“In 1902 an Act of Congress officially opened for land claims what had previously been the San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation. One fellow, upon hearing the news, immediately rushed there to stake his claims on December 25, Christmas Day. He then rapidly rode on horseback to file them the next day at the government office.”
This eager beaver land claim is what gave Christmas, Arizona its name.
~The Naming of America by Allan Wolk
One thought on “Christmas in Arizona, 1902”
Nice post, I love anything about Arizona. It was actually two men who rushed to the area and named the claim; Crittenden and Mellor. In addition, two other claims had been made in the area prior to the Christmas, one in 1878 and the other in 1882. Both claims being on the Reservation, they were not successful.
Nice post, I love anything about Arizona. It was actually two men who rushed to the area and named the claim; Crittenden and Mellor. In addition, two other claims had been made in the area prior to the Christmas, one in 1878 and the other in 1882. Both claims being on the Reservation, they were not successful.