the fountain just as the accomplishments of their careers and lives encircle us. . . . — — Map (db m40325) HM
Colorado River Storage Project
In recognition of the vision of the Colorado River Storage Project Act of 1956 and the significant contributions the act has made to the development of the Upper Colorado River Basin states, this plaque . . . — — Map (db m40350) HM
Concrete Bucket
This is one of several concrete buckets that poured the concrete in Glen Canyon Dam. Each bucket held 24 tons (22 metric tons) of concrete and it took over 400,000 buckets to complete the dam. The first pour of concrete . . . — — Map (db m40342) HM
Within sight of this place the Franciscan priests Dominguez and Escalante and their ten companions experienced two of the most difficult challenges among many along the 1,800 miles of their epic journey from the Spanish presidio at Santa Fe, New . . . — — Map (db m40324) HM
The imprints were made by a one ton, twenty foot long, meat-eating dinosaur. The slab of sandstone came from a nearby side canyon.
When Dilophosaurus tracked through the silt 170 million years ago, this was a different landscape. Shallow streams . . . — — Map (db m40326) HM
A slightly larger, but reasonable replica of the 16 ft. pine rowboat in which Major John Wesley Powell first explored the canyons of the Colorado River in 1869. This craft was constructed by Walt Disney Productions and used in the river running . . . — — Map (db m40323) HM
Glen Canyon Bridge
Majestic Glen Canyon Bridge, 865 feet (264 meters) downriver from the dam, was the highest steel-arch bridge in the United States when completed.
The roadway is 700 feet (213 meters) above the surface of . . . — — Map (db m101903) HM
Dedicated by
the First Lady
Mrs. Lyndon B. Johnson
September 22, 1966
United States Department of the Interior
Stewart L. Udall, Secretary
Bureau of Reclamation
Floyd E. Dominy, Commissioner
[The following marker is inside the . . . — — Map (db m40370) HM
Glen Canyon Dam and other dams along the Colorado River provide critical water and power resources for millions of Americans in the Southwest. Recreation at the reservoirs is enjoyed by visitors from around the world.
Turbine Runner
This . . . — — Map (db m40344) HM
The eight small "buildings" on the upstream face of the dam contain equipment to operate the penstock gates. Each penstock is 15 feet (4.6 meters) in diameter and carries water to one of the turbine generators in the powerplant. — — Map (db m40349) HM
Major John Wesley Powell 1834-1902 Explorer of the Colorado River 1869 and 1871-72 On August 3, 1869, Powell wrote in his journal: ”…we have a curious ensemble of wonderful features — carved walls, royal arches, glens, alcove . . . — — Map (db m155893) HM
Rock Bolts
Since Navajo sandstone tends to fracture vertically, rock bolts lock rock slabs together, thereby minimizing rock falls into the canyon. These bolts extend from 45 to 75 feet (14-23 meters) into the canyon wall. They are assembled . . . — — Map (db m40346) HM
These tracks were made by a three-toed dinosaur known as a Saurischia therapod. It lived here about 170 million years ago during the Jurassic era when the environment was tropical. The footprints are raised natural sandstone castings of the . . . — — Map (db m40321) HM
This stainless steel turbine runner was removed in 1989 from the Bureau of Reclamation's Crystal Dam Powerplant in Montrose, Colorado. Weighing about 8½ metric tons, it is the rotating part of a Francis-type reaction turbine (named after its . . . — — Map (db m40371) HM
Hydroelectric power is produced when water under pressure flows through electrical generating equipment. Water entering the turbine flows through a series of louvers called wicket gates arranged in a ring around the turbine inlet. The amount of . . . — — Map (db m155898) HM
In the summer of 1857 former Navy Lt. Edward F. Beale was chosen by the Buchanan Administration to develop a wagon road from Fort Defiance, New Mexico Territory (now Arizona) to the Colorado River along the 35th parallel. Secretary of War John B. . . . — — Map (db m48347) HM
Carl Richards constructed this building in 1947 as his blacksmith shop. At the time, auto garage work was just a sideline. Richards is known as Sedona's first 'Fire Chief' because he kept the town's first fire truck in his garage. If there was a . . . — — Map (db m78744) HM
It took decades of searching for a perfect location before Marguerite Brunswig Staude's inspiring modern Catholic church could be built. The Chapel of the Holy Cross is an extraordinary architectural achievement, designed by architects Anshen & . . . — — Map (db m94811) HM
In 1946, Walter Jordan's orchard business had expanded. This building was constructed to house an apple grading machine and other fruit packing operations. Walter Jordan operated the orchards until 1973. — — Map (db m94848) HM
In 1876 or 1877, Jim Thompson built a log cabin here and began cultivating the old Indian Gardens where the Indians had grown corn and squash long before Oak Creek was known to white men. Thompson remained here at his Indian Gardens Ranch until his . . . — — Map (db m33203) HM
This home of Walter and Ruth Jordan began as a one-room cabin in 1931. It grew by three rooms in 1937, and grew in 1947 to its present size. It was opened as the Sedona Heritage Museum in 1998. It exemplifies early Sedona red rock construction. — — Map (db m94846) HM
Built circa 1938 by George Jordan as a co-op retail outlet for fruit produced and marketed by local orchard farmers, including George and his brother Walter. It was a key part in the early commercial development of Uptown Sedona and is a good . . . — — Map (db m40921) HM
Fruit growing played a significant role in the early Sedona economy. Over time, settlers constructed ditches, flumes, pipelines, reservoirs, and water wheels to provide irrigation to their gardens and eventually to their larger orchards.
Apples . . . — — Map (db m54228) HM
Harold and Christine Strohm built their Old-West style building and opened 'Museum, Et Cetera.' to showcase their collection of antiques. The Strohms named the building 'Pushmataha' after a Choctaw Chief. It means “He has won all the honors of . . . — — Map (db m94831) HM
This was originally Bob Bradshaw's photo shop and living quarters. Bradshaw's photos appeared often in Arizona Highways, and he published several books of Arizona images. Bob was involved in Sedona's film-making business for 50 years. He sold . . . — — Map (db m94834) HM
L.E. "Dad" Hart established Sedona's first real store in this building in 1926. The general store sold Oak Creek fruit and tourist supplies and was considered modern with gravity-drained gas pumps and the first commercial power in town. When the . . . — — Map (db m33202) HM
The earliest peoples arrived in the Verde Valley about 11,500 years ago. These early people practiced a hunting and gathering economy until approximately A.D. 1 when agriculture appeared. The Sinagua, whose Spanish name means "without water." . . . — — Map (db m132998) HM
This house was built in 1917 and was the home of the Sedona District Ranger, Jesse I. Bushnell. It continued to serve as living quarters until 1996, when the structure was converted to office space for the USFS Sedona Ranger District. — — Map (db m94829) HM
Lee Van Deren, cattleman, arrived to put his children in the new Sedona school opened in 1910. Ranching was a major part of Sedona’s early economy. Round ups and cattle drives were a twice a year occurrence for ranchers when moving their herds from . . . — — Map (db m54229) HM
They dominate the horizon, rising 12,633 feet (3851 m) to Arizona's highest point. Visible for miles from all directions, they stand guard over a land which has long sustained people in spirit and natural resources. All of the region's Native . . . — — Map (db m41664) HM
Cinder cones erode easily and scars are slow to heal. In 1973, Sunset Crater was closed to climbing when 2-foot-wide trails eroded to 60-foot-wide swaths. Tons of cinder were shoveled back up the cone to fill hip-deep trenches. Notice the scars . . . — — Map (db m41676) HM
Buried under Sunset Crater's lava and cinders are perhaps dozens of pithouses. Those excavated revealed few artifacts; even building timbers had been removed. This suggests people had ample warning of the impending eruption.
The changed . . . — — Map (db m41693) HM
Erupting less than 1,000 years ago, Sunset Crater is the youngest in an impressive field of volcanoes all around you. The 1,000-foot-high (305m) cinder cone we see today formed when basalt magma rose directly to the surface through a primary vent. . . . — — Map (db m41665) HM
The landscape before you has existed on Earth for less than 1,000 years, less time than Romanesque architecture or paper money. Consequently, this environment has unique scientific value.
Geologists come here to study weathering processes and . . . — — Map (db m41691) HM
About 1,000 years ago, something spectacular happened in the lives of local Native peoples. Perhaps they first observed a change in animal behavior. Maybe they noticed the ground warming. Then the tremors increased in number and intensity. By the . . . — — Map (db m41689) HM
As a living ancestral homeland to the Hopi, Zuni, Yavapai, Havasupai, Navajo, Western Apache, and Southern Paiute, Sunset Crater is remembered, revered, and cared for.
People return often, bringing prayers and engaging in timeless traditions. . . . — — Map (db m41678) HM
Near here in 1879
Mormon Colonists Built
Arizona's First Woolen Mill
Hoping to utilize Hopi and Navajo wool and labor, the Mormons intended to build a new industry to supply the early settlers. The 192-spindle mill operated only a . . . — — Map (db m94884) HM
The Tusayan Lookout Tree is an example of one of the earliest fire detection systems in American history.
Early rangers were tasked with keeping the forest safe, especially from wild fire. With little funding and no staff, rangers would simply . . . — — Map (db m141327) HM
This was a community of relatives and neighbors. Its members worked together to haul water, hunt animals, and gather plants. They likely assisted each other with large fields on the rims. They shared walls and resources, joy and sorrow, success . . . — — Map (db m61366) HM
The Island Trail, visible below you, follows the sharp meander of Walnut Creek. Many cliff dwelling rooms, unique in this area, were built throughout the canyon at the level of this trail. On both rims are numerous pithouses and pueblos.
On . . . — — Map (db m61304) HM
Puebloan traditions reach far back in time and are the basis for the social organization portrayed here. What responsibilities might you have had in this community, given your age and gender?
[Captions:]
Hopi men plant and . . . — — Map (db m61350) HM
Perhaps people living here 800 years ago called this place Wupatupqa ("long canyon"), as it is known to some of their descendants, the Hopi. It was no doubt known as a place of abundance, given its wealth of plant and animal life and the . . . — — Map (db m61305) HM
When a volcanic eruption occurred near what is now Flagstaff, Arizona, people lost homes and lands they had cultivated for at least 400 years. A major life events for locals, the eruption was also visible to large population centers across the . . . — — Map (db m61325) HM
Overhanging ledges protected rooms from snow and rain, and shaded them during summer months. Thick walls of stone and mud insulated them from harsh winds and retained essential heat in winter.
Small doors were covered with animal skins, mats, . . . — — Map (db m61365) HM
As recently as the mid-1200s, families lived, worked, and played in Walnut Canyon. Tending crops on the rim, traveling to gather food, and collecting water from the canyon bottom were part of a daily routine.
It may be difficult to imagine . . . — — Map (db m61302) HM
Despite all it had to offer, in time Walnut Canyon became a difficult place for farmers to live. Drier, colder conditions meant crop failures. More people and diminished resources meant nutritional stress, disease, and conflict.
However, these . . . — — Map (db m61370) HM
Limestone forms the massive overhang above you and the ledge you are standing on. In between, softer layers of silty limestone have retreated, eroded away. All of the cliff dwelling rooms in Walnut Canyon — more than 300 — were built . . . — — Map (db m61342) HM
Walnut Canyon was once filled with the sounds of a busy community as families hunted, planted, and harvested with the seasons. Children were born, grew up, and raised children of their own. They were neither the first nor the last to use and . . . — — Map (db m61328) HM
Time has worn away details that once made these rooms complete. Still, bits of evidence tell us people devised ways to make their homes comfortable, durable, and suitable for changing circumstances.
Rooms were added as families grew or storage . . . — — Map (db m61341) HM
Most rooms in this community did not house people. Archeologists think many rooms, like the one to your left, were used to store tools, food, and water. Residents could have stored a 100-day water supply without much difficulty, given large . . . — — Map (db m61347) HM
With its steep and sheer walls, Walnut Canyon provided homebuilding advantages along with controlled access. Living here, people were situated to monitor their world. This was not uncommon; most villages of the time had some form of passive . . . — — Map (db m61326) HM
For each room tucked into this rock alcove, nature provided the back wall, floor, and leak-proof ceiling; no excavation was needed. Builders simply laid up unshaped blocks of limestone for side walls, enclosed the front, and opened their doorway . . . — — Map (db m61340) HM
During the spring thaw, snowmelt rumbled through the narrow passage below you. Water flowed again during the summer monsoon. Shaded pools held precious water after the flow ebbed. Walnut Creek was the lifeblood of the community.
Still, people . . . — — Map (db m61356) HM
"It is very dusty work to dig for relics....We dug for an hour or more, and found...cornstalks, corncobs in abundance, beans, gourds, nuts, reeds, arrows, bowstrings,...coarse cloth, a child's sandal, a measuring stick with notches at regular . . . — — Map (db m61368) HM
In 1926, the Old Trails Highway was officially designated U.S. Highway 66, and it became the "Main Street of America." In 1984, Williams was the last Route 66 town in America to be bypassed by the interstate highway system. Built in 1907, this . . . — — Map (db m33375) HM
The wood framed 1894 Polson Bros. General Store burned down in the 1901 fire and was replaced by this brick building in 1907. The Babbitt and Polson families were pioneer merchants in the area. In 1930 the building was stuccoed to create the only . . . — — Map (db m33384) HM
This mountain was named for a colorful mountaineer, guide, and trapper who is generally credited with being the first American to explore northern Arizona – 1830 or earlier. Williams lived at different times among the Osage and Ute Indians, . . . — — Map (db m33418) HM
