Sedona - 2008 Official Guide - (Page 8) SEDONA HISTORY Long before Sedona Schnebly settled near Oak Creek, the Sinagua Indians and other Native American peoples farmed and fished nearby and harvested wild desert plants, like the yucca, for medicinal and practical uses. Yucca, abundant in what is now Sedona, provided fiber, food and soap to the Verde Valley’s original craftspeople. Their homes, occupied between 550 and 1400 A.D. and now in ruins, dot the area today. Honanki and Palatki Archaeological Site, Montezuma Castle and 1879, named Bell Rock and Steamboat Rock, among others. In 1876, the same year that Thompson settled in Oak Creek Canyon, Beaver Head Stage Station was built near Dry Beaver Creek, 12 miles south of what now is Sedona. The station was located on the road from Winslow to Yuma, which branched off the route of what would be the Santa Fe Railroad and Route 66. Later, a rough road extended from the stage station to Big Park (which was named Village of Oakcreek in 1968). The road continued northward to the area that was to be Sedona, and also branched west to Red Rock, a settlement on Oak Creek between what we now call Red Rock Crossing and today’s Red Rock State Park. Other notable settlers would soon make their claims along lower Oak Creek, including John Lee, Henry Schuerman and Margaret Ann Jackson, the first white woman to inhabit the area. T.C. and Sedona Schnebly were attracted to Upper Oak Creek or Camp Garden — both names were being used — after being told about the area’s beauty. In 1902, with their children, Ellsworth and Pearl, the couple joined T.C.’s brother, Dorsey Ellsworth Schnebly, who’d been captivated by the area while traveling the West in search of a healthful climate. The couple purchased an 80-acre site from Frank Owenby on which T.C. constructed a handsome house with two stone fireplaces. On the site, near present-day Los Abrigados Resort and Tlaquepaque Arts and Crafts Village, the Schneblys grew fruit and produce, operated a general store and ran a hotel in their home. T.C. carted his fruit to sell in Flagstaff, and often returned with visitors who stayed at the Schnebly house. While in Flagstaff, he also picked up the mail for locals. When the small settlement’s residents — members of the Owenby, Dumas, Schuerman, Armijo and Chavez families — complained to T.C. about slow and infrequent mail service, he filed an application for the establishment of a post office. T.C. suggested several post office names — but the Postmaster General in Washington rejected the names because they were too long to Sedona and fit on a cancellation stamp. Dorsey Schnebly then T.C. Schnebly suggested the name of his sister-in-law, Sedona, telling T.C. that “in the person there was a character that would stand well as a symbol for the community.” Postal officials approved the name, and on June 26, 1902, the Sedona Post Office was in business — in the back of the Schnebly home.centers around the home and work buildings Schnebly Home Well national monuments, Tuzigoot National Monument and V-Bar-V Heritage Site offer the public a glimpse into pre-Sedona life. Centuries later, homesteaders like J.J. Thompson claimed property under the Homestead Act. In 1876, Thompson, one of the earliest white settlers in the Upper Oak Creek area, had taken squatter’s rights to a parcel of land across from today’s Indian Gardens Trading Post, where a year earlier, scouts from Fort Verde — now, Camp Verde — had captured a small band of Tonto Apache Indians. Thompson found the Indians’ deserted gardens and a healthy spring, where he built a log cabin. He called his home Indian Gardens Ranch, but later shortened it to Indian Gardens. More settlers followed, coming to raise horses and cattle. They dug irrigation ditches for orchards. During the ensuing decades, the trails and cowpaths in the canyon became dirt roads. This attracted more people, including Frank Pendley, the most notable farmer in the history of Oak Creek Canyon. His engineering skills enabled him to construct an innovative irrigation system that brought him unparalleled success. His apples and pears were sold at markets in Jerome, Cottonwood, Phoenix and Los Angeles. Today, Pendley’s irrigation system still is used at Slide Rock State Park, site of his early homestead. South of J.J. Thompson’s Indian Gardens, the Abraham James family earned the distinction of being the first residents of Camp Garden, which would later be called Sedona. The community can thank James for making it a popular tourist attraction more than 100 years later. James, who moved here in HISTORY SedonaChamber.com AN OLD-FASHIONED EXPERIENCE The Sedona Heritage Museum is located in uptown’s Jordan The Sedona Heritage Museum is located in uptown’s Jordan Historical Park and features the home of pioneer farmer Walter Historical Park and features the home of pioneer farmer Walter Jordan as it was in 1931. Visitors can enjoy a glimpse of early Sedona Jordan as it was in 1931. Visitors can enjoy a glimpse of early Sedona through a variety of Old West and pioneer exhibits, a Sedona movie through a variety of Old exhibits, Sedona movie room, a red-rock barn that houses an antique fruit-sorting machine, room, a red-rock barn that houses an antique fruit sorting machine, and Oak Creek Canyon’s first fire engine. The museum and local and Oak Creek Canyon’s first fire engine. The museum and local artisan gift shop are open 11 a.m.-3 p.m. daily. Call (928) 282-7038. artisan gift shop are open 11 a.m.-3 p.m. daily. Call (928) 282-7038. 8 Experience Sedona 2008 VisitSedona.com SedonaFilmOffice.com Photos courtesy of Sedona Historical Society / Heritage Museum http://VisitSedona.com http://SedonaChamber.com http://SedonaFilmOffice.com
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