The town of Clarkdale was a pet project for Senator William A Clark, owner of the United Verde mine in Jerome. It was the first planned community in Arizona and included all the makings of a modern town. It provided telephone, telegraph, electrical, sewer and spring water services for its residents. Situated at the bottom of Cleopatra mountain, it would be the smelter town for the mines of Jerome and the surrounding area. “To build a perfect town [was] to be the aim and ambition of former Sen. Clark,” the Mohave County Miner wrote, “and money will be lavishly spent to make it as near [perfect] as possible.”
After quietly buying up the land, a railroad was constructed from Cedar Glade (now known as “Drake”) where it would meet the Santa Fe Prescott and Phoenix railroad, through Jerome, and down to the Verde Valley and the site of the upcoming smelter. “It has been under construction for several months and promises to be one of the most important of the short branches of the Santa Fe,” the Arizona Republican believed. It was called the “Verde Valley Railroad” and was 40 miles in length. The first train over the line carried structural steel to start construction of the smelter. This “enterprise will open up an industry in the Verde Valley which promises to assume extraordinary proportions,” the paper continued. It was completed in October, 1912, and trains started running in November.
Special cars and engines were required to run on the relatively steep and curvy road. The engine was described as “peculiar looking, having much the appearance of a powerhouse on wheels,” the Mohave County Miner observed, “shafting and all included—but it does the work.”
The first train was immediately followed by hundreds of men to construct the smelter and housing for the town. “It is predicted that by the first of the year there will be over 1000 laborers employed [there],” the Weekly Journal-Miner wrote. “The Walter Miller Company is erecting one of the largest warehouses and stores in the state, and concessions for various lines of business are being granted by the United Verde Company,” the paper explained. They also constructed one of the largest cold storage and ice making plants in the Southwest at a cost of $50,000 (or $1.6 million today.) In December 1912, Orville Shride, who owned the OK livery stable in Prescott, opened one in Clarkdale.
Before the end of the year, a stockyard capable of holding several hundred head of cattle was built for the booming ranching industry. Indeed, the railroads that led to the smelter, and then on to the main line, were a boom to Verde Valley agriculture, “opening up the farms in the neighboring valleys,” the Mohave Co. Miner observed. Achieving statehood in 1912 changed many minds about Arizona. Previously, mostly due to cheap fiction, people believed Arizona was filled with desperadoes, criminals and vengeful Native Americans. But after statehood, opinions changed. It seemed the safety of civilization had prevailed, and homesteading farmers and ranchers began to show up in mass. In five short years, the assessable value of Yavapai County rocketed from $9 million to $39 million! (That’s the same as $1.25 billion today.)
A building boom began January 1913 with one contractor reporting to the Journal-Miner that “an average of one complete brick house [was] erected everyday.” This pace of construction lasted through the year.
The following month, the Journal-Miner proclaimed: “Clarkdale is now a full-fledged city of the future, having within its boundaries a new public school that was established recently and opened its doors to twenty pupils.” When the new school year started in September, the number of pupils had risen to nearly 100. Also in February 1913, the Upper Verde Public Utilities Company was founded to handle and bill for the electricity.
Clark wanted his namesake town to be as fireproof as possible. All construction was to be of brick, and to meet the demand, a large brick yard was constructed which, at its height, produced 100,000 bricks a day. In April, 1913, two immense water tanks were constructed and filled with fresh water coming from Haskell Spring. The townsite bordered the Verde river, and this provided a water source for the smelter and fire fighting. Indeed, the water stored for fire protection in Clarkdale was larger than Prescott’s. “In many places the [sewage] pipe is laid over 20 feet in the ground…due to the topography,” the Coconino Sun revealed. “Immense septic tanks [were] built to catch the sewage.” Water mains were six inches in diameter and fire hydrants were located on every corner. One benefit to the citizenry of the company-owned town was the lack of property taxes.
The history of the Mingus Mountain Inn, located at its summit, right off of Hwy. 89A. It offered gas, refreshments and more.
By the end of April, the town’s first marriage was performed, joining Mary C Jordan and George P Stone. The town of Williams took note of the booming burg and in June, decided to budget $6000 (over $190,000 today,) for a 35 mile dirt road to Clarkdale.
“To the man seeking a business location there is an opportunity afforded which seldom comes one’s way,” the Tucson Citizen revealed. “The company will erect the buildings and lease them, charging only enough rental cover the cost of keeping up the town and a small interest on the money it has invested. The company will police and otherwise care for the town, maintain the streets, sewers, light and water.” Businesses were required to supply their own fixtures and pay for their water and electricity. “They expect to make a model town of it and have laid out broad and beautiful streets with a Plaza in the center [with] planted trees.” The residences were all leased.
By the beginning of August, 1913, “about 1000 men [were] employed in mines, [the] smelter, and [the] shops,” the Mohave County Miner observed. It was hoped this would double once the smelter was operational. At this time, the powerhouse, storehouse and the machine and blacksmith shops were nearing completion. Additionally, the twenty foot deep concrete foundation for the great smokestack had started. Initially, it was planned to be 350 feet high, but ended up being a towering 400 feet high—the tallest in the world with braces. It would be 35 feet in diameter on the outside and 30 feet on the inside and required over 400,000 bricks to line it. Included were dust chambers, ballers, and sack houses to reduce harmful emissions.
In November, “a modern up-to-date cemetery [was] laid out, fenced and otherwise equipped,” the same paper wrote. “Modern playgrounds and parks are in contemplation on the Verde River and Pecks Lake…” Also expected was a “first class up-to-date hotel building” to be rented “to some first class hotel man.” Two banks already applied do business in the brand new town.
By mid-November, there was observed: 150 tent houses which rented for $1 a month. There were approximately a hundred traditional Native American dwellings of the Yavapai-Apache nation that were allowed under “Squatters Rights.” One portion of Clarkdale is a reservation for these people to this day.
There were 54 four-roomed cottages and 13 bunkhouses at this point. There was also a stable, a garage, and a lumber yard that covered several acres. Fifty other small businesses served a population over 2000.
“The townsite is divided into two distinct parts, the ‘upper and the ‘lower,’” the Republican described, “and already over one hundred houses have been built in the [lower.] Two hundred homes “of the better class” were planned in the upper, section, “along with 25 business houses.” This upper section was “known as the nob hill of the new city, and separated [by] a considerable distance on a higher elevation from the smelter or business site,” the Journal-Miner described.
On April 1st, 1914, the smelter’s smokestack was completed. The Mohave County Miner described it as a “monument reaching into the heavens… Steel stairs and a railing [wound] around the mass from the ground up, and at intervals there [were] openings to permit investigations to be made. Many have tried to ascend the structure, but in very few instances have any succeeded [except] the trained employees.”
The stack was visible from 60 miles away and immediately became the town’s most prominent landmark. The height was meant to carry the sulfurous fumes away from the area’s agriculture. Unfortunately this was not always successful and fumes would settle in the valley causing agricultural losses and civil suits against the company. The stack was designed by Ripath & McGregor, of Douglas, and was constructed by the Kansas City Structural Steel Co.
On Friday January 15, 1915, people around the Verde Valley looked up and noticed a trail of smoke rising from the great chimney for the first time. “This demonstration is known as the ‘warming up’ process and [would] be continued for several days,” the Journal-Miner reported. “Considerable detail construction [was] yet to be done, but the fact [that] the biggest smelter…in the state [was] reaching the stage of being ready for business” was reason to celebrate.
On May 17th, 1915, “in the presence of a large and distinguished company of guests and many men prominent in mining and engineering circles in the state and nation,” witnessed the blowing-in of the huge Clarkdale smelter, the Tombstone Epitaph reported. “Its production is enormous and the completion and blowing in of the new smelter marks the final point in its history of success and productiveness.”
On October 19, 1927, the Clark Memorial Clubhouse and Library formally opened. The building cost $90,000 (or over $16 million today.) Good economic times prevailed until the end of World War 2, when demand for copper decreased dramatically, and the smelter closed down in 1953. In the end, nearly 2 billion pounds of copper were extracted from the United Verde.
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| Main St., Clarkdale, 1937 |
After being bought and sold several times as a company town, Clarkdale eventually became an incorporated town in 1957.
Today the original townsite, including Upper and Lower Clarkdale is on the National Register as the “Clarkdale Historic District,” and the old clubhouse is the meeting place for the town counsel.
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SOURCES:
Arizona Republican:
11/15/1912; Pg. 5, Col. 1.
1/4/1913; Pg. 8, Col. 4.
1/31/1914; Pg. 13, Cols. 2-3.
Coconino Sun:
2/6/1914; Pg. 2, Cols. 3-5
Copper Era and Morenci Leader:
2/28/1913; Pg. 3, Col. 4.
Journal-Miner (Weekly):
11/20/1912; Pg. 2, Col. 2.
12/4/1912; Pg. 3, Col. 3.
12/18/1912; Pg. 6, Col. 7
1/19/1913; Pg. 4, Col. 6.
2/5/1913; Pg. 8, Col. 5.
2/19/1913; Pg. 2, Col. 6.
4/23/1913; Pg. 2, Col. 5.
4/30/1913; Pg. 7, Col. 7.
9/3/1913; Pg. 7, Col. 5.
11/19/1913; Pg. 5, Col. 5.
12/3/1913; Pg. 6, Col. 5.
1/20/1915; Pg. 5, Col. 4.
Mohave County Miner:
8/9/1913; Pg. 3, Col. 3.
7/26/1913; Pg. 1, Col. 5
11/8/1913; Pg. 1, Col. 2.
IBID. Pg. 5 Cols. 1-2.
4/4/1914; Pg. 1 Cols. 1-2.
9/12/1914; Pg. 1, Col. 2.
Parker Post:
3/20/1915; Pg. 2, Col. 4
Tombstone Epitaph:
8/3/1913; Pg. 3, Col. 6
6/23/1915; Pg. 4, Col. 4.
Tucson Citizen:
11/7/1913; Pg. 5, Cols. 3-4.
Williams News:
6/7/1913; Pg. 1, Col. 3.
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