Sunset, Arizona is a
populated place and former town 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, located approximately four miles north-west of
Winslow Winslow may refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Winslow, Buckinghamshire, England, a market town and civil parish
* Winslow Rural District, Buckinghamshire, a rural district from 1894 to 1974
United States and Canada
* Rural Municipality of Winslo ...
. 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
Lot Smith
Lot Smith (May 15, 1830 – June 20, 1892) was a Mormon pioneer, soldier, lawman and American frontiersman. He became known as "The Horseman" for his exceptional skills on horseback as well as for his help in rounding up wild mustangs on Uta ...
. Drought and flash flooding that washed away the dams and irrigation systems led to crop failures. It ceased being a town by 1884 and the last settlers moved out in 1888. The channel of the
Little Colorado River now runs where the town site used to be. Only the small hilltop Sunset Cemetery remains and is part of the
Homolovi State Park.
Sunset was one of four Little Colorado River colonies. The other colonies were
Joseph City,
Brigham City, and
Obed. 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.]
See also
*
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Arizona
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the second-largest religious denomination in Arizona, behind the Roman Catholic Church. In 2019, the church reported 436,521 members in Arizona, about 6% of the state's population. According to th ...
References
External links
Ghosttown.com entry for SunsetHomolovi Ruins State Park information on Sunset cemetery
{{Navajo County, Arizona
Populated places in Navajo County, Arizona
Ghost towns in Arizona
1876 establishments in Arizona Territory