Fort McDowell, Arizona

Last updated
Fort McDowell, Arizona
Maricopa County-Fort McDowell Marker-2.jpg
Location where Fort McDowell once stood
USA Arizona location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Fort McDowell
Usa edcp location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Fort McDowell
Coordinates: 33°38′12″N111°40′28″W / 33.63667°N 111.67444°W / 33.63667; -111.67444
Country United States
State Arizona
County Maricopa
Elevation
[1]
1,440 ft (439 m)
Population
  Total600
Time zone UTC-7 (Mountain (MST))
  Summer (DST) UTC-7 (MST)
ZIP code
85264
Area code 480
FIPS code 04-24810
GNIS feature ID 29117

Fort McDowell is an unincorporated community in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States. Fort McDowell is 23 miles northeast of Phoenix. Fort McDowell has a post office with ZIP code 85264. [2]

Contents

History

The location was named Camp McDowell, and later renamed Fort McDowell in 1867 when established by the California Volunteers on the Verde River in 1865. It was named for Major General Irvin McDowell. The fort was located within Indian country and built to be near the area's travel routes in an effort to protect them from the Apache who lived in the Gila River and Salt River valleys. The post office opened as McDowell in 1869 and changed to Fort McDowell in 1923. [1] Some Native Americans of the region chose to seek refuge in the surrounding mountains rather than conform to the constraints of reservation life. These displaced Indians often traveled in small groups to avoid detection. Their presence, however, caused fear and unrest for nervous settlers, and thus a military outpost (Camp Verde) was deemed necessary to protect trade routes within the region. In addition to the Salt and Verde rivers, Fort McDowell was in close proximity to a number of trails important to the Apache of central Arizona, and the installation conducted numerous military exercises against the Tonto Apache and others. Originally named Camp Verde, the fort was thought to be able to withstand an onslaught from these so-called 'renegades', but in fact, the structures failed to survive the heavy summer monsoon rains, washing away not long after being built. The Stoneman Military Trail served as a supply trail and connected Fort McDowell to Fort Whipple in Prescott, Arizona, during the years 1870–1890.

Climate

According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Fort McDowell has a semi-arid climate, abbreviated "BSk" on climate maps. [3]

Historic Fort McDowell

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Camp Verde, Arizona</span> Town in Yavapai County, Arizona

Camp Verde is a town in Yavapai County, Arizona, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population of the town is 10,873.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cornville, Arizona</span> CDP in Yavapai County, Arizona

Cornville is a census-designated place (CDP) in Yavapai County, Arizona, United States. The population as of the 2010 United States Census was 3,280, down from 3,335 at the 2000 census. For statistical purposes, the United States Census Bureau has defined Cornville as a CDP that includes the unincorporated communities of Cornville and Page Springs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lake Montezuma, Arizona</span> CDP in Yavapai County, Arizona

Lake Montezuma is a census-designated place (CDP) in Yavapai County in the U.S. state of Arizona. The population was 5,111 at the 2020 census. The CDP includes the communities of Rimrock and McGuireville. Located along Interstate 17, it is 20 miles (32 km) south of Sedona and 8 miles (13 km) north of Camp Verde in central Arizona's Verde Valley.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Montezuma Castle National Monument</span> Ancient dwellings in Yavapai County, Arizona, US

Montezuma Castle National Monument protects a set of well-preserved dwellings located in Camp Verde, Arizona, which were built and used by the Sinagua people, a pre-Columbian culture closely related to the Hohokam and other indigenous peoples of the southwestern United States, between approximately AD 1100 and 1425. The main structure comprises five stories and about 20 rooms and was built over the course of three centuries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fort Verde State Historic Park</span> NRHP-designated site in Yavapai County, Arizona

Fort Verde State Historic Park in the town of Camp Verde, Arizona is a small park that attempts to preserve parts of the Apache Wars-era fort as it appeared in the 1880s. The park was established in 1970 and was added to the National Register of Historic Places a year later.

Indigenous peoples of Arizona are the Native American people who currently live or have historically lived in what is now the state of Arizona. There are 22 federally recognized tribes in Arizona, including 17 with reservations that lie entirely within its borders. Reservations make up over a quarter of the state's land area. Arizona has the third largest Native American population of any U.S. state.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Western Apache people</span> Native American ethnic group

The Western Apache live primarily in east central Arizona, in the United States and north of Mexico in the states of Sonora and Chihuahua. Most live within reservations. The Fort Apache Indian Reservation, San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation, Yavapai-Apache Nation, Tonto Apache, and the Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation are home to the majority of Western Apache and are the bases of their federally recognized tribes. In addition, there are numerous bands. The Western Apache bands call themselves Ndee (Indé). Because of dialectical differences, the Pinaleño/Pinal and Arivaipa/Aravaipa bands of the San Carlos Apache pronounce the word as Innee or Nnēē:.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yavapai–Apache Nation</span> Federally recognized Indian nation in Arizona

The Yavapai–Apache Nation is a federally recognized Native American tribe in the Verde Valley of Arizona. Tribal members share two culturally distinct backgrounds and speak two indigenous languages, the Yavapai language and the Western Apache language. The Yavapai–Apache Nation Indian Reservation, at 34°37′10″N111°53′46″W, consists of five non-contiguous parcels of land located in three separate communities in eastern Yavapai County. The two largest sections, 576 acres (233 ha) together – almost 90 percent of the reservation's territory, are in the town of Camp Verde. Smaller sections are located in the town of Clarkdale 60.17 acres (24.35 ha), and the unincorporated community of Lake Montezuma. The reservation's total land area is 642 acres (260 ha). The total resident population of the reservation was 743 persons as of the 2000 census. The 2010 Census reported 1,615 people on the reservation. Of these, 512 lived in Camp Verde, 218 in Clarkdale, and only 13 in Lake Montezuma.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tonto Apache</span> Western Apache Indigenous people

The Tonto Apache is one of the groups of Western Apache people and a federally recognized tribe, the Tonto Apache Tribe of Arizona. The term is also used for their dialect, one of the three dialects of the Western Apache language.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yavapai</span> Ethnic Group

The Yavapai are a Native American tribe in Arizona. Historically, the Yavapai – literally “people of the sun” – were divided into four geographical bands who identified as separate, independent peoples: the Ɖulv G’paaya, or Western Yavapai; the Yaavpe', or Northwestern Yavapai; the Gwev G’paaya, or Southeastern Yavapai; and the Wiipukpaa, or Northeastern Yavapai – Verde Valley Yavapai.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carlos Montezuma</span> Native American activist

Carlos Montezuma or Wassaja was a Yavapai-Apache Native American, activist and founding member of the Society of American Indians. His birth name, Wassaja, means "Signaling" or "Beckoning" in his native tongue. Wassaja was kidnapped by Pima raiders along with other children to be sold or bartered. Wassaja was then purchased by an Italian photographer Carlo Gentile in Adamsville, for thirty silver dollars. Gentile renamed him "Carlos Montezuma". Montezuma was the first Native American student at the University of Illinois and Northwestern University, and only the second Native American ever to earn a medical degree in an American University after Susan La Flesche Picotte. Wassaja was the first Native American male to receive a medical degree. Until his death Wassaja fought to support the rights of his Yavapai people and other Native Americans.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tuzigoot National Monument</span> Historic site in Yavapai County, Arizona, US

Tuzigoot National Monument preserves a 2- to 3-story pueblo ruin on the summit of a limestone and sandstone ridge just east of Clarkdale, Arizona, 120 feet (37 m) above the Verde River floodplain. The Tuzigoot Site is an elongated complex of stone masonry rooms that were built along the spine of a natural outcrop in the Verde Valley. The central rooms stand higher than the others and they appear to have served public functions. The pueblo has 110 rooms. The National Park Service currently administers 58 acres, within an authorized boundary of 834 acres.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation</span> American Indian Reservation

The Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation, formerly the Fort McDowell Mohave-Apache Community of the Fort McDowell Indian Reservation, is a federally recognized tribe and Indian reservation in Maricopa County, Arizona about 23 miles (37 km) northeast of Phoenix.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stoneman Military Trail</span> Supply road in Yapavai & Maricopa Counties, Arizona, 1870–1890

The Stoneman Road, an important supply road between Fort McDowell and Fort Whipple in Prescott between 1870 and 1890. It was an important conduit for the shipping of supplies from Fort Whipple in Prescott to Fort McDowell on what is today the Yavapai Reservation near Fountain Hills.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yavapai Wars</span> Part of the Apache Wars

The Yavapai Wars, or the Tonto Wars, were a series of armed conflicts between the Yavapai and Tonto tribes against the United States in the Arizona Territory. The period began no later than 1861, with the arrival of American settlers on Yavapai and Tonto land. At the time, the Yavapai were considered a band of the Western Apache people due to their close relationship with tribes such as the Tonto and Pinal. The war culminated with the Yavapai's removal from the Camp Verde Reservation to San Carlos on February 27, 1875, an event now known as Exodus Day.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fort Tyson</span> Historic site in La Paz County, Arizona

Fort Tyson was a privately owned fort built in 1856 by Charles Tyson in the area which is now called Quartzsite, Arizona. He built the fort to protect the local miners and water supply from the raids of the Yavapai (Mohave-Apache), a Native-American tribe. The area in which Fort Tyson was located has been known as Fort Tyson, Tyson’s Well and is now called the town of Quartzsite because of the large amount of quartz found in its surrounding areas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carlo Gentile</span> Italian-American photographer (1835–1893)

Carlo Gentile (1835–1893), known professionally in his lifetime as Charles Gentile, was a 19th-century Italian-American photographer. After travelling the world, he settled in Victoria, British Columbia for a few years, photographing diverse subjects including the gold fields. In 1867, he moved to California, and lived a restless existence with frequent moves between California and Arizona. In 1871, he purchased a young boy named Wassaja, later named Carlos Montezuma, for 30 silver dollars. In the midst of their travels, they participated in a Wild West Show starring Buffalo Bill. Gentile continued the pursuit of his photographic career in Chicago, while publishing a series of newspapers along with maintaining a weekly magazine.

References

  1. 1 2 "Feature Detail Report for: Fort McDowell". Geographic Names Information System . United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
  2. ZIP Code Lookup
  3. Climate Summary for Fort McDowell, Arizona