Greenwood was an unusually vibrant community of successful black entrepreneurs, doctors, and lawyers. EASTERN ARIZONA And, although its no longer open to the public, the building still stands. In extreme cases, hostility toward African Americans resulted in extrajudicial killing. Cambridge University Press. After being stopped by a sheriff while on vacation with his family, the sheriff asked Rons dad where he got the car. A city at the center of several natural attractions, Safford is a haven for outdoor exploration and activities. Thus the new settlement was named Purdy. For black Americans who hit the road with a copy of the Green Book, a guide expressly created to keep them safe in a wildly perilous landscape, they surely already understood that the hopeful Mark Twain quote gracing almost every Green Book coverTravel is fatal to prejudicewas purely aspirational. Things To Do In Duncan Arizona - SouthernArizonaGuide.com Carol McGrath, a Black woman, has lived in Glendale for 17 years and experienced racism as recently as two years ago. Greenlee County was created in 1909 and named for Mason Greenlee, who was an early settler in the Clifton area. His father had a good job with the railroad and owned a nice car. [14] Also pictured is the antique town clock located in Spezia Square Park and the 1950 Chevrolet 6400 2-ton fire truck once used in Duncan. Evacuations ordered, emergency declared in eastern Arizona floods Gila River Indian Reservation was established in 1859, and the Gila River Indian Community formally established by Congress in 1939. Scottish investors financed the building of a narrow gauge railway from Clifton to Lordsburg, New Mexico. James W. Loewen, Sundown Towns: A Hidden Dimension of American Racism (New York: The New Press, 2005); Candacy Taylor, The Roots of Route 66, The Atlantic, November 3, 2016, https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/11/the-roots-of-route-66/506255/; Sundown Towns, Encyclopedia of Arkansas, https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/sundown-towns-3658/. And on day three, we passed the Civil Rights Act and changed all the laws. Problem solved. South of Phoenix, in Chandler, the Gila River Indian Community invites visitors to learn about the two tribesthe Akimel Ootham and the Pee Poshwho make up the community at the HuHugam Heritage Center, a museum filled with historical artifacts, rotating exhibitions and classes that educate the public about the . In the town, the population was spread out, with 35.2% under the age of 18, 10.6% from 18 to 24, 22.2% from 25 to 44, 21.2% from 45 to 64, and 10.8% who were 65 years of age or older. DUNCAN, Ariz. - Evacuations are underway in a town in eastern Arizona after heavy rain flooded a river. The Anasazi are considered by historians to have been an advanced ancient native-American civilization. These five Cs have been the driving force behind Arizonas economy, and gave economic security to past generations and hope to many generations. I said, Mom, isnt slavery over?, I said, Why are all of these black men in chains working in a field?. The per capita income for the town was $13,642. As of the 2010 census, the population of the town was 696. 928-381-1881 Greenlee County Sheriff's Department Office: (928) 865-4149 Emergency: 911 , Coronado Trail National Scenic Byway. Thats why the National Park Services Route 66 Preservation Program approached me in 2014 to document Green Book sites on Route 66 and to produce a short video. The citrus industry in Arizona even predates statehood by decades. While you might not find big-town amenities here, you will discover. In Safford, the summers are sweltering and partly cloudy and the winters are cold, dry, and mostly clear. Knowing better than to say it was his, Rons father pretended to be a chauffeur. The following historic structures are listed as contributing factors within Duncan. Arizona Flooding Sparks 'Mass Evacuation' of Duncan - Newsweek Sundown towns - racism in Tempe/Scottsdale Arizona 2021 The most snowfall ever in Duncan was 15.0 inches or 0.38 metres during the record Western cold wave of January 1949. Green modeled his book after Jewish travel guides created for the Borsht Belt in the 1930s. In Town Job Shift Day (M-F) Approx 7:30am - 2:30pm Job Category Education ***Base rate of pay starting at $13.85-15.00/hour and an additional lump sum payment up to $80.50 per pay period Current Opening: Duncan Head Start, 0001 McGrath Ave., Duncan, AZ 85534, 1 opening, 7 hours per day, M- F, Approximately 7:30am - 2:30pm, mid July thru mid May Birding and Wildlife in Duncan and Greenlee County, Arizona Click HERE to see the substantial variety of birds that have been sighted in or near Duncan recently. Detail from Greenlee Mural by Hal Empie by Desert Lavender Design, Birding Trail in Late Spring by Deborah Mendelsohn, Town Hall . The Simpson Hotel has a wooden toy pony in a first-floor window. I keep waiting for the present to swing a fist through the illusion. Sundown Towns, a Historical Look : NPR The spot where Michel Brown bled out in the street for four hours in Ferguson, Missouri, is just a couple of miles from the original Route 66. It WAS a Sundown town based on the criteria listed. Given this mass denial, its not surprising that Route 66 is weighted down with nostalgia, suffocating from an idealized past that never was. When I talk to people about the full history of Route 66 and the Green Book, they say, Thank God we dont need that anymore. But while black people may not have to worry about KKK cross burnings at tourist sites, they still have to worry about being shot by the police. In Nevada, Sundown Town History Has Cultural Impacts For Washoe - KUNC Peoples of the Upper Gila River from Pre-History to the Present. When the sheriff asked about the other people in the car, Rons dad pretended they werent his family. According to the United States Census Bureau, the town of Duncan has a total area of 2.2 square miles (5.6km2), all of it land.[2]. DUNCAN, AZ (3TV/CBS 5) - The flooding that inundated the town of Duncan was made worse by the failure of a levee that was meant to protect the town of . Shes been cutting her own meat in her two-room enterprise for 14 years. My neighbor ladies and I walk every day, she says. Mass evacuation underway in Arizona town as river overflows, reaches The site is on Gila River Indian Tribal land. Sundown Towns -- 137 Sundown Towns Across 21 States -- Are The Litmus Test of America's Transformation https: . Lordsburg, New Mexico, to meet the Southern Pacific line. Although it is difficult to make an accurate count, historians estimate there were up to 10,000 sundown towns in the United States between 1890 and 1960, mostly in the Mid-West and West. The images on this website are copyrighted. Leafy greens, cabbage, dates, melons, lemons, oranges, apples, potatoes and tomatoes are just some foods harvested from Arizonas nourishing soil. High Desert RV Park, High Street, 928-359-3030 Nine Rail RV Camp, Highway 75, 928-359-9107 Stephens RV Park, Madison Street off Highway 70, 928-359-2113. In 1956, 11-year-old William Flanagan was on his way to a little league baseball game and came across a black truck driver who was stranded and in need of food. One month after flooding, town of Duncan still recovering The sheriff asked, Wheres your chauffeur hat? Rons dad was ready; he had one in the car: Hanging right up in the back, Officer., Despite all the dangers, millions of black vacationers, like Rons family, did explore the countrymany relying on a unique travel guide, The Negro Motorist Green Book. Automobile travel symbolized freedom in America, and the Green Book was a resourceful, innovative solution to a horrific problem. Sundown Towns: Where Black Americans Weren't Allowed After Dark A full list of Sundown Towns in the United States - Reddit 'Mass evacuation' in Arizona town after monsoonal rains cause river to One in Alix, Arkansas, in the 1930s, for instance, read, N-r, Dont Let the Sun Go Down On You In Alix. Others stated, Whites Only After Dark. Many sundown towns used discriminatory housing covenants to ensure no non-white person would be allowed to purchase or rent a home. My friend Julie and I walk into Hildas Kitchen & Meat Market, where Hilda Goekings smile is as wide as a rainbow. Arizona Highways 2039 W Lewis Ave, Phoenix, AZ 85009 602.712.2200. No Negroes. The humiliation of being shut out of not only public spaces but entire towns was bad enough, but for black people, there were always plenty of even bleaker fearsevery stop was a potential existential danger. EASTERN ARIZONA. If it does, I hope they appreciate it. Booker T. Washington called it Black Wall Street, and it was arguably the wealthiest black neighborhood in the South. I wanted to share the real story of Route 66its promise of freedom and its failure to live up to that promise. Called "Purdy" in the Post Office register of 1883, it was founded by Messrs. Purdy and Bachelor as a way My name is George Stark and I am 42 years old. Greyhound Lines serves Duncan on its PhoenixEl Paso via Globe route. First, its a quaint little town worthy of a good walkabout. For much of the 20th century, thousands of all-white American towns forbade Black people from . DUNCAN, Ariz. - Evacuation orders for a small eastern Arizona town have been lifted after heavy rain overflowed the Gila River, spilling water into portions of the area. Duncan belongs to the Gila, the storied river of the west, the ageless natural highway whose passage through the mountain and desert southwest has served humankind since The farther west anyone traveled, the fewer services were availablefor white people and especially for black people. Tucson is located in the Sonoran Desert approximately 100 miles south of Phoenix and 60 miles north of the Mexico border. About 14.0% of families and 16.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 17.4% of those under age 18 and 23.2% of those age 65 or over. Among the historic properties is the Benjamin F. Billingsley House, which is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Sundown Town History Coalition for an Anti-Racist Glendale Duncan belongs to the Gila, the storied river of the west, the ageless natural highway whose passage through the mountain and desert southwest has served humankind since prehistoric times. Arizona north of the Gila River was taken by the United States under the terms of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo at the end of the war. In its most blatant form, signs were posted at the city limits. Guests include Jim Hunt, president of the National League of Cities . Glendale is the first city in CA to apologize for its history as a Sundown Town. Sundown Towns Are Still A Problem For Black Drivers - BuzzFeed News Location of Duncan in Greenlee County, Arizona, Last edited on 10 February 2023, at 23:59, "Geographic Identifiers: 2010 Demographic Profile Data (G001): Duncan town, Arizona", "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990", National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Duncan,_Arizona&oldid=1138676476, Source: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, This page was last edited on 10 February 2023, at 23:59. The site of contemporary Duncan had its origin sometime in the 1870s. She wants to talk about the current townspeople. Whats the lightest weight backpacking gear youve used? In 1978, at the age of 7, I was riding in the car with my mother in Houston, Texas, when I saw a prison chain gang; shackled men were working in a sugarcane field. Simpson Hotel (former Hotel Hobbs) - 1914, River Front Lounge (former Bonnie Heather Bar/Pool Hall) - 1925, Old Duncan Bus Station now Hotel Duncan - 1920. Duncan Valley Rural Fire District Call 911 for emergencies. Duncan might attract people who now realize they can work remotely from anywhere. Courtesy Gilpin County Historical Society. "Marcos de Niza". As of the census[8] of 2000, there were 812 people, 294 households, and 206 families residing in the town. 506 SE Old West Hwy He remembers Martinsville, Indiana as an unfriendly place. Town Hall 506 SE Old West Hwy Duncan, Arizona 85534. [1][2][3][4], Francisco Vasquez de Coronado was a governor of a province in New Spain (in Mexico). (Excluding Federal Holidays) At that time, the town was located on the north bank of the Gila. He failed in his mission. Reproduction in part or whole without written permission from the publisher is prohibited. "All white" is in quotes because some towns allowed one black family to remain when they drove out the rest. Even once black travelers reached a multiracial city, such as Albuquerque, New Mexico, only 6 percent of the more than 100 motels along Albuquerques slice of Route 66 admitted them. The other room of Hildas kingdom is a diner. It looks like a movie set. Pistachio trees have a small presence in the Grand Canyon State, but the pecan business is developing quickly. [2] In 2018 the estimated population was 789.[3]. [15], An individual structure listed in the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Benjamin F. Billingsley House listed on August 25, 1983, reference: #83002998. A page inside boasted, Just What You Have Been Looking For!! July 3, 1919: The Battle of Brewery Gulch - Zinn Education Project If you were black and didnt have this information, how would you know where to go? Jonathan Majors stars in the new HBO series, "Lovecraft Country," which has been prompting discussions about so-called sundown towns in the U.S. (Mary Mathis for the Washington Post via Getty Images) Cliff dwellers, conquistadors, Apache warriors, mountain men, westering immigrants each in their time has traveled its banks. Brightly colored cartons and cans, merry and generic, are mixed with names I do recognize: jellies, preserves, toiletries, dry goods, bagged sugar, canned vegetables. Terrorism is not new, and to think so is a grievous slight to the nations native peoples, to its multitudes of immigrants, and to its legions of black Americansall of whom have long been terrorized for calling America home. Ha, there's no Sundown Towns her in AZ. The site of contemporary Duncan had its origin sometime in the 1870s. It prospered right into the 1970s, when the new Interstate 10 to the south diverted commercial traffic, contributing to a rising trucking industry. Black motorists who drove nice cars were especially susceptible to regular harassment by law enforcement. Office: (928) 865-4149Emergency: 911. Just one year before construction on Route 66 began, the Chicago Tribune suggested in an editorial on August 29, 1925, that black people avoid recreational sites altogether: We should be doing no service to the Negroes if we did not point out that to a very large section of the white population the presence of a Negro, however well behaved, among white bathers is an irritation. Sundown Towns in Indiana: How a Legacy of 'Whites-Only' Towns Rose and But, after a young black man was wrongfully accused of assaulting a white woman, an angry lynch mob broke out. After just one Black family moved into an apartment there in 1951, a mob of 4,000 white people attacked the entire building. CANNOT RECOGNIZE What county is Safford AZ in? "A travel advisory has been issued to warn that any Black people in or traveling to San Antonio use increased caution when visiting the city due to the city's policing policies that put . Ive estimated that nearly 75 percent of Green Book sites have been demolished or radically modified, and the majority that remain have fallen into disrepair, so its crucial to preserve whatever sites are left. Glendale Becomes First CA City to Recognize Sundown Town - Spectrum News 1 They began to proliferate during the Great Migration, starting in about 1910, when large numbers of African Americans left the South to escape racism and poverty. In the 1940s, the Royce Caf, located right on Route 66, proudly announced on its postcards that Edmond was A Good Place to Live. 6,000 Live Citizens. Your email address will not be published. The road certainly did not mean freedom for everyone, and it bore witness to some of the nations worst acts of racial terrorism. (Today, nothing remains of Grahams, except a tourist cabin that an area law firm uses as its storage shed.). The De Anza Motor Lodge on Route 66 in Albuquerque was built in 1939 and run by a prominent Zuni Indian trader; the motor lodge served black folks on a stretch of road where there were few options available to them. The town of Duncan was actually established in 1883 with the coming of the railroad, but the early settlement here was started in the 1870s along the Gila River on an important stage & freight route. Duncan is a town in Greenlee County, Arizona, United States. The lynching of two Black teenagers in Marion, Indiana, in 1930, for instance, resulted in the towns 200 Black residents moving away never to return. I talk about racism and specifically about sundown towns - racism in Tempe/Scottsdale Arizona. Just down the street is the Henrie Brothers Bakery, with a classic round clock on an ornate pole surrounded by bright blooms, like Mayberry at its best. The vast American landscape meant long, lonely stretches of perilously empty roads, and places like Grahams and other Green Book properties were vital sources of refuge. The state of Arizona gave us our own license plate, and we'd like you to take us for a ride. City of Glendale Apologizes for Its History as a 'Sundown Town' The conflict with the Apaches lasted 26 years. Called "Purdy" in the Post Office register of 1883, it was founded by Messrs. Purdy and Bachelor as a way station on an ore haulage line that linked the railhead in Clifton with Silver City, New Mexico. prehistoric times. Some posted signs that read, Nigger, Dont Let the Sun Set on You Here.. Duncan prospered until the Interstate Highway (I-10) was build further south. But, yes Prescott area is one of the whitest areas in this state. I'm mixed with Black/White, and lived here my whole life in the Phoenix area. Horses and cattle were owned by a lot of people in Compton. Third, the Simpson Hotel B&B is located here. Hours: Monday - Thursday 8:00 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. (Excluding Federal Holidays) Phone: (928) 359-2791. Here are our recommendations for Things To Do In Duncan Arizona; plus dining, lodging, & local history. You could easily wind up in the wrong town after dark. [4] U.S. Route 70 passes through downtown, leading west 39 miles (63km) to Safford, Arizona, and southeast 35 miles (56km) to Lordsburg, New Mexico, and Interstate 10. While many claim there is no more racism in the United States,. Cheryl Resur, known as The Cookie Lady, happily sells us a toothsome assortment. His family quarried the native sandstone on their homestead land to build the filling station, which bordered their property at the intersection of Route 66 and Pottawatomie Road. It was not uncommon for Black motorists passing through these communities to be followed by police or local residents to the city limits. Unheard of by many, loved by everyone who calls it home. In Nevada, Sundown Town History Has Cultural Impacts For Washoe Tribal Members. Non-whites were prohibited from being . What makes Route 66 different is that the open-road branding associated with it celebrated a time when black Americans had to navigate racial violence and the Jim Crow policies that shut them out of businesses and recreational sites. But though that message went out to all Americans, it was really meant only for white Americans. This was hundreds of years before the first white men, the Spanish explorers arrival. Cotton is the principal agricultural commodity. And it is too early to celebrate the nations racial tolerance when ongoing racism and xenophobia is camouflaged under the banner of patriotism. One of the Green Books most unusual Route 66 sites was Murrays Dude Ranch. Today, the town continues to thrive as an agricultural community, especially noted wine tasting rooms and award-winning vineyards. As stated earlier, a sundown town (also known as a gray town) is an area in the U.S. where Black people are essentially forced out of the public once the sun goes down. Compton was also very rural at this time. To accommodate the new "Arizona and New Mexico Railroad," the people of Purdy moved their settlement to the south bank of A growing community, with old generations and new ones coming together, Budgets, Annual Financial Statements and Independent Auditors Report, Residential/Business Water and Sewer Service, Irrigation, Livestock and Construction Water. Researched, written and directed by esteemed Oklahoma storyteller DWe William s, the new play about a family's sundown town experience will debut at 8 p.m. Thursday-Saturday, June 9-11, at the Studio of the Sooner Theatre in downtown Norman. Duncan is named for the managing director of the Arizona Copper Company, Duncan Smith. Call 911 for emergencies, Greenlee County Sheriff's Department It is part of the Safford Micropolitan Statistical Area. Published: Aug. 23, 2022 at 5:03 PM PDT. In the Pulitzer Prizewinning The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of Americas Great Migration, the writer Isabel Wilkerson recounts Dr. Robert Fosters harrowing journey in the West, where he would fall asleep at the wheel from exhaustion simply because he had been turned away from every motel he stopped at for being black. Among the society's accomplishments is the clean-ups and painting of scenes on most of the old buildings.[14]. All manner of black and white celebrities visited, from Lena Horne and Joe Louis to Hedda Hopper and Clara Bow. Sundown towns - The Weekly Challenger . In a 2008 "UU World" article, Loewan said many sundown towns weren't always all-white. But for black Americans, the Mother Roads lonely expanses were rife with danger. [1][2][11][4][9], Duncan had its origin on the north bank of the San Francisco River where two men, whose surname was Purdy, established a way station on the ore haulage line that ran between Clifton and Silver City, New Mexico. This is a list, which includes a photographic gallery, of some of the remaining historic buildings, houses, and other structures in the mining town of Duncan, which is located in Greenlee County, Arizona. He said the woman sitting next to him (his wife) was his employers maid, and he was taking her and her son (Ron) home. Businesses that served Black customers or hired Black employees would be boycotted by the white townspeople, ensuring that Blacks had few, if any, job opportunities in those communities. Acreage is also planted to kenaf, an alternative fiber for making paper, and vernonia, an oilseed. The original ownera white man, a Christian, and the son of missionariesClifford Clinton, had traveled with his parents to China, where he witnessed that countrys brutal and abject poverty firsthand. In 2018 the estimated population was 789. Called Purdy in the Post Office register of 1883, it was founded by Messrs. Purdy and Bachelor as a way station on an ore haulage line that linked the railhead in Clifton with Silver City, New Mexico. There Are Still 137 Sundown Towns Across 21 States - Democratic Underground In 1930, 44 out of the 89 counties that lined Route 66 were all-white communities known as "sundown towns"places that banned black people from entering city limits after dark. A rustic service station with a genuinely old truck would invite them to clamber over it until their mothers call them home to supper. Chisholm, Hugh, ed. In the 1940s, Edmond, Oklahoma promoted itself on postcards with the slogan, A Good Place to LiveNo Negroes. The town of Mena, Arkansas advertised its many charms: Cool Summers, Mild Winters, No Blizzards, No Negroes. In other cases, the policy was enforced through less formal norms and sanctions. Racial exclusion in sundown towns was also achieved with violence. In 1999, Dr. Loewen began a public database of sundown towns identified through research by himself and other contributors, a project he continued to grow until his death in the summer of 2021. No franchises. African Americans who lingered in sundown towns even during the daytime experienced harassment, threats, arrest, and beatings. According to AP News, these towns are inhabited by a majority of white people who insist that "Black and white residents get along really well." The siren that sounds every day at noon and 5 p.m. in Minden, Nevada is associated with the town's discriminatory history excluding Native Americans. And in 2020, a group called the Defund San Antonio Police Department Coalition issued a travel warning for San Antonio, labeling the city as a sundown town. Also, Pellets on Sale. I guess if you dont know whether or not you need them, youre not the target audience. The Purdy post office was relocated to the new location of Purdy and thus the settlement was renamed Duncan. In 1881 and 1882, when the Arizona Copper Company was formed at Clifton-Morenci, an influx of Scottish capital financed the building of a narrow-gauge railway from Clifton to What is the best battery pack for camping? The Gila River crested at a record-breaking 30.28 feet on Sunday night near Virden, New Mexico, a town just 7 miles from Duncan, Arizona. Duncan is a town in Greenlee County, Arizona, United States. Of course Route 66 wasnt any more racist than any other road in America at the time. Lying five miles from the New Mexico border, in the deep southeastern corner of Greenlee County, Duncan seems a world away from the wild mountains surrounding it. After 16 hours, at least 300 people had died, 35 blocks of the Greenwood District had burned to the ground, and more than 10,000 black residents had been left homeless. For many, the vulnerability of the road meant always having a plan, a cover story, or even a disguise. Remembering James W. Loewen Duncan Arizona Basic Information Type of Place Independent City or Town Metro Area Politics c. 1860? If you need to book a flight, search for the nearest airport to Duncan, SC. The average household size was 2.76 and the average family size was 3.33. Sundown Towns are all-white communities, neighborhoods, or counties that exclude Blacks and other minorities through the use of discriminatory laws, harassment, and threats or use of violence. To avoid the humiliation of being turned away, they often traveled with portable toilets, bedding, gas cans, and ice coolers. Today, Route 66 has surrendered to a series of bypasses, causeways, and highways, but the path it traced is still troubled: American Owned signs line the old Route 66; they are code for Not Owned by Immigrants. In Noel, Missouri, Somali immigrants say they are not welcome at Kathys Kountry Kitchen, where even now servers wear T-shirts reading, I got caught eating at the KKK. Stories like these are why the rosy hue of Route 66 nostalgia leaves a bitter chill in the souls of black people.