Pah-Ute County is a former

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

in the northwest corner of

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 ...

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

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

. The remainder was merged into

Mohave County Mohave County is in the northwestern corner of the U.S. state of Arizona. As of the 2020 census, its population was 213,267. The county seat is Kingman, and the largest city is Lake Havasu City. It is the fifth largest county in the United St ...

. The majority of the territory is now in

Clark County, Nevada Clark County is located in the U.S. state of Nevada. As of the 2020 census, the population was 2,265,461. Most of the county population resides in the Las Vegas Census County Divisions, which hold 1,771,945 people as of the 2010 Census, across ...

, which includes the city of

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

. 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 an historic spelling of the

tribal name A tribal name is a name of an ethnic tribe —usually of ancient origin, which represented its self-identity. Studies of Native American tribal names show that most had an original meaning comparable to "human," "people" "us"—the "triba ...

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 ...

History

Pah-Ute county was created on December 22, 1865 by an act of the

2nd Arizona Territorial Legislature The 2nd Arizona Territorial Legislative Assembly was a session of the Arizona Territorial Legislature which began on December 6, 1865, in Prescott, Arizona, and ran for 24 days. The sessions chief accomplishments were creation of Pah-Ute County ...

from the northern part of

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 ( es, Río Colorado) is one of the principal rivers (along with the Rio Grande) in the Southwestern United States and northern Mexico. The river drains an expansive, arid drainage basin, watershed that encompasses parts of ...

, the county seat was initially Callville. The county seat was moved to the

Mormon 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 ...

community of St. Thomas on October 1, 1867. (Both communities are now located at the bottom of

Lake Mead Lake Mead is a reservoir formed by the Hoover Dam on the Colorado River in the Southwestern United States. It is located in the states of Nevada and Arizona, east of Las Vegas. It is the largest reservoir in the US in terms of water capacity. ...

.) 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 of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...

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 The Arizona Territorial Legislature was the legislative body of Arizona Territory. It was a bicameral legislature consisting of a lower house, the House of Representatives, and an upper house, the Council. Created by the Arizona Organic Act, the le ...

through 1868. Official dissolution of Pah-Ute county occurred on February 18, 1871 when the

6th Arizona Territorial Legislature The 6th Arizona Territorial Legislative Assembly was a session of the Arizona Territorial Legislature which met in Tucson beginning on January 11, 1871, and ran until February 14, 1871. Background Arizona Territory's sixth legislative session wa ...

rescinded the act that created the county and restored the remaining portion to

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 History of Nevada 1865 establishments in Arizona Territory 1871 disestablishments in Arizona Territory Pre-statehood history of Arizona

History

See also

References

External links