Highway of History 

Travelers driving on U.S. Highway 180 (aka Fort Valley Road) near Flagstaff are greeted with a mix of rustic-looking buildings, wooden cattle fences and open space as the road carves a route through the ponderosa pine forest. While the times have changed, the panoramas that gripped homesteaders in the 1880s and influenced the historic road’s route still amaze.

The road primarily provides tourist access to the Grand Canyon’s South Rim today; however, early settlers cared much more about the route’s proximity to water rather than the views.

Many homesteaders in the area maintained livestock and ran successful farms during the first half of the 20th century. The majority lived on their claims during summer and moved to Flagstaff during winter.

Establishment of the San Francisco Mountain Forest Reserve (now the Coconino National Forest) in 1898 withdrew thousands of acres from homesteading, forcing settlers to look for other locations.

In 1913, land previously held by the railroad company was opened to homesteading. First to be settled were areas today known as Cheshire, Fort Valley and Kendrick Park. The portion of Highway 180 serving these areas is called the San Francisco Peaks Scenic Road. The route, between Flagstaff and Valle, ascends from 6,900 feet in Flagstaff to 7,900 feet through Kendrick Park. There, the route continues west to Valle, meeting up with State Route 64 before descending to 7,000 feet at the South Rim.

Leaving Flagstaff along this route toward the South Rim, the first park is Cheshire. There may have been earlier claims now lost to history, but the Gregg family lived there by 1906. The area was subdivided in the 1950s, becoming known as Cheshire.

Five miles north from Cheshire is Fort Valley, first claimed in 1881 by members of the Church of Jesus Christ Latter-day Saints (LDS). John W. Young, a son of LDS president Brigham Young, built a stockade in the middle of the park and named it Fort Moroni, which is how the area became known as “Fort” Valley.

Nine miles from Fort Valley is Kendrick Park, named for Kendrick Peak. Maj. Henry L. Kendrick of the 2nd U.S. artillery served as commander of the escort team for the 1853 Capt. Lorenzo Sitgreaves expedition, the first survey of the region. Lt. A.W. Whipple named the peak for Kendrick the following year.

Northwest of Kendrick Park are canyons and open lands of the Kaibab National Forest. Human settlement is sparse until the road reaches Valle. The road from Fort Valley to Valle was paved in the 1950s because of a proposed air/ski venture between the Arizona Snowbowl Ski Resort and the Valle Airport.

Settlers weren’t the only ones to appreciate the resources as the incredible scientific opportunities available on the San Francisco Peaks drew researchers. Among the most notable is biologist C. Hart Merriam who, after studying the flora on the mountains, developed the life zones theory where certain plants thrive at certain altitudes.

His base camp, near Highway 180, is listed as a National Historic Landmark.
Also in 1908, Coconino County established the Hospital for the Indigent and Poor Farm along Highway 180 in front of the historic ‘Art Barn’. Today, the facility serves as the Arizona Historical Society’s Pioneer Museum. The complex is being considered for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places.

This busy corridor provides a lovely, peaceful ambiance to and from Flagstaff. Physical traces of the history along Highway 180 are abundant in places, as are views of sections of the Grand Canyon Stage Line and wildlife.

- S.D. Olberding. Photo courtesy of the author.