Obed, Arizona was a town in

Navajo County, Arizona 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 co ...

located approximately three miles south of

Joseph City, Arizona Joseph City (elevation 5,000 ft) is a Census Designated Place located in Navajo County, Arizona, United States. It is located on Interstate 40, approximately eighty miles east of Flagstaff and about thirty-five miles west of Petrified Fore ...

. It was settled in 1876 by a group of 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 nontrinitarian Christian church that considers itself to be the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus Christ. The ch ...

under the direction of George Lake. The settlers built a fort that was twelve rods square with walls that were ten feet high. It had bastions, with

porthole A porthole, sometimes called bull's-eye window or bull's-eye, is a generally circular window used on the hull of ships to admit light and air. Though the term is of maritime origin, it is also used to describe round windows on armored vehicle ...

s for defense at two corners and additional portholes in the surrounding walls. The camp consisted of 123 members, which included John Bloomfield and his wife and nine children. Cottonwood was sawed for lumber. The community had a school house in January 1877 and a denominational school was started the next month, with Phoebe McNeal as teacher. Numerous problems plagued the settlement. The site was malarial, was selected against

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

instruction, and had trouble with brush and log dams washing away. The population took chills and fever and finally abandoned the settlement in March 1877. Obed was one of four Little Colorado River colonies. The other colonies were Joseph City, Brigham City, and Sunset. Joseph City is the only remaining colony.Tanner, George S and J Morris Richards, ''Colonization on the Little Colorado: The Joseph City Region'' (Flagstaff, Arizona: 1977) 21, 32, 34.

References

{{Navajo County, Arizona Former populated places in Navajo County, Arizona Ghost towns in Arizona 1876 establishments in Arizona Territory

See also

References