Pipe Spring National Monument is a
United States National Monument
In the United States, a national monument is a protected area that can be created from any land owned or controlled by the federal government by proclamation of the President of the United States or an act of Congress. National monuments prot ...
located 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 sover ...
of
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 ...
, rich with
American Indian, early explorer, and
Mormon pioneer
The Mormon pioneers were members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), also known as Latter Day Saints, who migrated beginning in the mid-1840s until the late-1860s across the United States from the Midwest to the S ...
history. Administered by the
National Park Service
The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propertie ...
, Pipe Spring was listed 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 v ...
on October 15, 1966, and the boundaries of the Pipe Spring National Monument Historic District (a portion of the monument) were expanded in October 2000.
History
The water of Pipe Spring has made it possible for plants, animals, and people to live in this dry
desert
A desert is a barren area of landscape where little precipitation occurs and, consequently, living conditions are hostile for plant and animal life. The lack of vegetation exposes the unprotected surface of the ground to denudation. About on ...
region.
Ancestral Puebloans
The Ancestral Puebloans, also known as the Anasazi, were an ancient Native American culture that spanned the present-day Four Corners region of the United States, comprising southeastern Utah, northeastern Arizona, northwestern New Mexico, a ...
and Kaibab
Paiute
Paiute (; also Piute) refers to three non-contiguous groups of indigenous peoples of the Great Basin. Although their languages are related within the Numic group of Uto-Aztecan languages, these three groups do not form a single set. The term "Pai ...
Indians gathered grass seeds, hunted animals, and raised crops near the springs for at least 1,000 years.
Antonio Armijo
Antonio Mariano Armijo (1804–1850) was a Spanish explorer
Exploration refers to the historical practice of discovering remote lands. It is studied by geographers and historians.
Two major eras of exploration occurred in human history: one of ...
discovered the springs when he passed through the area in 1829, when he established by the
Armijo Route of the
Old Spanish Trail.
Pipe Spring was named by the 1858
Latter-day Saint
Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's death in 1844, the movement split into several ...
missionary expedition to the
Hopi
The Hopi are a Native American ethnic group who primarily live on the Hopi Reservation in northeastern Arizona, United States. As of the 2010 census, there are 19,338 Hopi in the country. The Hopi Tribe is a sovereign nation within the Unite ...
mesas led by
Jacob Hamblin
Jacob Hamblin (April 2, 1819 – August 31, 1886) was a Western pioneer, a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), and a diplomat to various Native American tribes of the Southwest and Great Basin. He a ...
. In the 1860s
Mormon pioneer
The Mormon pioneers were members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), also known as Latter Day Saints, who migrated beginning in the mid-1840s until the late-1860s across the United States from the Midwest to the S ...
s from
St. George, Utah
St. George is a city in and the county seat of Washington County, Utah, United States. Located in southwestern Utah on the Arizona border, it is the principal city of the St. George Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). The city lies in the northe ...
, led by James M. Whitmore brought
cattle
Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus ''Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult mal ...
to the area, and a large cattle ranching operation was established. In 1866 the
Apache
The Apache () are a group of culturally related Native American tribes in the Southwestern United States, which include the Chiricahua, Jicarilla, Lipan, Mescalero, Mimbreño, Ndendahe (Bedonkohe or Mogollon and Nednhi or Carrizaleño an ...
,
Navajo
The Navajo (; British English: Navaho; nv, Diné or ') are a Native American people of the Southwestern United States.
With more than 399,494 enrolled tribal members , the Navajo Nation is the largest federally recognized tribe in the United ...
and
Paiute
Paiute (; also Piute) refers to three non-contiguous groups of indigenous peoples of the Great Basin. Although their languages are related within the Numic group of Uto-Aztecan languages, these three groups do not form a single set. The term "Pai ...
tribes of the region joined the
Utes for the
Black Hawk War
The Black Hawk War was a conflict between the United States and Native Americans led by Black Hawk, a Sauk leader. The war erupted after Black Hawk and a group of Sauks, Meskwakis (Fox), and Kickapoos, known as the "British Band", crosse ...
, and, after they raided Pipe Spring, a protective
fort
A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...
was constructed by 1872 over the main spring. The following year the fort and ranch was purchased by
Brigham Young
Brigham Young (; June 1, 1801August 29, 1877) was an American religious leader and politician. He was the second President of the Church (LDS Church), president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), from 1847 until his ...
for
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian church that considers itself to be the Restorationism, restoration of the ...
(LDS Church). The LDS
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution.
In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...
of nearby
Grafton, Utah
Grafton is a ghost town, just south of Zion National Park in Washington County, Utah, United States. Said to be the most photographed ghost town in the West, it has been featured as a location in several films, including 1929's ''In Old Arizona'' ...
, Anson Perry Winsor, was hired to operate the ranch and maintain the fort, soon called ''Winsor Castle''. This isolated outpost served as a way station for people traveling across the
Arizona Strip
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 n ...
, that part of Arizona separated from the rest of the state by the
Grand Canyon
The Grand Canyon (, yuf-x-yav, Wi:kaʼi:la, , Southern Paiute language: Paxa’uipi, ) is a steep-sided canyon carved by the Colorado River in Arizona, United States. The Grand Canyon is long, up to wide and attains a depth of over a m ...
. It also served as a refuge for
polygamist
Crimes
Polygamy (from Late Greek (') "state of marriage to many spouses") is the practice of marrying multiple spouses. When a man is married to more than one wife at the same time, sociologists call this polygyny. When a woman is married ...
wives during the 1880s and 1890s. The LDS Church lost ownership of the property through penalties involved in the federal
Edmunds-Tucker Act of 1887.
Although their way of life was greatly impacted by Mormon settlement, the Paiute Indians continued to live in the area and by 1907 the
Kaibab Paiute Indian Reservation was established, surrounding the privately owned Pipe Spring ranch. In 1923, the Pipe Spring ranch was purchased and set aside as a national monument to be a memorial to western pioneer life.
The site today
Today the Pipe Spring National Monument, Kaibab Band of Paiute Indians Visitor Center, and Museum explain the human history of the area over time. Daily tours of Winsor Castle, summer "living history" demonstrations, an orchard and garden, and a half-mile trail offer a glimpse of American Indian and
pioneer
Pioneer commonly refers to a settler who migrates to previously uninhabited or sparsely inhabited land.
In the United States pioneer commonly refers to an American pioneer, a person in American history who migrated west to join in settling and de ...
life in the
Old West
The American frontier, also known as the Old West or the Wild West, encompasses the geography, history, folklore, and culture associated with the forward wave of American expansion in mainland North America that began with European colonial ...
. The Paiute tribe runs a small adjoining campground.
Climate
Pipe Spring National Monument has a
semi-arid climate
A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of semi-ar ...
(
Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Bernd Köppen (born 1951), German pianist and composer
* Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan
* Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author and ...
: ''BSk'') with cold winters and hot summers.
In popular culture
In 1969, the actress Lane Bradbury played a young
Eliza Stewart Udall
Eliza Luella "Ella" Stewart Udall (May 21, 1855 – May 28, 1937), was an American telegraphist and entrepreneur. Recruited by Brigham Young in 1870 and stationed at the Deseret Telegraph Company office in Pipe Spring in 1871, Udall was the fi ...
at Pipe Spring in the
syndicated television series
A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite television, satellite, or cable television, cable, excluding breaking news, television adverti ...
, ''
Death Valley Days
''Death Valley Days'' is an American old-time radio and television anthology series featuring true accounts of the American Old West, particularly the Death Valley country of southeastern California. Created in 1930 by Ruth Woodman, the program ...
'', hosted by
Robert Taylor not long before Taylor's own death. In the episode "A Key for the Fort", Miss Stewart, an ancestor of the
Udall family
The Udall family is a U.S. political family rooted in the American West. Its role in politics spans over 100 years and four generations. Udall politicians have been elected from four different states: Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Oregon ...
, sends the first
telegraph
Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas p ...
message from
Arizona Territory
The Territory of Arizona (also known as Arizona Territory) was a territory of the United States that existed from February 24, 1863, until February 14, 1912, when the remaining extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the state of ...
and works with her Aunt Cora (Ivalou Redd) to nurse an ill
Ute
Ute or UTE may refer to:
* Ute (band), an Australian jazz group
* Ute (given name)
* ''Ute'' (sponge), a sponge genus
* Ute (vehicle), an Australian and New Zealand term for certain utility vehicles
* Ute, Iowa, a city in Monona County along ...
chief, Black Wing (
George Keymas
George Keymas (November 18, 1925 – January 17, 2008) was an American film actor, film and television actor.Martin p.68
Keymas graduated from Springfield (Ohio) High School.
Keymas began his Hollywood career in 1950, mainly in Westerns. His f ...
), back to health. The episode also stars
Gregg Palmer
Palmer Edwin Lee (January 25, 1927 – October 31, 2015), known by his stage name Gregg Palmer, was an American film and television actor.
Born in San Francisco, California, Palmer served in the United States Army Air Corps as a cryptographer i ...
as Jacob. It was filmed at Pipe Spring.
See also
*
Ella Stewart Udall
Eliza Luella "Ella" Stewart Udall (May 21, 1855 – May 28, 1937), was an American telegraphist and entrepreneur. Recruited by Brigham Young in 1870 and stationed at the Deseret Telegraph Company office in Pipe Spring National Monument, Pipe Spr ...
*
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Arizona
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the second-largest religious denomination in Arizona, behind the Roman Catholic Church. In 2019, the church reported 436,521 members in Arizona, about 6% of the state's population. According to th ...
References
External links
*
Pipe Spring National Monument– official site
*
''Pipe Spring National Monument: An Administrative History''''Encounter on the High Desert''Documentary produced by
KUED
KUED (channel 7), branded on-air as PBS Utah, is a PBS member television station in Salt Lake City, Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. The station is owned by the University of Utah, and has studios at the Eccles Broadcast Center on Wasatch Dr ...
{{authority control
1923 establishments in Arizona
Apache Wars
Old Spanish Trail (trade route)
Archaeological sites in Arizona
Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Arizona
Fortified houses
Forts in Arizona
Historic house museums in Arizona
History museums in Arizona
History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Arizona
Military and war museums in Arizona
Museums in Mohave County, Arizona
National Park Service National Monuments in Arizona
Native American museums in Arizona
Protected areas established in 1923
Protected areas of Mohave County, Arizona
Historic American Buildings Survey in Arizona
National Register of Historic Places in Mohave County, Arizona
Springs of Arizona