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Gila Valley | |
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![]() The Gila valley in Yuma County | |
Gila Valley in Arizona | |
Length | 310 mi (500 km)E-W |
Width | 14 mi (23 km)N-S |
Geography | |
Country | United States |
State | Arizona |
Counties | |
Cities and towns | |
Coordinates | 33°4′47″N111°39′20″W / 33.07972°N 111.65556°W |
River | Gila River |
The Gila River Valley is a multi-sectioned valley of the Gila River, located primarily in Arizona. The Gila River forms in western New Mexico and flows west across southeastern, south-central, and southwestern Arizona; it changes directions as it progresses across the state, and defines specific areas and valleys. The central portion of the river flows through the southern Phoenix valley region (the Salt River Valley joins the Gila River Valley in this area), and the final sections in southwestern Arizona form smaller, irrigated valleys, such as Dome Valley, Mohawk Valley, and Hyder Valley.
Two mountain ranges are named for the Gila River: the Gila Mountains (Graham County) bordering the Gila River Valley, northeast of Safford; the Gila Mountains (Yuma County) border the Gila River Valley before the Gila River joins its confluence with the Colorado River; that range is east of Yuma and the Fortuna Foothills.
The Gila Valley begins as a 35-mile (56 km) long valley in central Graham County, Arizona. Thatcher and Safford lie upstream on the Gila River in the southeast beginning of the valley. The elevation of the river valley upstream at Safford is 2,906 feet (886 m). The Gila Valley region along the river contains the most populated areas of the Safford micropolitan area.
The Gila Valley of Yuma County, Arizona is a small valley surrounding the Gila River at its confluence with the Colorado River, the Colorado being the border between California and Arizona, and locally southwest of Yuma – Baja California, and Sonora states, Mexico.
The valley extends only 10 miles (16 km) from its confluence to the northern end of the Gila Mountains, which abut the east end of the Laguna Mountains, where the Gila River meanders west, southwest, then due west again.
The Gila Valley is called the North Gila Valley in the northern parts, north of the Gila River, and it is called the South Gila Valley in the south. The communities in the valley are agricultural, especially in the south and southwest, towards Yuma, Arizona.
The South Gila Valley borders the Yuma Mesa on its south, where the Fortuna Foothills are located on the northwest perimeter of the Gila Mountains.
The North Gila Valley contains the Adair Range, a shooting range located on the southern edge of the Laguna Mountains.
The Huhugam people migrated to the Gila River Valley around 300 BCE. They constructed over 500 miles of canals and were able to farm and conduct trade along the river. It is estimated that around 50,000–60,000 Huhugam people populated the Gila River Valley at the height of their "Classic Period" (around 1150–1450 CE). [1] The Huhugam are considered the ancestors of the Akimel O’odham or Pima people. [2] Around 1450 CE, nomadic Apache people arrived in the Gila Valley and Huhugam urban centers were abandoned. The Apache continued to raid the Pima with even more success after the introduction of horses into the area. [1] An Apache assault in 1780 led to the death or capture of 120 Pima. [3]
The Pima were able to thrive in the midst of the desert by cultivating crops along the Gila River. [3] When the Pee-Posh (or Maricopa) tribe was driven out from the Yuman tribal people in the 1840s, they found refuge along the Gila River with the Pima. After the Gadsden Purchase in 1853 incorporated the Gila Valley into the new Arizona Territory, an Indian Reservation was created along the Gila River in 1859. As of 1939, the Pima and Maricopa peoples are a part of the Gila River Indian Community today. [1]
The southernmost portion Arizona was purchased by the United States government from Mexico in 1853 as part of the Gadsden Purchase. President Franklin Pierce commanded soldiers posted near the newly acquired land to determine the new boundaries of the Arizona Territory. [4] General James Henry Carleton led a handful of soldiers on this surveying expedition. During the expedition in Graham Country, General Carleton took note of a tactical location offering a wide open view of the Gila Valley where he would later establish Fort Goodwin. [5] In addition, scouts from railroad companies explored the Gila River Valley looking for a potential railroad route across the newly bought land. [4] It was not until early 1878 that the first group of Mormon scouts [6] from Northern Arizona entered the Gila Valley with the intent to settle. The Mormon scouts returned to the Gila River Valley for a second time in 1879. [6]
Joseph K. Rodgers, alongside a small group of Mormon pioneers, settled Smithville [7] in 1879 after receiving positive reports from Mormon scouts sent to the area earlier in the same year. The settlers quickly dug irrigation ditches along the banks of the Gila river and planted crops in the fertile soil. [8]
The news of fertile land quickly spread to other Mormon settlements throughout Arizona and Utah. Between 1881 and 1884, many settler families moved to the Gila River Valley. During this time, the settlements of Curtis, Graham, Thatcher, Central, Layton, and McDonald were formed. [8] The valley was transformed by a system of roads connecting churches, schools, and newsrooms throughout the valley. [9] By 1885, the population of Pima (a settlement formerly known as Smithville) had grown to approximately 500 people. [10]
Texan ranchers also began emigrating to the Gila Valley. The 1880s brought drought, livestock diseases, overgrazing, and conflicts between ranchers in Texas. The sixth territorial governor of Arizona, Frederick A. Tritle, recognized a growing number of ranchers from Texas moving with their herds to Arizona in search of better grazing land. [11] New railway lines made migration of families and cattle across the south easier. One notable migrant into the Gila River Valley from Texas was Glenn Reynolds, who moved over 1,800 cattle on railway cars and later became the sheriff of Gila County. [11] The emigration of ranchers from Texas to Arizona increased settlement populations and changed the dynamics of early communities in the Gila Valley.
The population of Graham Country increased sharply after various settlements spanning the Gila River Valley were founded. In 1883, many polygamist families fled to Southern Arizona and Mexico in order to escape federal prosecution and imprisonment under the new Edmunds Tucker Law, which banned the practice of polygamy in the United States and its territories. Many of these families settled in the Gila River Valley. [12] This massive influx of people led general authorities of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints to authorize the creation of the Saint Joseph stake, with President Christopher Layton serving as president. [13]
A vast majority of the Mormon settlers primarily sustained themselves either by farming or working as freighters for the surrounding mines in Morenci and Clifton . [14] [15] These farmers dug 40 miles of new irrigation canals and added between 15 and 20 miles to the pre-existing canals. A small number of farmers living in Smithville banded together to create a co-op called the "Smithville Irrigation and Manufacturing Company", which established a mercantile headed by Hyrum Weech. [16] In 1886, the construction of a railroad line to the mines in the Clifton and Morenci area brought an end to many freight lines as the railroad charged cheaper rates to transport goods. Because of this, many freighters began working for mines and businesses in the Globe area. [17]
A sawmill was built on nearby Mount Graham, along with a complicated network of flumes and cable tramways constructed to facilitate the transport of the wood down to the Gila River Valley. [19] With access to lumber, settlers in the area began constructing buildings out of wood instead of adobe. During this time, the Saint Joseph Stake Academy was created. [20] This school provided settler children the opportunity to be educated both spiritually and academically. The Saint Joseph Stake Academy was later renamed Eastern Arizona College, which is still in operation as a community college. [21]
The Gila River Valley was advertised as a fertile land with temperate weather and long growing seasons. [22] These attributes of the valley attracted many immigrants. Newly converted Mormons, especially from the Eastern United States and Europe, flocked to the Gila River Valley to claim land of their own. [23]
The Southern Pacific Railroad established a line that ran through the Gila River Valley in 1895. [24] The first telephone wires spanned through the valley in 1898. In 1900, the Bank of Safford was established and a flour mill was also opened. [25]
Year | 1880 | 1882 | 1884 | 1885 | 1886 | 1887 | 1888 | 1889 | 1890 | 1891 | 1892 | 1893 | 1894 | 1895 | 1896 | 1897 | 1898 | 1899 | 1900 |
Population [10] | 148 | 416 | 836 | 1182 | 1388 | 1371 | 1489 | 1478 | 1538 | 1559 | 1933 | 2049 | 2198 | 2325 | 2397 | 2687 | 2920 | 3015 | 3170 |
As shown in the table above, the Mormon population living in the Gila River Valley increased greatly between 1880 and 1900.
Between 1878 and 1883, there was confusion about where the border of the Gila Valley Indian Reservation was. A Mormon settlement called Forestdale was created in 1878, then vacated in 1880 when local Native Americans said the land was theirs. The Mormons returned in 1881 when rumors that the land was not part of the reservation had circulated, then abandoned it indefinitely when it was confirmed Forestdale was on the reservation lands. [26] This debate over borders and boundaries was a point of contention for early settlers in the Gila Valley who did not have easy access to accurate maps.
When rumors of gold in the Gila River spread in the 1870s, Americans and Mexicans began mining in the valley. Clashes between Americans, Mexicans, and Native Americans broke out constantly. One notable conflict began in 1872. The murder of Mexican settler Francisco Gandara and subsequent outrage of the local Mexicans resulted in several fatal clashes and strains in the diplomatic relations between the United States and Mexico. [27] Gandara was shot by a vigilante gang of white Americans who blamed him for the disappearance of William McFarland, though no evidence was found to implicate Gandara. This event sparked what some call the "race wars" or the "war on the Gila". [28] Tensions between groups remained high for decades.
A water crisis was declared in the 1870s due to Mexican and American settlements diverting the waters of the Gila River. [3] The new towns of Adamsville and Florence were built upstream from the Gila River Indian Reservation, leaving the Pima with little of the water they claimed as their legal right. Several canals were built to bring water to the towns that held the geographical advantage, leaving the Pima with insufficient water to continue to cultivate their crops. The situation worsened with the founding of the Mormon town of Safford and settlements in Solomonville, Duncan, Pima, and Thatcher—each of which required the construction of more canals. [3] By 1871, the Pima had no summer crops. The reservation boundaries were expanded but water was still insufficient. Relations between the Pima and the American settlers became strained. The Pima called upon the US Army to intervene, and General Irvin McDowell brought the issue to President Rutherford B. Hayes’ attention. Hayes stopped the sale of public land along the Gila River and greatly extended the reservation with an executive order in 1879. The Arizonan government appealed to the president, who cut back on the reservation extension. [3]
Graham County is a county in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Arizona. As of the 2020 census, the population was 38,533, making it the third-least populous county in Arizona. The county seat is Safford.
Pima is a town in Graham County, Arizona, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population of the town was 2,387, up from 1,989 in 2000. The estimated population in 2018 was 2,512. Pima is part of the Safford Micropolitan Statistical Area.
Thatcher is a town in Graham County, Arizona, United States. According to the 2010 Census, the population of the town is 4,865. It is part of the Safford Micropolitan Statistical Area.
The Gila River is a 649-mile-long (1,044 km) tributary of the Colorado River flowing through New Mexico and Arizona in the United States. The river drains an arid watershed of nearly 60,000 square miles (160,000 km2) that lies mainly within the U.S., but also extends into northern Sonora, Mexico.
The Akimel O'odham, also called the Pima, are a group of Native Americans living in an area consisting of what is now central and southern Arizona, as well as northwestern Mexico in the states of Sonora and Chihuahua. The majority population of the two current bands of the Akimel O'odham in the United States are based in two reservations: the Keli Akimel Oʼodham on the Gila River Indian Community (GRIC) and the On'k Akimel O'odham on the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community (SRPMIC).
The Maricopa or Piipaash are a Native American tribe, who live in the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community and Gila River Indian Community along with the Pima, a tribe with whom the Maricopa have long held a positive relationship. The Maricopa at the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community consist mostly of Xalychidom Piipaash members and are concentrated in Lehi. The Maricopa at the Gila River Indian Community are concentrated in Maricopa Colony. The Maricopa are a River Yuman group, formerly living along the banks of the Colorado River.
Indigenous peoples of Arizona are the Native American people of the state of Arizona. These include people that have lived in the region since time immemorial; tribes who entered the region centuries ago, such as the Southern Athabascan peoples; and the Pascua Yaqui who settled Arizona in mass in the early 20th century, though small communities had been in the region for hundreds of years prior.
Jesse Nathaniel Smith was a Mormon pioneer, church leader, colonizer, politician and frontiersman. He was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He was a first cousin to Joseph Smith, founder of the Latter Day Saint movement.
U.S. Route 70 (US 70), also known as the Old West Highway, is an east–west U.S. Highway in the U.S. state of Arizona. The current route starts at US 60 in Globe and runs through the San Carlos Indian Reservation, Safford and Duncan into New Mexico near Virden. In Arizona, US 70 passes through mostly isolated hilly and mountainous terrain largely paralleling the course of the Gila River and the Arizona Eastern Railway.
The San Pedro River is a northward-flowing stream originating about 10 miles (16 km) south of the international border south of Sierra Vista, Arizona, in Cananea Municipality, Sonora, Mexico. The river starts at the confluence of other streams just east of Sauceda, Cananea. Within Arizona, the river flows 140 miles (230 km) north through Cochise County, Pima County, Graham County, and Pinal County to its confluence with the Gila River, at Winkelman, Arizona. It is the last major, undammed desert river in the American Southwest, and it is of major ecological importance as it hosts two-thirds of the avian diversity in the United States, including 100 species of breeding birds and almost 300 species of migrating birds.
The Gila Mountains of Graham County are a mountain range in central-east Arizona. It borders the Gila River and Gila Valley on the valley's northeast in north-central Graham County; also the San Carlos Indian Reservation. The mountain range sits on the southern perimeter of the White Mountains and is located in the southeast area of Arizona's transition zone.
Central is a census-designated place in Graham County, Arizona, United States. Its population was 758 as of the 2020 census. It is part of the Safford micropolitan area.
The 13th Arizona Territorial Legislative Assembly was a session of the Arizona Territorial Legislature which began on January 12, 1885, in Prescott, Arizona. The session's accomplishments included allocation of a variety of territorial institutions including a university, normal school, prison, and insane asylum. Nicknames bestowed to the session include the "bloody thirteenth" due to fights in the halls of government and nearby saloons, and the "thieving thirteenth" due to the very large appropriations approved by this legislature.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the second-largest religious denomination in Arizona, behind the Roman Catholic Church. In 2022, the church reported 439,411 members in Arizona, about 6% of the state's population. According to the 2014 Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life survey, roughly 5% of Arizonans self-identify most closely with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Bryce is a census-designated place in Graham County, Arizona, United States. Its population was 173 as of the 2020 census. Bryce is located in the upper Gila River valley, approximately two miles north of Pima and north of the Gila River. The first settlement at Bryce was made in 1883. Bryce is named for settler and shipbuilder Ebenezer Bryce, a Mormon pioneer from Scotland, who is best known as the eponym of Bryce Canyon National Park in Utah.
San Simon River is an ephemeral river, or stream running through the San Simon Valley in Graham and Cochise County, Arizona and Hidalgo County, New Mexico. Its mouth is at its confluence with the Gila River at Safford in Graham County. Its source is located at 31°51′21″N109°01′27″W.
Sacate is a populated place in the Middle Gila River Valley area, within Pinal County, Arizona, United States. Located 8 mi (13 km) north of Maricopa on the south side of the Gila River near Pima Butte, Sacate was an Pima village, a railroad station of the Southern Pacific Railroad, and a Catholic mission. It had originally been called Sacaton Station but the name was shortened to its current version in 1904.
Agriculture in Arizona is a notable sector in the state’s economy, contributing more than $23.3 billion in 2018. Arizona’s diverse climate allows it to export all sorts of commodities such as nuts, wheat, cotton, eggs, meat, and dairy to the United States and 70 other countries. In 2018, the state produced 455.7 million pounds (206.7 kt) of red meat and ranked 3rd in producing vegetables in the United States, occupying 26 million acres of land for farms and ranches combined.
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