Joseph City (elevation 5,000 ft) is a

Census Designated Place A census-designated place (CDP) is a concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counterparts of incorporated places, suc ...

located in

Navajo County Navajo County is in the northern part of the U.S. state of Arizona. As of the 2020 census, its population was 106,717. The county seat is Holbrook. Navajo County comprises the Show Low, Arizona Micropolitan Statistical Area. Navajo County c ...

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

, United States. It is located on

Interstate 40 Interstate 40 (I-40) is a major east–west Interstate Highway running through the south-central portion of the United States. At a length of , it is the third-longest Interstate Highway in the country, after I-90 and I-80. From west to ea ...

, approximately eighty miles east of Flagstaff and about thirty-five miles west of

Petrified Forest National Park Petrified Forest National Park is an American national park in Navajo County, Arizona, Navajo and Apache County, Arizona, Apache counties in northeastern Arizona. Named for its large deposits of petrified wood, the park covers about , encompassin ...

. In 2010, there were 1,386 inhabitants. It is the site of the Jack Rabbit Trading Post, a famous Route 66 landmark.

History

Joseph City was settled in 1876 by colonists who were members of

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian church that considers itself to be the Restorationism, restoration of the ...

. This band of 73 pioneers was led by Captain William C. Allen. They traveled to the Little Colorado River basin of Arizona. Joseph City was one of four Little Colorado River colonies. The other colonies were

Brigham City Brigham City is a city in Box Elder County, Utah, United States. The population was 17,899 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Box Elder County. It lies on the western slope of the Wellsville Mountains, a branch of the Wasatch Range ...

Sunset Sunset, also known as sundown, is the daily disappearance of the Sun below the horizon due to Earth's rotation. As viewed from everywhere on Earth (except the North and South poles), the equinox Sun sets due west at the moment of both the spr ...

, and Obed. Joseph City is the only remaining colony. The hardest trial for the new colonists was trying to get water for their crops. This meant that they had to try to tame the Little Colorado River. This was difficult due to the flooding season that would destroy dams along the river. The first dam was built in 1876, shortly after the colonists arrived in the area. For the next 18 years the colonists built ten more dams. The eleventh dam was built in 1894. This dam lasted for 29 years. In 1923, the eleventh dam was destroyed and the colonists were forced to build a new dam. This dam still currently stands and directs water to the inhabitants still in the city. The name of the colony changed twice since its colonization. The area settled by Captain Allen's group was called Allen's Camp, in honor of their leader. There was a name change in January 1878 to St. Joseph. This change was brought about when the Little Colorado Stake was organized. This name was suggested in order to honor

Joseph Smith Joseph Smith Jr. (December 23, 1805June 27, 1844) was an American religious leader and founder of Mormonism and the Latter Day Saint movement. When he was 24, Smith published the Book of Mormon. By the time of his death, 14 years later, h ...

, founder of the

Latter Day Saint movement The Latter Day Saint movement (also called the LDS movement, LDS restorationist movement, or Smith–Rigdon movement) is the collection of independent church groups that trace their origins to a Christian Restorationist movement founded by Jo ...

. In 1923 there was a final name change to Joseph City. Due to mail and freight shipment confusions, the Santa Fe Railway, that also ran through

Saint Joseph, Missouri St. Joseph is a city in and the county seat of Buchanan County, Missouri. Small parts of St. Joseph extend into Andrew County. Located on the Missouri River, it is the principal city of the St. Joseph Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includ ...

, asked that St. Joseph, Arizona change its name. The residents of the town voted and the name became Joseph City.

Geography

Joseph City is located at (34.955833, -110.333889). According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of th ...

, the city has a total area of , of which is land and is water.

Demographics

Climate

Joseph City has a

semi-arid climate A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of semi ...

(''BSk'') with cold to cool winters and hot summers. Although the mean snowfall is , the

median In statistics and probability theory, the median is the value separating the higher half from the lower half of a data sample, a population, or a probability distribution. For a data set, it may be thought of as "the middle" value. The basic f ...

is zero, so the majority of winters do not have measurable snow.

Education

Joseph City is served by the Joseph City Unified School District. Two schools, Joseph City Elementary School, and Joseph City High School, serve the community. Their schools have a very high AIMS standard. The current Superintendent of Joseph City Unified School District is Bryan Fields.

Economy

The

Cholla Power Plant The Cholla Power Plant is a 1.02-gigawatt (1,021 MW), coal power plant near Joseph City, Arizona, United States. The plant is jointly owned by Arizona Public Service (APS) and PacifiCorp. The plant began operations in 1962. History The coal b ...

is located near Joseph City.

Images of Joseph City

Pictured are the following: * The Historic St. Joseph City Bridge (Obed Bridge) was built in 1912 over the Little Colorado River and located on Obed Road. It was listed in the National Register of Historic Places listed on September 30, 1988, ref.: #88001633, * Ella's Frontier Store and warehouse located on Main Street between 3rd. Street and O’Connell Lane. The structure was built in 1927 out of telephone poles. * Historic Marker and ruins on Main Street which indicates where the Mormon Old Fort was once located. * The Jackrabbit Trading Post was established in 1949 and is located on Route 66.Route 66
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References

{{authority control Unincorporated communities in Navajo County, Arizona U.S. Route 66 in Arizona Populated places established in 1876 Unincorporated communities in Arizona 1876 establishments in Arizona Territory