Happy Jack is 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 ...

and

campground A campsite, also known as a campground or camping pitch, is a place used for camping, overnight stay in an outdoor area. In British English, a ''campsite'' is an area, usually divided into a number of pitches, where people can camp overnight u ...

located in the Mogollon Rim Region of

Coconino County Coconino County is a county in the north-central part of the U.S. state of Arizona. Its population was 145,101 at the 2020 census. The county seat is Flagstaff. The county takes its name from ''Cohonino'', a name applied to the Havasupai p ...

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

, United States. The

Lowell Discovery Telescope The Lowell Discovery Telescope (LDT), formerly the Discovery Channel Telescope (DCT), is a aperture telescope owned and operated by Lowell Observatory. The LDT was built at a dark sky site in the Coconino National Forest near Happy Jack, Arizo ...

is located there. It is located on Lake Mary Road southeast of

Flagstaff, Arizona Flagstaff ( ) is a city in, and the county seat of, Coconino County, Arizona, Coconino County in northern Arizona, in the southwestern United States. In 2019, the city's estimated population was 75,038. Flagstaff's combined metropolitan area has ...

History

Happy Jack was founded in 1947 as a

logging camp A logging camp (or lumber camp) is a transitory work site used in the logging industry. Before the second half of the 20th century, these camps were the primary place where lumberjacks would live and work to fell trees in a particular area. Many ...

. The community also contained a ranger station and post office. By 1948, 300 people lived in the town, and at its peak, housed around 500 people. The town was built by the Saginaw and Manistee Lumber company. The community petitioned for a school in 1970. The first logging camp closed approximately 30 years after it opened. The logging company requested Happy Jack be moved 13 miles, closer to Clints Well, starting around 1974. The Happy Jack post office moved 15 miles down the road to a place known locally as Long Valley in 1983 and is also known as Happy Jack Too. However, Long Valley does not appear on any maps.

Etymology

The town was founded at a place called Onion Flat, and was originally called "Yellowjacket." However, three other Yellowjacket place names already existed, so a new name had to be chosen for the new community. Happy Jack may have been named for a cheerful local lumberman. However, another newspaper report says the Coconino National Forest Supervisor Ronald Rotty named Happy Jack, after an area of

Wyoming Wyoming () is a U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the south ...

where a bandit named Happy Jack committed crimes.

Climate

According to the

Köppen Climate Classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

system, Happy Jack has a

Continental climate Continental climates often have a significant annual variation in temperature (warm summers and cold winters). They tend to occur in the middle latitudes (40 to 55 north), within large landmasses where prevailing winds blow overland bringing som ...

, abbreviated "Dsb" on climate maps.Climate Summary for Happy Jack, Arizona
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References

External links

Map of Happy Jack, Arizona
{{authority control Populated places of the Mogollon Rim Unincorporated communities in Coconino County, Arizona Unincorporated communities in Arizona 1947 establishments in Arizona Populated places established in 1947