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The Thompsons with William Munds

Neighbors were few and far between in those earliest days of settlement. The Munds homesteaded in Spring Creek and he moved his cattle to the mountain in the summer. This rare chance for these...

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Erwin Schuerman's honey label

Bees to pollinate a fruit orchard are a necessity. As the orchards in the area grew larger, the orchardists began to bring in bee colonies to ensure enough bees to do the job. With the bee hives came...

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The Purtymun family with grandpa Bear Howard

The Purtymuns moved into Oak Creek Canyon (today Junipine) in the early 1880s. Again they cleared the land. They built a large log house and an irrigation ditch and planted a fruit orchard. In the...

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Irrigation ditch work was everyday

The Schuerman and Dumas families were close neighbors and friends. Being next door neighbors, Dumas and the Schuermans worked together to build and maintain an irrigation system. Erwin (left), Henry...

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The Jim Thompson cabin, early 1880s

In 1912, Jim took another homestead of about 56 acres adjoining his original. As his children matured he helped some of them homestead near him. His daughter, Clara, married before she proved up and...

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Edith Smith harnesses a farm goat

Children were involved in the work and responsibilities of area homesteads. The Abraham Lincoln Smith family arrived in Sedona in 1915 to put their children in school. Edith was a Smith granddaughter,...

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Oak Creek first families and friends picnic at Banjo Bill Springs

Picnics on the Fourth of July have long been a tradition for residents of Oak Creek Canyon. Times like these were for the scattered residents to get together and swap stories and socialize. For young...

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The Hart children haul wood

L.E. 'Dad' Hart and family arrived about 1909-10, and bought land and cattle. Although Dad's store would be the first to have electricity in town, that was almost 25 years into the future, so the Hart...

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Heinrich and Dorette Schuerman

The Schuermans came to Oak Creek in 1884 to take possession of a 160 acre farm deeded to them in payment of a $500 debt. These two 'city kids' built an irrigation ditch, planted an orchard and a...

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Jerome miners provided a ready market for Oak Creek fruit and wine

The Schuerman ranch on Oak Creek was at the base of Courthouse Rock (now known as Cathedral Rock). The family grew apples, peaches, apricots, and quince to name a few. They produced Zinfandel wine made...

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Pendley barn

The area's earliest settlers were subsistence farmers, meaning they grew what they needed for their own use. Frank Pendley arrived in 1907. He came to fish in Oak Creek and ended up returning to...

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Pendley fruit crate label

Pendley built over a mile of irrigation ditch that included sections of pipe and flume, some of it piercing rock in which he blasted holes to accommodate the gradual angle needed for gravity flow of...

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Frank Thompson

Jim & Maggie's first child was a boy named John Franklin, born in 1882. Little Frank had the distinction of being the first white child born in Oak Creek Canyon. As an adult, Frank homesteaded on a...

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The Abraham James family

The Abraham James family moved to lower Oak Creek (Page Springs) in 1878 and then to Sedona in 1879. Land was not being surveyed yet, so they could only claim 'squatters rights' on the creekside site...

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Erwin Schuerman takes fruit to market, 1912

Hauling produce and wine to market was an arduous task for Oak Creek farmers and orchardists. There was no railroad and only primitive roads for decades. A wagon and team would make the trip, sometimes...

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Henry Elmer Cook farming

Cook's 1912 homestead extended from the base of Table Mountain and spread across 160 acres of Grasshopper Flat. His son, Jay, homesteaded another 160 acres nearby that later become the Sedona West...

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The James' place along Oak Creek, about 1890

The Jameses built cabins, a corral and a ditch on their land (today's Copper Cliffs). Unfortunately, Abraham did not live to enjoy the property, dying in 1881. His widow, Margaret, and son, Bill, lived...

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Bear Howard's cabin

After breaking out of a California jail for shooting a sheep-herder, Bear Howard came to Arizona territory - Oak Creek Canyon. He lived near his daughter and son-in-law, the Steven Purtymuns, for years...

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Erwin and Fred Schuerman, ca. 1928

Erwin was the Schuerman's eldest child. He homesteaded in 1908 and died in 1929. His widow, Mabel, married Albert Purtymun and they stayed on the place until her son, Fred, reached the age of majority...

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Joseph Farley farming

Farley homesteaded on Oak Creek along Schnebly Hill Road in 1908. A man named Eiberger had camped there and planted a garden but moved on before it matured. Joe and his wife, Sarah Jane, used picks and...

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Bear Howard made a living as a hunter

Howard gained a reputation as an accomplished bear hunter. He sold bear meat to Flagstaff butcher shops. He also was a trapper and raised horses and mules. The widow, Margaret James, married him...

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The Jim and Maggie Thompson family

After settling in the canyon, Jim wrote to the Abraham James family, who he had met at the Colorado River. Knowing they had a 'marriage age' daughter, he invited them to leave Nevada and join him in...

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Manuel Chavez was a scout for the Army

Manuel Chavez was entitled to a pension from the U.S. Government because of his service as a military scout. When the government didn't hold up their end of the arrangement, at age 70, Chavez rode...

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First families' children at school, approximately 1893

The first class of students at the first school in the area was representative of the few families living up and down the creek. It was not unlike a classroom today with its ethnic mix. Back row: Erwin...

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The Jim Thompson cabin

In 1912, Jim took another homestead of about 56 acres adjoining his original. As his children matured, he helped some of them homestead near him. His daughter, Clara, married before she proved up and...

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Apple cider party

Cider presses were common at Oak Creek orchards. Apples were the most popular fruit for juicing, but the Dumas family also pressed blackberries. If the juice was allowed to ferment in a crock or barrel...

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Jess Purtymun in his cave kitchen

Early Oak Creek housing options were limited and primitive at best. A cave in the side of Oak Creek Canyon provided Jess, Steven and Martha's son, a place to live for awhile. Other families lived in...

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Walter Jordan takes his daughters for a ride on a tractor, about 1937

The Jordan brothers were open to a modern approach to farming. They got that from their dad, Will. Will's successful lawsuit against the smelter in Clarkdale for damaging his crops there helped buy the...

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The Schuerman House at Red Rock before it burned

The Schuermans lived in a nice wood home that stood on their new property when they arrived. Unfortunately, it burned down in 1900 with all their possessions except a few pieces of old furniture and a...

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The Jordan waterwheel, early 1930s

The Jordan brothers each built irrigation systems; George's included this large waterwheel. Walter researched the design and George patterned the wheel from a picture in a catalog. The overshot wheel,...

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Frank & Nancy Owenby

The Owenbys arrived from Texas in 1893 to homestead along the west side of Oak Creek, where the bridge crosses today. Their first filing was found to be in error so they had to re-file. They were the...

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Orchards grow to commercial sizes

The Jordan orchards would eventually boast over 1,500 fruit trees. During World War II, Walter had a contract with the government to ship apples to our troops. He made 8 trips to Phoenix to deliver the...

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The Manual Chavez family

When Juan Nuanez's American citizenship was questioned, he sent for his father-in-law, Manual Chavez, to take the place Juan had been homesteading along Oak Creek. Chavez lost his rights to homestead...

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Ira Smith picking fruit from his horse

This was not the common way to harvest fruit. More likely, Ira was in the neighborhood and took advantage of his elevated position from atop his horse. A canvas bag over their shoulders allowed workers...

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The David Dumas farm

The Dumas family moved next door to the Schuermans in 1905. They grew peaches, apples, apricots, plums and blackberries in addition to large gardens. David and Margaret Dumas were known throughout the...

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Red Rock fruit display at the county fair, 1930

Fruit from the Schuerman place, among others, was selected by fair organizers to make up this incredible display at the Yavapai County Fair. Note the photos of Courthouse Rock (now referred to as...

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Ambrosio and Marcellina Armijo

Juan Armijo was a friend of the Chavez family who came to Oak Creek to homestead. He was appointed a Justice of the Peace at the Red Rock precinct and performed marriages, among other tasks. His son,...

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Jordan carrot crop

Before their fruit trees produced, the Jordans grew carrots planted between the rows of immature fruit trees. Carrots were loaded on a Model A and 12 hours later the carrots would be in Phoenix where...

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Walter pruning in the orchard

Orcharding required work in the field year round. Pruning was one of Walter's specialties. When the pruning was done, there was spraying for pests, spreading fertilizer, monitoring the weather for...

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Smudge pots

Oak Creek orchardists used smudge pots to protect fruit from frost. The pots/heaters were brought to the field on a sled. At Walter Jordan's place, the sled was pulled by a caterpillar tractor. Once...

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Mechanized apple sorting machine

The apple sorting machine in Walter's fruit packing shed was state of the art in 1948. It was not uncommon for it to run 8+ hours per day during harvest, stopping only for the packers to catch up when...

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Fruit boxes stacked to the packing shed roof

The smooth concrete floor of Walter's new packing shed was popular with all the kids in town for roller skating. How disappointed they were when harvest time arrived and their skating rink was filled...

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Will Steele and Joe Farley try out a new piece of equipment

In 1924, Joe Farley learned his old homestead was for sale, so he and Sarah moved back with their daughter, Minnie, and her husband, Will C. Steele. They split the purchased property, with the creek as...

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The Walter Jordan place

Many orchards are still visible in photos, especially aerial photos of Sedona, into the 1970s. But the influx of retirees in that decade brought a transition from an agriculture-based economy to one of...

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The Schuerman Red Rock winery

Unfortunately, Heinrich (Henry) Schuerman found out that what the previous owners occupied wasn't exactly what they owned due to a bad survey. Henry ended up buying some land from the railroad to...

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The Thompson family in front of house

The Thompson family consisted of seven sons and two daughters. All nine of the siblings lived to adulthood, which was unusual in those days. The youngest child was 6 years old when Jim died and Maggie...

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