Drake was an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

on the

Verde River The Verde River ( Yavapai: Haka'he:la) is a major tributary of the Salt River in the U.S. state of Arizona. It is about long and carries a mean flow of at its mouth. It is one of the largest perennial streams in Arizona. Description The ...

Yavapai County, Arizona Yavapai County is near the center of the U.S. state of Arizona. As of the 2020 census, its population was 236,209, making it the fourth-most populous county in Arizona. The county seat is Prescott. Yavapai County comprises the Prescott, AZ M ...

, United States, and a station on the BNSF Railway's Phoenix Subdivision. Drake is also the junction and western terminus of the

Verde Canyon Railroad The Verde Canyon Railroad is a heritage railroad running between Clarkdale and Perkinsville in the U.S. state of Arizona. The passenger excursion line operates on of tracks of the Clarkdale Arizona Central Railroad (AZCR), a shortline. ...

. Drake is the site of the old Hell Canyon Bridge (built in 1923), formerly used by US Route 89, and now on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

History

Drake was a town in the early 1900s, which grew out of a railway work camp for construction of the very high "Big Hell Canyon Railroad Bridge", on high trestles, completed in 1901. It was first known as Cedar Glade, and had a population of 70 in 1909. It was renamed to "Drake" in 1920. (Internet version) In 1912 Cedar Glade "became the junction for the Verde Valley Railroad, which accessed a copper smelter in Clarkdale .... Approximately 20 structures had been built there by the railroad, including a depot, agent's house, water tank, a number of section houses, bunkhouse, and freight warehouses. The railroad kept a small staff in Drake thru the 1950s." Cedar Glade was home to a boarding house and veterinarian, as well as the Swanbeck store. Northern Yavapai County, 1925

In 1920, Drake's population was recorded as 18. In 1919, the towns of Puntenney and Cedar Glade were placed under quarantine due to a

Smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus) which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) c ...

outbreak. No resident was allowed to leave either community, although passengers on the

Santa Fe Railroad The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often referred to as the Santa Fe or AT&SF, was one of the larger railroads in the United States. The railroad was chartered in February 1859 to serve the cities of Atchison and Topeka, Kansas, and ...

were still allowed to change cars at Cedar Glade. 1922 saw a running

gunfight A shootout, also called a firefight or gunfight, is a fight between armed combatants using firearms. The term can be used to describe any such fight, though it is typically used to describe those that do not involve military forces or only in ...

through the streets during the era of

prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcohol ...

. A separate schoolhouse was built in 1928, though children were taught in Drake by teachers around 1920, and earlier they crossed the railway trestle to attend school in Puntenney, Arizona. In October 1919 a two-room house and the public school in Cedar Glade were burned, and school was dismissed. The 1920 Census listed Barnetta Ball, age 39, as "Teacher Public School." Elizabeth Stroud was teacher in Drake mentioned in a January 30, 1922 article in the ''

Arizona Republic ''The Arizona Republic'' is an American daily newspaper published in Phoenix. Circulated throughout Arizona, it is the state's largest newspaper. Since 2000, it has been owned by the Gannett newspaper chain. Copies are sold at $2 daily or at $3 ...

''. Drake was also the nearest community to

Little Hell Canyon Bridge Little is a synonym for small size and may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Little'' (album), 1990 debut album of Vic Chesnutt * ''Little'' (film), 2019 American comedy film *The Littles, a series of children's novels by American author John P ...

, another road bridge about up Hell Canyon, when that was listed on the National Register in 1987. In 1944 the average annual precipitation for Drake, which is in a valley at elevation , was believed to be .U.S. Department of Agriculture Field Bulletins (1944)
/ref> Remnants (4487711948)

In 1956, the Republic Cement Corporation of Delaware proposed building a cement manufacturing plant in the town of Drake after obtaining mining claims in Drake and in San Bernardino, California. Drake's population was 17 in 1940, and was 12 in the 1960 U.S. Census. The road bridge between Drake and Puntenney has been blocked by the Drake Cement plant. Drake is the location of the historic Cedar Glade Cemetery, also known as Drake Cemetery, which is located on property of the Drake Cement Company. In 2019 the Drake Cement company gave notice of intent to remove all remains and relocate the historic Cedar Glade Cemetery, on its property. The cemetery had burials from c.1891 to c.1930.

References

{{authority control Unincorporated communities in Yavapai County, Arizona Unincorporated communities in Arizona

History

See also

References