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Apache County
Apache County was carved from Yavapai County one of Arizona’s original
four counties on Feb. 24,1879, by the 10th Territorial Legislative
Assembly. Leaders of St. Johns and Globe had petitioned for their towns
to be the county seat, but the honor went temporarily to Snowflake,
with the provision that an election would determine the permanent
county seat. In November 1879, on the strength of votes from the mining
town of Clifton (now in Greenlee County), St. Johns was designated the
county seat.
Originally, Apache County encompassed all of present day Navajo County,
part of Gila County and part of Graham County, but by 1895 its size had
been reduced to the 11,218 square miles it occupies today. The Apache
and Navajo Indian reservations cover 66 percent of the county, and 25
percent of the state’s Native Americans live here. Approximately 21
percent is public land, and 14 percent is privately owned. All of
Apache County is an Enterprise Zone.
The forested
White
Mountains and green pastures in the south of the county contrast
sharply with the high, dry, colorful plateau region of the north.
Excellent fishing, hunting and skiing make the White Mountains a
year-round recreation area. Numerous archaeological sites are open to
the public.
Fort Defiance,
Arizona’s
first military post, the Town of Ganado, and Hubbell’s famous trading
post (now a National Historic Site) are located in northern Apache
County on the Navajo Reservation. Chinle, another Indian trade center,
is the gateway to the spectacular Canyon de Chelly National Monument.
Also in Apache County are the spectacular Petrified Forest National
Park and the Painted Desert, Window Rock, the Navajo tribal capital,
and Casa Malpais Archaeological site. The Apache Indian Reservation,
located in the White Mountains around the settlement of Fort Apache,
includes 25 excellent fishing lakes and the Sunrise Park Ski Resort for
outdoor recreation, as well as a highly successful lumber mill and a
casino.
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