Tortilla Flat, Arizona
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Tortilla Flat is a small
unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...
in far eastern
Maricopa County Maricopa County is in the south-central part of the U.S. state of Arizona. As of the 2020 census, the population was 4,420,568, making it the state's most populous county, and the fourth-most populous in the United States. It contains about ...
,
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 in the central part of the state, northeast of Apache Junction. It is the last surviving stagecoach stop along the
Apache Trail The Apache Trail in Arizona was a stagecoach trail that ran through the Superstition Mountains. It was named the Apache Trail after the Apache Indians who originally used this trail to move through the Superstition Mountains. The historic A ...
. According to the Gross Management Department of Arizona's main
U.S. Post Office The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an Independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the executive branch of the Federal government of the Uni ...
in
Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...
, Tortilla Flat is presumed to be Arizona's smallest official "community" having a U.S. Post Office and voting precinct. The town has a population of 6. Tortilla Flat can be reached by vehicles on the
Apache Trail The Apache Trail in Arizona was a stagecoach trail that ran through the Superstition Mountains. It was named the Apache Trail after the Apache Indians who originally used this trail to move through the Superstition Mountains. The historic A ...
( State Route 88), via Apache Junction. Originally a camping ground for the
prospector Prospector may refer to: Space exploration * Prospector (spacecraft), a planned lunar probe, canceled in 1962 * '' Lunar Prospector'', a NASA spacecraft Trains * Prospector (train), a passenger train operated by the Denver & Rio Grande Western ...
s who searched for
gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile me ...
in the
Superstition Mountains The Superstition Mountains ( yuf-x-yav, Wi:kchsawa) is a range of mountains in Arizona located to the east of the Phoenix metropolitan area. They are anchored by Superstition Mountain, a large mountain that is a popular recreation destination fo ...
in the mid-to-late 19th century, Tortilla Flat was later a freight camp for the construction of
Theodore Roosevelt Dam Theodore Roosevelt Dam is a dam on the Salt River located northeast of Phoenix, Arizona. The dam is high and forms Theodore Roosevelt Lake as it impounds the Salt River. Originally built between 1905 and 1911, the dam was renovated and expande ...
. From this time (1904) on, Tortilla Flat has had a small (less than 100 people) but continuous population. A flood in 1942 badly damaged the town, resulting in many residents moving away. Today Tortilla Flat is owned and operated by Alvin Ross, a farmer from Indiana who purchased the town in 1998. The town is made up primarily of a country store, a saloon (bar/restaurant), a mercantile/gift shop, and a small museum. Most of these were constructed in the late 1980s after a fire consumed the existing store, restaurant and motel on the same site; the mercantile/gift shop was built in 2009. Several hiking trails into the Superstition Mountains begin near Tortilla Flat.


History

The pre-modern history of what is now Tortilla Flat indicates that the valley had a creek running through it. It was used by the
Yavapai The Yavapai are a Native American tribe in Arizona. Historically, the Yavapai – literally “people of the sun” (from ''Enyaava'' “sun” + ''Paay'' “people”) – were divided into four geographical bands who identified as separate, i ...
to traverse through the
Superstition Mountains The Superstition Mountains ( yuf-x-yav, Wi:kchsawa) is a range of mountains in Arizona located to the east of the Phoenix metropolitan area. They are anchored by Superstition Mountain, a large mountain that is a popular recreation destination fo ...
. That trail became known as the "Yavapai Trail" or "Tonto Trail". The Spanish 16th-century expeditions looking for
gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile me ...
, specifically the "
Seven Cities of Gold The myth of the Seven Cities of Gold, also known as the Seven Cities of Cibola (), was popular in the 16th century and later featured in several works of popular culture. According to legend, the seven cities of gold referred to Aztec mythology r ...
", inspired more modern gold prospecting in the Superstitions, including those by Don Miguel Peralta from Mexico, who, in 1847 and 1848, supposedly amassed large quantities of gold from the area. Settlers followed the prospectors, raising the need for military outposts to protect them from the increasingly hostile Native Americans, whose land was being taken. Despite the difficulty of crossing the Fish Creek Mountains and Fish Creek Canyon, the Yavapai Trail was a significant route used into the
Tonto Basin The Tonto Basin, also known as Pleasant Valley, covers the main drainage basin of Tonto Creek and its tributaries in central Arizona, at the southwest of the Mogollon Rim, the higher elevation '' transition zone'' across central and eastern Ariz ...
, as other trails were even more difficult, and, due to its access to water and fodder, it is likely that the Tortilla Flat area became a place used to camp. It was unlikely, however, that there was a settlement there at this point in history, as none appear on old trail maps. Based on available records, Tortilla Flat got its start because of the road construction to
Roosevelt Dam Theodore Roosevelt Dam is a dam on the Salt River located northeast of Phoenix, Arizona. The dam is high and forms Theodore Roosevelt Lake as it impounds the Salt River. Originally built between 1905 and 1911, the dam was renovated and expande ...
in 1904. There was a need for a stagecoach stop for freight haulers on their way to the construction site at Roosevelt Dam and Tortilla Flat served that purpose. Shortly following the construction of the road, Roosevelt Dam became a big tourist attraction. At that point Tortilla Flat was a stage stop for tourists and mail carriers through the 1930s. Tortilla Flat took its name from a nearby butte shaped like a
tortilla A tortilla (, ) is a thin, circular unleavened flatbread originally made from maize hominy meal, and now also from wheat flour. The Aztecs and other Nahuatl speakers called tortillas ''tlaxcalli'' (). First made by the indigenous peoples of M ...
. However, an alternative explanation is that the name was given by John Cline, a
Tonto Basin The Tonto Basin, also known as Pleasant Valley, covers the main drainage basin of Tonto Creek and its tributaries in central Arizona, at the southwest of the Mogollon Rim, the higher elevation '' transition zone'' across central and eastern Ariz ...
pioneer, who claims to have been stranded about 1867 at this location for several days with nothing but flour to make tortillas to eat. Records of the Forest Service indicate that when the
Tonto National Forest The Tonto National Forest, encompassing , is the largest of the six national forests in Arizona and is the ninth largest national forest in the United States. The forest has diverse scenery, with elevations ranging from 1,400 feet (427 m) in ...
was established in 1905, it was done because the Salt River Reclamation Project – one of the first efforts of the
United States Reclamation Service The Bureau of Reclamation, and formerly the United States Reclamation Service, is a federal agency under the U.S. Department of the Interior, which oversees water resource management, specifically as it applies to the oversight and opera ...
– needed the Forest Service to protect the Salt River watershed for the dams and otherwise manage the land because cattle grazing had stripped it of vegetation. The freight camp established at Tortilla Flat, as well as the other camps along the road to the dam, were, therefore, on U.S. Forest Service land. Those who wanted to make Tortilla Flat their permanent residence kept up the lease on the land in later years whenever it came due.


Gallery

File:2021 Tortilla Flat Superstition Saloon exterior.jpg, The Superstition Saloon File:2021 Tortilla Flat Superstition Saloon interior saddle bar 2.jpg, The bar in the Saloon has stools with saddles on them File:2021 Tortilla Flat Superstition Saloon interior dollar bills 3.jpg, The walls of the Saloon are papered with dollar bills File:2021 Tortilla Flat Mercantile and Gift Shop from northwest.jpg, The Mercantile/Gift Shop with some of the rock formations of the area in the background File:2021 Tortilla Flat Schoolhouse Museum.jpg, The town's Museum is a replica schoolhouse on the site where the first school opened in 1932 File: Tortilla Flat-Mormon Flat Bridge-1924.JPG, Mormon Flat Bridge, built in 1924 and located on the Apache Trail (State Route 88) over Willow Creek, 3.8 miles west of Tortilla Flat, was listed in the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...
(NRHP) on September 30, 1988 (#88001598). File: Torilla Flat-Boulder Creek Bridge-1937-12.JPG , Boulder Creek Bridge, built in 1937 and located on the Apache Trail over Boulder Creek, 1 mile west of Tortilla Flat, was listed in the NRHP on March 31, 1989 (#8800159).


References


External links


Official Tortilla Flat website



Tortilla Flat, Arizona – The Apache Trail
{{authority control Unincorporated communities in Maricopa County, Arizona Superstition Mountains Unincorporated communities in Arizona