Yavapai Baskets
The Yavapai - The Early Years
Although no one knows exactly when they arrived, the Yavapai
inhabited much of Central Arizona when the Spaniards arrived in the
late sixteenth century. As nomadic hunter-gatherers, the Yavapai’s life
was directed by the cycles of plants and animals.
The arrival of gold prospectors and settlers disrupted the Yavapai
way of life and they were often mistaken for the more aggressive
Apache, leading to conflicts. Facing starvation, many Yavapai
surrendered and lived on the Rio Verde Reservation near Camp Verde.
In February 1875, they were forced to make a 150-mile exodus to San
Carlos Reservation through freezing and flooding streams and rugged
mountains. Scores died during the two-week trek, and 25 babies were
born along the Yavapai’s “Trail of Tears.” The Yavapai could not return
to their home for 30 years.
Explorers, Trappers and Prospectors
Spanish explorers first discovered and named
the Verde River in the 1500s, but little historical
record exists until the 1820s when trapper Ewing
Young wrote in his diaries about his experiences
here. In a battle with Apaches at the confluence of
the Verde and Salt rivers, his party of 24 men was reduced to six. He
returned the next year with Kit Carson as a member of his group and
recorded trapping as many as 30 beaver per night. Prospectors found
traces of gold, silver and copper in the McDowell Mountains, but no
commercially profitable mines were ever developed.
Cavalry Days
Fort McDowell, named for General Irvin McDowell, was established
in 1865 to subdue hostile Indians hiding in the Verde-Salt River
Wilderness. After several years of campaigns and conflicts, bands led
by Chalipun surrendered to General Crook in 1873. Troops remained
to settle confrontations between Maricopa and Pima Indians and
white settlers. The post was closed in 1890. On September 15, 1903,
President Theodore Roosevelt signed an executive order granting the
land to the Yavapai as a reservation and they returned home.
Ranching and Farming
In the 1860s and 1870s, the relatively water-rich lower 15 miles of the
Verde Valley was one of the most productive places for both farming
and ranching, while the presence of troops at Fort McDowell provided
protection.
Ranches in the area included the Box Bar near Rio Verde, the
Pemberton Ranch, now a part of McDowell Mountain Park, and the
P-Bar Ranch where Fountain Hills is today. They operated until the mid-
twentieth century. There is still a small amount of ranching near Four
v
apai Girl
Y
a
Peaks and Pinnacle Peak.
Fountain Hills/Fort McDowell Official Visitors Guide •
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