Sunset, Arizona is a
populated place
Population typically refers to the number of people in a single area, whether it be a city or town, region, country, continent, or the world. Governments typically quantify the size of the resident population within their jurisdiction using a ...
and former town in
Navajo County,
Arizona
Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States. It is the list of U.S. states and territories by area, 6th largest and the list of U.S. states and territories by population, 14 ...
, United States, located approximately four miles north-west of
Winslow. It was settled in 1876 by a group of members of
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 nontrinitarian Christian church that considers itself to be the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus Christ. The ...
under the direction of
Lot Smith
Lot Smith (May 15, 1830 – June 20, 1892) was a Mormon pioneer, soldier, lawman and American frontiersman. He became known as "The Horseman" for his exceptional skills on horseback as well as for his help in rounding up wild mustangs on U ...
. Drought and flash flooding that washed away the dams and irrigation systems led to crop failures. It ceased being a town by 1884 and the last settlers moved out in 1888. The channel of the
Little Colorado River
The Little Colorado River () is a tributary of the Colorado River in the U.S. state of Arizona, providing the principal drainage from the Painted Desert region. Together with its major tributary, the Puerco River, it drains an area of about i ...
now runs where the town site used to be. Only the small hilltop Sunset Cemetery remains and is part of the
Homolovi State Park
Homolovi State Park is a state park of Arizona, United States, preserving over 300 Ancestral Puebloan archaeological sites. Homolovi or Homol'ovi (the Hopi spelling of the word) is a Hopi word meaning "place of the little hills". The park is ...
.
Sunset was one of four Little Colorado River colonies. The other colonies were
Joseph City
Joseph City (elevation 5,000 ft) is a Census Designated Place located in Navajo County, Arizona, United States. It is located on Interstate 40, approximately eighty miles east of Flagstaff and about thirty-five miles west of Petrified ...
,
Brigham City
Brigham City is a city in Box Elder County, Utah, United States. The population was 17,899 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Box Elder County. It lies on the western slope of the Wellsville Mountains, a branch of the Wasatch Range at ...
, and
Obed. Joseph City is the only remaining colony.
[Tanner, George S and J Morris Richards, ''Colonization on the Little Colorado: The Joseph City Region'' (Flagstaff, Arizona: 1977) 21, 32, 34.]
See also
*
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
Ghosttown.com entry for SunsetHomolovi Ruins State Park information on Sunset cemetery
{{Navajo County, Arizona
Populated places in Navajo County, Arizona
Ghost towns in Arizona
1876 establishments in Arizona Territory