Springerville is a town in

Apache County Apache County is in the northeast corner of the U.S. state of Arizona. Shaped in a long rectangle running north to south, as of the 2020 census, its population was 66,021. The county seat is St. Johns. Most of the county is occupied by part ...

, Arizona, United States, within the White Mountains. Its postal ZIP Code is 85938. As of the 2010 census, the population of the town was 1,961. Springerville sits at an elevation of above sea level. Along with its neighbor

Eagar Eagar is a town in Apache County, Arizona, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population of the town was 4,885. Eagar was first settled in 1871. History Brothers William Walter John Thomas and Joel Sixtus settled the area under the dir ...

, the communities make up the place known as Round Valley, which is in the central-eastern part of Arizona close to the New Mexico border.

History

The town that grew around Henry Springer's trading post was officially given its name on May 10, 1876. Before that time it had gone by names such as Colorado Chiquito, Milligan Settlement, and Valle Redondo (Round Valley). Outlaw Cowboy

Ike Clanton Joseph Isaac Clanton (1847 – June 1, 1887) was a member of a loose association of outlaws known as The Cowboys who clashed with lawmen Wyatt, Virgil and Morgan Earp as well as Doc Holliday. On October 26, 1881, Clanton was present at the Gunf ...

, who was present at the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, was shot dead in Springerville on June 1, 1887, by detective Jonas V. Brighton when he resisted arrest on charges of

cattle rustling Cattle raiding is the act of stealing cattle. In Australia, such stealing is often referred to as duffing, and the perpetrator as a duffer.Baker, Sidney John (1945) ''The Australian language : an examination of the English language and English ...

. Springerville is the home of Arizona's ''

Madonna of the Trail ''Madonna of the Trail'' is a series of 12 identical monuments dedicated to the spirit of pioneer women in the United States. The monuments were commissioned by the National Society of Daughters of the American Revolution (NSDAR). They ...

'' statue, unveiled on September 29, 1928. The town was incorporated in 1948. In 1951, Twentieth Century Fox filmed an adaptation of Fred Gipson's novel ''The Home Place'' titled ''

Return of the Texan ''Return of the Texan'' is a 1952 American Western film directed by Delmer Daves and starring Dale Robertson and Joanne Dru.a nearby wildfire.

Geography

Springerville is located at (34.136342, -109.279227). According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , of which is land and , or 1.4%, is water. Springerville has a Mediterranean climate (Köppen ''Csb'').

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 1,972 people, 753 households, and 499 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 896 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 79.5% White, 0.2% Black or African American, 6.5% Native American, 0.4%

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 10.2% from other races, and 3.0% from two or more races. 25.2% of the population were Hispanic or

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

of any race. There were 753 households, out of which 34.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.6% were married couples living together, 11.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.7% were non-families. 30.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.55 and the average family size was 3.18. In the town, the age distribution of the population shows 29.2% under the age of 18, 7.6% from 18 to 24, 25.2% from 25 to 44, 23.4% from 45 to 64, and 14.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.4 males. The median income for a household in the town was $30,769, and the median income for a family was $36,331. Males had a median income of $32,313 versus $19,519 for females. The per capita income for the town was $13,830. About 14.7% of families and 21.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 25.4% of those under age 18 and 26.1% of those age 65 or over.

Education

The town is served by the Round Valley Unified School District. The school's mascot is the

elk The elk (''Cervus canadensis''), also known as the wapiti, is one of the largest species within the deer family, Cervidae, and one of the largest terrestrial mammals in its native range of North America and Central and East Asia. The common ...

and its school colors are black and gold. The St. Johns Redskins are the school's biggest rival. Round Valley Primary School is located in the town and serves the town. Round Valley Intermediate School, Round Valley Middle School, and Round Valley High School serve the town, but are in nearby

. In addition, White Mountain Academy, a K–12 charter school, is located in Eagar. The high school's football stadium, The Round Valley Ensphere located in Eagar, is the eighth biggest geodesic dome in the world with a diameter of 440 feet / 134 m. The school board voted to give the Dome a pinkish looking color, and it was completed in 1992. It was used as a shelter for evacuees from the Rodeo–Chediski Fire in 2002. Round Valley is the only high school in the world to have a domed stadium. The first Springerville School House was dedicated September 3, 1884. In 1969—the Springerville, Eagar, Vernon, Nutrioso, Greer, and Colter Schools consolidated with each other to form the Round Valley Unified School District.

Transportation

The

Springerville Municipal Airport Springerville Municipal Airport is a town-owned public-use airport located west of the central business district of Springerville, a town in Apache County, Arizona, United States. The airport is included in the FAA's National Plan of Integrate ...

is a town-owned public-use airport located one

nautical mile A nautical mile is a unit of length used in air, marine, and space navigation, and for the definition of territorial waters. Historically, it was defined as the meridian arc length corresponding to one minute ( of a degree) of latitude. Today ...

(1.85 km) west of the

central business district A central business district (CBD) is the commercial and business centre of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides with the "city ...

of Springerville.

BNSF Railway BNSF Railway is one of the largest freight railroads in North America. One of seven North American Class I railroads, BNSF has 35,000 employees, of track in 28 states, and nearly 8,000 locomotives. It has three transcontinental routes that ...

provides freight service to the Springerville generating station on its Springerville subdivision.

Economy

Tucson Electric Power Tucson Electric Power (TEP) is an electric utility company serving southern Arizona in the United States. It is a subsidiary of Fortis, which announced its acquisition of parent company UNS Energy in 2013. Kino Veterans Memorial Stadium, a base ...

operates the Springerville Generating Station in Springerville.

Attractions

Casa Malpaís Casa Malpaís is an archaeological site of the Ancestral Puebloans located near the town of Springerville, Arizona. The site is a nationally recognized archaeological site and was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1964. Description Casa ...

is located near Springerville. It is a nationally recognized archeological site. The name ''Casa Malpais'' means "House built from Malapai", which describes the type volcanic vesicular basalt from which the ancient village was constructed. It is thought that the name was given to the village by early Basque sheepherders. The

Springerville volcanic field Springerville volcanic field is a monogenetic volcanic field located in east-central Arizona between Springerville and Show Low. The field consists of 405 discrete vents covering approximately and is the third-largest such field in the contin ...

contains over 400 volcanoes within a radius of Springerville, making it the third largest volcanic field in the continental United States. The first visit to Casa Malpais by a professional

anthropologist An anthropologist is a person engaged in the practice of anthropology. Anthropology is the study of aspects of humans within past and present societies. Social anthropology, cultural anthropology and philosophical anthropology study the norms and ...

was in 1883, when

Frank Cushing Frank Hamilton Cushing (July 22, 1857 in North East Township, Erie County, Pennsylvania – April 10, 1900 in Washington, D.C.) was an American anthropologist and ethnologist. He made pioneering studies of the Zuni Indians of New Mexico by enterin ...

, living at Zuni, visited a site at "El Valle Redondo on the Colorado Chiquito", and was impressed by what he termed "the fissure type pueblo" he found there. In his journal he sketched dry masonry, bridging fissures, upon which the pueblo is constructed. Unique and unusual features characterize the site. The Great Kiva, painstakingly constructed of volcanic rock, is the centerpiece. A steep basalt staircase set into a crevice of the high red cliff wall leads to the top of the mesa. Both 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 ...

and Zuni people still consider Casa Malpais a sacred ancestral place. The town contains one of the twelve ''

'' monuments created by sculptor

August Leimbach August Leimbach (February 12, 1882 – December 18, 1965) was a German-American sculptor. A native of Elberfeld, he studied art and sculpture, and after immigrating to the United States in 1910, he quickly settled in the St.Louis area and work ...

. The town is close to the

Apache–Sitgreaves National Forests The Apache–Sitgreaves National Forest is a United States National Forest which runs along the Mogollon Rim and the White Mountains in east-central Arizona and into the U.S. state of New Mexico. Formerly two forest, it is currently managed as ...

, which run along the Mogollon Rim. It is also close to the Sunrise Ski Resort. The El Rio opened in 1915, making it the oldest movie theater in Arizona. It was originally called the Apache Theater, until it was changed in 1937 to the El Rio.

Notable people

* Mark Gastineau, former

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

player for the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The J ...

Alex Madrid Alexander Madrid (born April 18, 1963) is a former right-handed Major League Baseball pitcher who played from 1987 to 1989 for the Milwaukee Brewers and Philadelphia Phillies. He was and he weighed 200 pounds. Before professional baseball Prio ...

, baseball player for the

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. The Brewers are named for t ...

and

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

* Billie Maxwell, credited with being the first female singer to record country music *

Jerry D. Thompson Jerry Don Thompson (born November 21, 1942) is Regents Professor of History at Texas A&M International University in Laredo, Texas. He is a prolific author of books on a variety of related topics, specializing in the American Civil War, the his ...

, historian of the American Southwest, was born in Springerville but reared in western New Mexico. *

Daniel I. J. Thornton Daniel Isaac J. Thornton (January 31, 1911 – January 18, 1976) was an American Republican politician who served as the 33rd governor of the state of Colorado from 1951 to 1955. Biography Daniel Isaac J. Thornton was born in Hall County, Texa ...

, the governor of Colorado from 1951 to 1955, operated a ranch near Springerville in the late 1930s.

Quotes

:"I was the one who had Apache county separated from Yavapai. Everything was very high at that time, and I used to haul my goods from Albuquerque to live on. I was hauling goods one time from Henry Springer's store in Albuquerque, and I told Henry Springer he had better come into Round Valley, as it was called then, and put in a store; that the people were coming in and we would name the postoffice and little village after him, Springerville, and that was old Henry Springer." :——James G. H. Colter fro
History of Arizona, Volume VI

References

External links

Town of Springerville official website

Round Valley History

Springerville News

at City-Data.com

Madonna of the Trail , August Leimbach website

{{Authority control White Mountains (Arizona) Towns in Apache County, Arizona Populated places established in 1876 1876 establishments in Arizona Territory