John D. Lee and wife Emma established this ranch to support their lives as river ferry operators. While living here, they shuttled wagon trains and travelers across
the Colorado River on makeshift ferry boats and skiffs.
The crossing became a . . . — — Map (db m289828) HM
Isolated from society, settlers here had to provide for themselves. Growing their own food proved to be a constant struggle as unreliable irrigation plagued the
desert fields. Lonely Dell families endured and grew lush gardens, orchards, and fields . . . — — Map (db m289827) HM
On U.S. 89A at milepost 557, on the left when traveling east. Reported missing.
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
On U.S. 89A at milepost 538.3, on the right when traveling west.
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
Near U.S. 89A at milepost 537, on the right when traveling west.
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
On U.S. 89A at milepost 538, on the right when traveling west.
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
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
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
Near U.S. 89A at milepost 537, on the right when traveling west.
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
For more than 100 years, Lonely Dell Ranch has meant different
things to those who traveled here. To pioneers and missionaries, it was
an isolated settlement offering small comfort during a long journey
further south. To the families who lived . . . — — Map (db m289772) 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
Charles H. Spencer's second gold mining site
Spencer used an amalgamator reliant on mercury to pull gold
from clay. Tests recovered a little gold, but also some other metal,
exhausting the mercury supply. Years later the mystery . . . — — Map (db m291039) 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
The Paria Canyon-Vermilion Cliff Wilderness was added to the National Wilderness Preservation System on August 28, 1984. This 112,000-acre jewel of the desert Southwest truly reperesents the meaning of wilderness. The majority of the wildreness area . . . — — Map (db m289824) 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
