Christopher Creek is a
census-designated place
A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only.
CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...
in northern
Gila County
Gila County ( ) is a county in the central part of the U.S. state of Arizona. As of the 2020 census, the population was 53,272. The county seat is Globe.
Gila County comprises the Payson, Arizona micropolitan statistical area which is incl ...
in the
U.S. state
In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...
of
Arizona
Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...
. Situated at the base of the
Mogollon Rim
The Mogollon Rim ( or or ) is a topography, topographical and geological feature cutting across Northern Arizona, the northern half of the U.S. state of Arizona. It extends approximately , starting in northern Yavapai County, Arizona, Yavapa ...
, the community lies at an elevation of ,
and is located approximately 23.5 miles (37.82 km) northeast of
Payson, just off
SR 260. The population as of the
2010 U.S. Census was 156.
Tourism, retirement and timbering are the foundations of Christopher Creek's economy.
Demographics
Transportation
Mountain Valley Shuttle stops in Christopher Creek on its
Phoenix-
Show Low route.
Education
It is in the
Payson Unified School District
Payson Unified School District #10 (PUSD) is a school district in Gila County, Arizona. The district serves Payson, Star Valley, and the Oxbow Estates area. The district consists of six schools; all are title 1 schools.
Area
The district i ...
.
[ ]
Text list
/ref> Payson High School is the zoned comprehensive high school.
See also
* Christopher Creek – Geological feature
References
History Courtesy of Creekside Tavern: Christopher Creek, Arizona, which Zane Grey, the celebrated western author, fell in love with was settled in the 1880s by Isadore Creekside Cabins, who was a French cartographer, army scout, and explorer. His first attempt to marry failed when a mail order bride had a look at Isadore and left him to head east. Creekside Cabins turned lucky in the second time when Mary Hope married him and lived with Isadore at Christopher Creek on 160-acre CI Ranch for the rest of her life till through 1903.
Isadore raised hogs and also hollowed out a log to brine cure his pork. Brine, a kind of saltwater, which is strong enough to float an egg, was used by homesteaders to keep meats for longer times, spanning weeks or months. The meat was sold to Fort McDowell and was also sold in Winslow. The ‘hog log’ that Isadore used is today on display at the Rim Country Museum. Later, Mrs. Ashby and her family purchased Isadore’s land in 1938 giving Mr. Christopher the due credits and opened the first Barbeque Restaurant in Christopher Creek.
According to a story in The Whorehouse Bells Were Ringing Isadore was away from his ranch during an Apache raid. The Apaches burned two of his log cabins. The day before the raid “Christopher had killed a bear and had hung the carcass in or on one of the cabins. The military force in pursuit of the Indians included the legendary scouts Tom Horn and Al Sieber. They, along with the troops and other scouts decided that the burned bear carcass was Christopher and gave it a decent, solemn Christian burial. They became the objects of laughter and jokes when Christopher later appeared and identified the body.”
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Census-designated places in Gila County, Arizona
Census-designated places in Arizona