Arizona Trivia & Tidbits - Page 16

Looking for Arizona trivia? Try our list Arizona little know facts, tidbits and trivia.

Scottsdale is home to the McCormick-Stillman Railroad Park, a 30-acre attraction offering train rides and exhibits, including the Roald Amundsen Pullman Car—a luxury train car built in 1928 for $205,000. Presidents Herbert Hoover, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry Truman, and Dwight Eisenhower all used the car during their presidencies.

first appeared: 5/12/2002

Dr. Alexander J. Chandler, founder of the city of Chandler, was also a pioneer of irrigation in the Salt River Valley. Original irrigation efforts date back a thousand years to when the Hohokam civilization, using stone tools, built an extensive canal system. In the late 1800s, those canal remnants inspired people such as Chandler to irrigate the arrid land—a key element in settling the Arizona Territory.

first appeared: 5/5/2002

The University of Arizona in Tucson enjoys a reputation as one of the top research universities in the country, but circumstances surrounding its origin didn’t suggest success. The citizens of Tucson felt snubbed in 1885 when Phoenix was named as Arizona’s capital and, as consolation, the 13th Territorial Legislature—“The Thieving Thirteenth,” as it was known—awarded Tucson the university. But lawmakers required Pima County to donate 40 acres to start the school. No offers were forthcoming, but eventually a deal was made. Ground was broken in 1887, and the university opened in 1891.

first appeared: 4/28/2002

One of the distinguishing characteristics of the Arizona Biltmore in Phoenix is the use of “Biltmore Block”—concrete blocks molded on site that featured a pattern inspired by a tree trunk. Famed architect Frank Lloyd Wright served as consulting architect on the hotel that opened in February 1929.

first appeared: 4/21/2002

Tonto Natural Bridge near Payson (pop. 13,620) is considered the world’s largest natural bridge formed of travertine, a light-colored mineral deposit. The 400-foot-long bridge soars 183 feet above Pine Creek. Scottish prospector David Gowan reportedly happened upon the natural spectacle in 1877 while hiding from American Indians. Eventually, Gowan showed the bridge to a British newspaper reporter, whose account was read by Gowan’s nephew’s family back in Scotland. The relatives began corresponding with their uncle and ultimately migrated to the territory.

first appeared: 4/14/2002

The Pony Express still gallops between Holbrook and Scottsdale. Every winter, during the annual Parada del Sol festival in Scottsdale, the Navajo County Hashknife Sheriff’s Posse—a group created as a search-and-rescue team in 1955—relays bags of mail on horseback, calling itself the Hashknife Pony Express. Each delivered letter is stamped with a special mark.

first appeared: 4/7/2002

A statue just outside Apache Junction (pop. 31,814) pays homage to perhaps the most storied miner in the history of Arizona gold mining—Jacob Waltz, discoverer of the rich and mysterious Lost Dutchman mine in the Superstition Mountains. Waltz took the secret location of his mine to his death in 1891.

first appeared: 3/31/2002

The 53-mile Puerto Blanco Drive in Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument takes visitors on a rugged but scenic trek that includes mountain foothills, rare desert cacti, deserted mines, and other historic sites. Within the park by the Mexican border, Quitobaquito Oasis brings relief to an arid landscape with its spring-fed pond surrounded by trees and frequented by ducks and other wildlife.

first appeared: 3/24/2002

The ruins of the Casa Malpais Pueblo in Springerville (pop. 1,972) provide a look into the civilization of the Mogollon people, who lived in the pueblo for some 200 years before mysteriously abandoning it in about A.D. 1400. Casa Malpais, meaning “house of the badlands,’’ sits on volcanic rock overlooking the Round Valley of the Little Colorado River.

first appeared: 3/17/2002

The Hopi village of Oraibi is one of the oldest continuously inhabited American towns. It was established around A.D. 1200.

first appeared: 3/10/2002

The recorded history of Arizona began when the Spaniards sent explorers north out of Mexico. Franciscan priest Marcos de Niza was the first, entering the area in 1539.

first appeared: 3/10/2002

Kentucky Camp, southeast of Tucson, was the site of a rich gold deposit discovered in the late 1800s, but the water needed to separate the gold from sand and gravel was scarce. In 1902, mining engineer James Stetson solved the problem, creating a plan to channel mountain stream runoff into a reservoir that would hold a 10-month water supply. Today, Kentucky Camp is part of the Coronado National Forest, which is working to preserve the camp and show what gold-mining life was like in the early 1900s.

first appeared: 3/3/2002

Apache Trail National Forest Scenic Byway (SR 88) began as an aboriginal pathway through the Superstition Mountains before becoming a horse trail in the late 1800s. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation built the present road to ease the hauling of supplies for the construction of Roosevelt Dam. A 38-mile portion was designated a National Forest Scenic Byway in 1998.

first appeared: 2/24/2002

Fool Hollow Lake Recreation Area near Show Low (pop. 7,695) provides abundant fishing opportunities—with rainbow and brown trout, bass, black crappie, sunfish, channel catfish, and walleye among the major catches. More than 100 miles of trails make up the nearby White Mountain Trail System.

first appeared: 2/17/2002

Besh-Ba-Gowah Archaeological Park in Globe (pop. 7,486) provides a look into the culture of the region’s ancient people. Its first residents are believed to have been the Hohokam, who lived in the area around A.D. 900.

first appeared: 2/10/2002

The Rosson House in Phoenix’s Heritage Square is an example of authentic Victorian architecture in a region where adobe is more common. The three-story home was built in 1895.

first appeared: 2/3/2002

The Sonoran Desert National Monument in south-central Arizona includes nearly half a million acres of the Sonoran Desert, considered the most biologically diverse desert in North America.

first appeared: 1/27/2002

The Strawberry Schoolhouse in Strawberry (pop. 1,028) is the oldest standing schoolhouse in the state. Built in 1895, the structure made of hand-hewn pine logs served as a school until 1916. It has been restored and now houses exhibits on pioneer education.

first appeared: 1/20/2002

Taking a dip in a hot tub fed by natural hot springs is part of the visitor agenda at Roper Lake State Park near Safford (pop. 9,232). Park rangers created the rock-lined pool to take advantage of the hot mineral water there. The park, situated at the foot of Mount Graham, is also a favorite fishing spot.

first appeared: 1/13/2002

In the Petrified Forest National Monument near Holbrook (pop. 4,917), Newspaper Rock is so named because it looks like a bulletin board of ancient carved messages, including people, animals, and symbols of unknown meaning.

first appeared: 1/6/2002

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