Pah-Ute County is a former

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

in the northwest corner of

Arizona Territory The Territory of Arizona, commonly known as the 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 ...

that existed from 1865 until 1871, at which point most of the area was transferred to

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...

. The remainder was merged into Mohave County. The majority of the territory is now in

Clark County, Nevada Clark County is the most populous County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Nevada with 2,265,461 residents as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The county is the location of the state's three largest cities, Las Vegas (t ...

, which includes the city of

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

. Due to the transfer of most of the county's land to Nevada, Pah-Ute is sometimes referred to as Arizona's "Lost County". Pah-Ute is a historic spelling of the tribal name Paiute.

History

Pah-Ute county was created on December 22, 1865, by an act of the 2nd Arizona Territorial Legislature from the northern part of Mohave County following the sponsorship of Representative Octavius Gass. Created to meet the needs of a rapidly growing population of farmers along the

Colorado River The Colorado River () is one of the principal rivers (along with the Rio Grande) in the Southwestern United States and in northern Mexico. The river, the List of longest rivers of the United States (by main stem), 5th longest in the United St ...

, the county seat was initially Callville. The county seat was moved to the Mormon community of St. Thomas on October 1, 1867. (Both communities are now located at the bottom of Lake Mead.) Initial boundaries of the county were those parts of Arizona Territory north of the Roaring Rapids on the Colorado River and west of 113° 20” west longitude. On May 5, 1866, the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature, legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, including a Lower house, lower body, the United States House of Representatives, ...

approved legislation transferring the portions of Pah-Ute and Mohave counties west of the

and west of 114 degrees west longitude to the state of Nevada. The assignment took effect on January 18, 1867. The Arizona Territory lodged multiple protests with Congress and attempted for several years to have the transfer reversed, but was unable to overturn the change of possession. During this time, Pah-Ute county continued to have representation in the Arizona Territorial Legislature through 1868. Official dissolution of Pah-Ute county occurred on February 18, 1871, when the 6th Arizona Territorial Legislature rescinded the act that created the county and restored the remaining portion to Mohave County.

References

External links

Official Map of the Territory Of Arizona, With All the Recent Explorations. Compiled by Richard Gird C.E. Commissioner. Approved By John N. Goodwin, Governor. In Accordance With an Act of the Legislature, Approved Oct. 23d. 1864. We hereby certify that this is the Official Map of the Territory of Arizona, and approve the same. Prescott October 12th 1865. (with signed seal dated 1863). Published By A. Gensoul, Pacific Map Depot. No. 511 Montgomery St. San Francisco. Lith. Britton & Co. San Francisco. Accessed from www.davidrumsey.com, May 24, 2015.
Shows boundaries of Pah-Ute County, location of Callville, the Pah-Ute County seat, and other landings, settlements, mining districts and counties of Arizona Territory in 1865.
Arizona State Facts
{{coord, 36.46, -115.09, display=title,source:MB, region:US-AZ_type:adm2nd Former counties of the United States Arizona Territory History of Arizona by location History of Nevada by location] 1865 establishments in Arizona Territory 1871 disestablishments in Arizona Territory Pre-statehood history of Arizona

History

See also

References

External links