Memorial to Pioneer Women
Walnut Canyon National Monument
National Old Trails Road Project
Marker:
In Memory of the Pioneer Women of Arizona
Location:
Walnut Canyon National Monument
3 Walnut Canyon Road
Flagstaff, Coconino County, Arizona
(928) 526-3367
35.171600, -111.509272
Note:
The marker is located in the closed back country area of Walnut Canyon National Monument and is accessible only through a guided hike, such as a Ranger Cabin Discovery Hike during the summer. For information about guided tours, contact the visitor center at (928) 526-3367 or visit Interpretive Programs – Walnut Canyon National Monument (U.S. National Park Service).
Directions:
Approximately 7.5 miles east of Flagstaff. From Interstate 40, take Exit 204 and turn south. The Walnut Canyon Visitor Center is located at the end of this three-mile road.
Historical Significance:
The marker was planned in coordination with the National Old Trails Road project. The marker was to be placed on the road in Flagstaff at the point where the new motor road to the Grand Canyon left the old road and was to be dedicated when the National Old Trails Road Association held its annual convention at the Grand Canyon in July 1915. The marker has been moved several times and is now located near Cliffs Ranger Station, an 1884 building that is on the National Register of Historic Places.
(Sources: (1) The National Old Trails Road Part 2; See America First in 1915: Section 2 of 3; The Bourne Committee Report by the Federal Highway Administration.
(2) National Register of Historic Places Registration Form dated July 15, 2019.)
The marker reads, “In Memory of the Pioneer Women of Arizona / Erected by the Arizona Daughters of the American Revolution / July 14, 1915.” Governor George W. P. Hunt, shown second from the left in the picture below, and other dignitaries joined the women of the Arizona State Society, DAR, for the ceremony in 1915. Shortly thereafter, Walnut Canyon was declared a National Monument.
Learn more about the fascinating history of this marker, the Ranger Cabin, and the National Old Trails Road project by reading the remarks prepared for the 2015 rededication ceremony.
Link:
Walnut Canyon National Monument Arizona
Dedicated:
1915
Rededicated:
October 3, 1953; September 22, 1996; and July 14, 2015
Sponsor:
Arizona State Society, DAR
Undated image.
Attributed to Frank Curtis, photographer.
Image is the from the collection of the Arizona State Society, DAR.
Governor George W. P. Hunt, Rev. Father Cyprian Vabre, Harriet O. Thomas, and Judge J. M. Lowe, President of the National Old Trail Road Convention.
(to the right of the marker:) Mrs. Harry L. Chandler, Arizona State Regent. Flagstaff mayor John William Francis is seated.
Attributed to Frank Curtis, photographer.
Image is from the collection of the Arizona State Society, DAR.
July 14, 2015, at the 100th anniversary rededication ceremony.
Courtesy of the U.S. National Park Service.
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The content contained herein does not necessarily represent the position of NSDAR. Hyperlinks to other sites are not the responsibility of the NSDAR, the state organization or individual DAR chapters.
Unless otherwise noted, images are courtesy of Arizona State Society, DAR, Daughters.
Information about the photographs of Frank Curtis (1885-1918) is available at the
Arizona Historical Society/Flagstaff, Curtis/Fairchild Collection #745.