House Rock is a
ghost town
A ghost town, deserted city, extinct town, or abandoned city is an abandoned settlement, usually one that contains substantial visible remaining buildings and infrastructure such as roads. A town often becomes a ghost town because the economi ...
near the northwest end of the
House Rock Valley in northern
Coconino County
Coconino County is a County (United States), county in the North Central Arizona, North-Central part of the U.S. state of Arizona. Its population was 145,101 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The county seat is Flagstaff, Arizon ...
,
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 ...
, United States.
The community was named after the
House Rock Valley, which was named by the
John Wesley Powell
John Wesley Powell (March 24, 1834 – September 23, 1902) was an American geologist, U.S. Army soldier, explorer of the American West, professor at Illinois Wesleyan University, and director of major scientific and cultural institutions. He ...
Expedition in 1871. (However, the site where the expedition spent the night and the community are on the opposite ends of the valley.)
Description
The mostly abandoned locale is just east of the
Kaibab National Forest
Kaibab National Forest (, ) borders both the north and south rims of the Grand Canyon, in north-central Arizona. Its 1.6 million acres (650,000 ha) is divided into three sections: the ''North Kaibab Ranger District'' (offices in Fredonia), the ...
and the mouth of
House Rock Canyon at the southwest corner of, but just outside of, the
Vermilion Cliffs National Monument
Vermilion Cliffs National Monument is located in northern Coconino County, Arizona, United States, immediately south of the Utah state line. This national monument, in area, protects the Paria Plateau, Vermilion Cliffs, Coyote Buttes, and P ...
(which was established in 2000). House Rock is located along what was, prior to 1960,
U.S. Route 89
U.S. Route 89 (US 89) is a north–south United States Numbered Highway with two sections, and one former section. The southern section runs for from Flagstaff, Arizona, to the southern entrance of Yellowstone National Park. The northern sectio ...
(US 89), but is now
U.S. Route 89A (US 89A). Little remains of the community, other than a few houses and a small cemetery, but the site is an important
road junction
A junction is where two or more roads meet.
History
Roads are a means of transport, historically linking locations such as towns, forts and geographic features such as river fords. Where roads met outside of an existing settlement, these junct ...
for access to the nearby national monument, being the southern terminus of House Rock Road (BLM Road 1065). Since the monument is surrounded on the north, east, and south sides by the
Paria Canyon-Vermilion Cliffs Wilderness Area, the only possible road access is from the west. House Rock Road runs (for about ) along the western edge of the monument, north from House Rock, through the length of the
Coyote Valley, to end at
US‑89 at the southern end of
Five Mile Valley in
Kane County,
Utah
Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...
. (The northernmost of the road, north of the Utah State line, the road is also known as House Rock Valley Road.)
History
Not much information is available regarding specific history of House Rock, but it did begin appear on maps produced by the
United States Geological Survey
The United States Geological Survey (USGS), founded as the Geological Survey, is an agency of the U.S. Department of the Interior whose work spans the disciplines of biology, geography, geology, and hydrology. The agency was founded on Mar ...
as early as 1936. With the construction of US 89 in the early 20th century, it would likely have been a somewhat significant location, since the nearest communities along US 89 were
Jacob Lake (about to the west) and
Cliff Dwellers Lodge (about to the east) – that later community of which is sometimes confused with House Rock.
In popular culture
One of the houses in House Rock was featured in the February 2014 edition of ''
Arizona Highways
''Arizona Highways'' is a magazine that contains travelogues and artistic photographs related to the U.S. state of Arizona. It is published monthly in Phoenix by a unit of the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT).
Background
The ...
''.
See also
*
List of ghost towns in Arizona
This is a partial list of ghost towns in Arizona in the United States. Most ghost towns in Arizona are former mining boomtowns that were abandoned when the mines closed. Those not set up as mining camps often became mills or supply points suppor ...
References
External links
{{authority control
Ghost towns in Arizona
Populated places in Coconino County, Arizona