Grand Canyon Pioneer Cemetery, also known as Pioneer Cemetery, is a historic cemetery located near the Grand Canyon's South Rim. [1] [2] It is also known as South Rim Cemetery and the American Legion Cemetery due to its association with the veterans' organization.
The cemetery is home to some 400 individual graves. [3] [4] The cemetery closed to new burials in 2017, but remains open for visitation. [5]
"Originally, to qualify for burial, an individual must have lived at Grand Canyon for no less than three years or must have made a significant and substantial contribution to the development of, public knowledge about, understanding of or appreciation for Grand Canyon National Park." [6] Among those buried there are pioneers, NPS administrators of Grand Canyon National Park and residents of Grand Canyon Village including John Hance (1840–1919) early white settler and Grand Canyon guide, [4] : 23–27 Pete Berry, Ralph H. Cameron (1863–1953) American businessman, prospector, and politician [4] : 33–37 William Wallace Bass, members of the Kolb Family (Ellwworth and Emery), who established the Kolb Studio, [4] : 39–49 and M.R. Tillotson. Hance is the first to have been buried there. [7] Also buried in the cemetery are the unidentified remains of the victims on the United Airlines flight involved in the 1956 Grand Canyon mid-air collision, with a cenotaph of 31 names. [4] : 59–62 [8]
Other noteworthy burials include:
Grand Canyon National Park, located in northwestern Arizona, is the 15th site in the United States to have been named as a national park. The park's central feature is the Grand Canyon, a gorge of the Colorado River, which is often considered one of the Wonders of the World. The park, which covers 1,217,262 acres of unincorporated area in Coconino and Mohave counties, received more than 4.7 million recreational visitors in 2023. The Grand Canyon was designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1979. The park celebrated its 100th anniversary on February 26, 2019.
The Grand Canyon is a steep-sided canyon carved by the Colorado River in Arizona, United States. The Grand Canyon is 277 miles (446 km) long, up to 18 miles (29 km) wide and attains a depth of over a mile.
Grand Canyon Village is a census-designated place (CDP) located on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon, in Coconino County, Arizona, United States. Its population was 2,004 at the 2010 Census. Located in Grand Canyon National Park, it is wholly focused on accommodating tourists visiting the canyon. Its origins trace back to the railroad completed from Williams, to the canyon's South Rim by the Santa Fe Railroad in 1901. Many of the structures in use today date from that period. The village contains numerous landmark buildings, and its historic core is a National Historic Landmark District, designated for its outstanding implementation of town design.
Canyon de Chelly National Monument was established on April 1, 1931, as a unit of the National Park Service. Located in northeastern Arizona, it is within the boundaries of the Navajo Nation and lies in the Four Corners region. Reflecting one of the longest continuously inhabited landscapes of North America, it preserves ruins of the indigenous tribes that lived in the area, from the Ancestral Puebloans to the Navajo. The monument covers 83,840 acres and encompasses the floors and rims of the three major canyons: de Chelly, del Muerto, and Monument. These canyons were cut by streams with headwaters in the Chuska Mountains just to the east of the monument. None of the land is federally owned. Canyon de Chelly is one of the most visited national monuments in the United States.
Northern Arizona is an unofficial, colloquially defined region of the U.S. state of Arizona. Generally consisting of Apache, Coconino, Mohave, Navajo, and Yavapai counties, the region is geographically dominated by the Colorado Plateau, the southern border of which in Arizona is called the Mogollon Rim.
The Bright Angel Trail is a hiking trail located in Grand Canyon National Park in the U.S. state of Arizona.
Phantom Ranch is a lodge inside Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona. It sits at the bottom of Grand Canyon, on the east side of Bright Angel Creek, a little over half a mile north of the Creek's confluence with the Colorado River. Opened in 1922, Phantom Ranch is a member of Historic Hotels of America, the official program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
The Arizona Strip is the part of Arizona lying north of the Colorado River. Despite being larger in area than several U.S. states, the entire region has a population of fewer than 10,000 people. Consisting of northeastern Mohave County and northwestern Coconino County, the largest settlements in the Strip are Colorado City, Fredonia, and Beaver Dam, with smaller communities of Scenic, Littlefield and Desert Springs. The Kaibab Indian Reservation lies within the region. Lying along the North Rim of the Grand Canyon creates physical barriers to the rest of Arizona. Only three major roads traverse the region: I-15 crosses the northwestern corner, while Arizona State Route 389 and U.S. Route 89A cross the northeastern part of the strip, and US 89A crosses the Colorado River via the Navajo Bridge, providing the only direct road connection between the strip and the rest of the state. The nearest metropolitan area is the St. George, Utah metro area, to which the region is more connected than to the rest of Arizona.
The Tonto Trail is a hiking trail on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon in Grand Canyon National Park, located in the U.S. state of Arizona.
John Harvey Butchart was a mathematics professor who was well known for his hiking exploits in and around the Grand Canyon in Arizona, United States. Beginning in 1945, Butchart explored the Grand Canyon's backcountry on foot. He wrote extensively about his adventures and influenced generations of canyoneers.
The New Hance Trail is a hiking trail on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon National Park, located in the U.S. state of Arizona. It is one of the "unmaintained" trails and, along with the similar Tanner Trail, is considered one of the most difficult trails on the South Rim. Unlike the Tanner Trail, there is no parking available at the trailhead, which is located about a 5-minute walk north of the South Rim main road. The trail ends at the Hance Rapids on the Colorado River. It is approximately 6.5 hiking miles and a 4400' descent from the South Rim main road at ~7040' to the Colorado River at ~2600' elevation.
The Escalante Route is a hiking trail on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon National Park, located in the U.S. state of Arizona. It starts near the Tanner Rapids on the Colorado River and follows the river. It also passes by Escalante Creek and ends near the Hance Rapids. It falls into the lowest maintenance category ("route") of the Grand Canyon trails which means it is essentially unmaintained. There is a 30-feet cliff located near the Hance Rapids, popularly known as the Papago Wall, which needs to be climbed. The National Park Service advises to bring a rope for backpacks. There are several other easy, yet avoidable climbing opportunities in 75 Mile Canyon, some of which have been marked by cairns.
Grand Canyon Village Historic District comprises the historic center of Grand Canyon Village, on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon in Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona. The district includes numerous landmark park structures, many of which are National Historic Landmarks themselves, or are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The town design as a whole is also significant for its attention to integration with the Grand Canyon landscape, its incorporation of National Park Service Rustic design elements, and for the idiosyncratic design of park concessioner structures such as the El Tovar Hotel.
John Hance is thought to be the first non-Native American resident of the Grand Canyon, US. He opened the first tourist trail, today known as Old Hance Trail, into Grand Canyon in 1884, well before his mining activities began. "Captain" John Hance was said to be one of the Grand Canyon's most colorful characters, and it had been declared by one early visitor that "To see the canyon only and not to see Captain John Hance, is to miss half the show." Hance delighted in telling canyon stories to visitors, favoring the whopper of a tale over mere facts. With a straight face, Hance told travelers how he had dug the canyon himself, piling the excavated earth down near Flagstaff. Despite such questionable claims, Hance left a lasting legacy at the Grand Canyon, dying in 1919, the year the Grand Canyon became a National Park. Hance was the first person buried in what would become the Grand Canyon Pioneer Cemetery.
The Kolb Studio is a historic structure situated on the edge of the South Rim of the Grand Canyon in Grand Canyon Village within Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona. It was operated from 1904 until 1976 as the photographic studio of brothers Ellsworth and Emery Kolb.
Grand Canyon Conservancy, formerly known as Grand Canyon Association, is the National Park Service's official non-profit partner of Grand Canyon National Park, raising private funds, operating retail shops within the park, and providing premier guided educational programs about the natural and cultural history of the region. Supporters fund projects including trails and historic building preservation, educational programs for the public, and the protection of wildlife and their natural habitat.
The Pioneer and Military Memorial Park is the official name given to seven historic cemeteries in Phoenix, Arizona. The cemeteries were founded in 1884 in what was known as "Block 32". On February 1, 2007, "Block 32" was renamed Pioneer and Military Memorial Park. The Pioneer and Military Memorial Park is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. The historic Smurthwaite House, which is also listed in the National Register of Historic Places, is located on the grounds of the Pioneer and Military Memorial Park and is used as the cemetery's main office. Pioneer and Military Memorial Park is the final resting place of various notable pioneers of Arizona.
The Double Butte Cemetery is the official name given to a historic cemetery in Tempe, Arizona. The cemetery was founded in 1888 on the baseline of the Double Butte Mountain for which it is named. It is the final resting place of various notable pioneers of the City of Tempe. The cemetery, which is located at 2505 W. Broadway Rd., is listed in the Tempe Historic Property Register Designation #46. The pioneer section of the cemetery was listed in the National Register of Historic Places on July 30, 2013, reference #13000020.