Realty Executives of Northern Arizona
Nestled at 7,000 feet near the base of the San Francisco Peaks, Flagstaff reigns as the mountain jewel in the crown of the desert state of Arizona. It beckons with its clear air, cool pine forests, and proximity to historic and natural attractions. Flagstaff is a region settled by varied cultures and built by strong men and women pioneers that made this city what it is today.
The Coming of the Railroad
The days of isolation ended for the Flagstaff area when in 1880, the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad began to lay track westward from Albuquerque on its way to California. Entrepreneurs quickly found they could capitalize on the railroad's construction crews by selling food, supplies and entertainment from the supply camps they set up along the line.
As the rails neared the San Francisco Peaks, a small settlement began to take shape by a small spring on the slope of what is now called Observatory Mesa (or Mars Hill), just west of today's downtown Flagstaff. In early 1881, merchants and saloonkeepers set up shop for the advance parties of workers who were coming to grade and cut ties in the abundant Ponderosa forest. That same year the citizens of the little camp called their new town Flagstaff, in honor of the landmark. By the fall of that year, Flagstaff boasted a population of 200 and swiftly became a wild railroad town filled with saloons, dance halls and gambling houses.
On August 1, 1882, the railroad finally reached Flagstaff. As the construction crews moved westward to California, some of Flagstaff's citizens followed after them, but others stayed, hoping that the camp could continue to thrive. Fortunately for those who stayed, Flagstaff became an established stop for water servicing the railroad and its passengers. Sheep ranchers began to use the railroad to transport wool; and cattle ranchers, drawn by the prospect of free or inexpensive land, realized that they could now affordably ship their beef to the eastern market.
Businessmen such as E.E. Ayers set up Flagstaff's largest lumber mill before the railroad got to town, and began shipping lumber within days after the rails arrived. By winter 1882, Flagstaff was a firmly established town with a railroad, livestock and lumber industries, and a service industry of merchants, cafes, hotels and saloons to serve the sheepherders, cowboys, lumberjacks and train travelers.
Stay tuned for Part 3: A Tale of Two Towns!
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