Walnut Grove, Arizona

Walnut Grove, Arizona
Populated place
Walnut Grove in Arizona Territory circa 1877
Walnut Grove in Arizona Territory circa 1877
Walnut Grove is located in Arizona
Walnut Grove
Walnut Grove
Location within the state of Arizona
Walnut Grove is located in the United States
Walnut Grove
Walnut Grove
Walnut Grove (the United States)
Coordinates: 34°16′59″N 112°32′55″W / 34.28306°N 112.54861°W / 34.28306; -112.54861
CountryUnited States
StateArizona
CountyYavapai
Elevation
[1]
3,668 ft (1,118 m)
Time zoneUTC-7 (Mountain (MST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC-7 (MST)
Area code928
FIPS code04-80850
GNIS feature ID35860

Walnut Grove is an archaic placename in Yavapai County, Arizona, United States.[2] It has an estimated elevation of 3,668 feet (1,118 m) above sea level.[1]

When Prescott was selected as capital of the Arizona Territory in 1864, an amendment to select Walnut Grove as the capital instead failed on a 9-8 vote, as did votes to locate the capital at La Paz or a new proposed town to be called Aztlan.[3]

The Walnut Grove mining district was defined in 1864 and named after the Walnut Grove settlement.[4]

A Wheeler Survey party came through in October 1871, and stated "At Walnut Grove is a settlement where we found well cultivated lands." A post office was established in 1874.[5] The settlement of Walnut Grove is reference several times in Arizona as it is; or, The coming country (1877) by Hiram C. Hodge.[6] The failure of the Walnut Grove Dam in 1890 killed over 100.[5]

The Walnut Grove Elementary School District was founded to serve the community around 1875. A one-room schoolhouse operated into the 1980s.[7] The district was disestablished due to lack of students in 2021.[8] Walnut Grove is now in Kirkland Elementary School District.[9] As of 1976 the Prescott Unified School District takes secondary students from the district, as it is required to under law.[10] The Prescott district operates Prescott High School.

Walnut Grove and Prescott Forest Reserve, now Prescott National Forest[11] (USGS 1903, Congress quadrangle map)

A 2008 historical survey of Walnut Creek Cemetery described Walnut Creek as a ghost town. The cemetery, containing between 140 and 180 graves, is located off Wagoner Road.[12]

References

  1. ^ a b "Feature Detail Report for: Walnut Grove". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
  2. ^ "Walnut Grove (in Yavapai County, AZ) Populated Place Profile". AZ Hometown Locator. Retrieved July 21, 2017.
  3. ^ Bates, Al (15 November 2014). How Arizona Territory came to have its “Capital on Wheels”, Sharlot Hall Library & Archives
  4. ^ "Local Mining Laws and Regulations" (PDF). pp. 263–264.
  5. ^ a b Barnes, Will C. Arizona Place Names, p. 475 (1988)
  6. ^ "Arizona as It is, or, The Coming Country: Compiled From Notes of Travel During the Years 1874, 1875, and 1876". Arizona Memory Project. Retrieved 2023-01-25.
  7. ^ Smith, Fred (1984-12-10). "Fate of teacher, kids left hanging in school dispute". The Arizona Republic. Vol. 95, no. 208. pp. A1, A2. – Clipping of first and of second page (Text detail A, text detail B, text detail C) at Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ Turner, Scott (2021-03-16). "WUSD expands in Yavapai County". Wickenburg Sun. Retrieved 2021-07-09.
  9. ^ "School District Map" (PDF). Yavapai County. Retrieved 2024-12-28. - Indicates locations of unincorporated areas.
  10. ^ "Prescott pupils' transfer may be headed to court". The Arizona Republic. Phoenix, Arizona. August 28, 1976. p. A-11. - Clipping from Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "History of the Prescott National Forest". U.S. Forest Service. Retrieved 2023-01-22.
  12. ^ "Walnut Grove Cemetery, Yavapai County, Arizona". Arizona Pioneer & Cemetery Research Project. 2006-03-31. Retrieved 2023-01-23.