Obed, Arizona was a short-lived Mormon settlement established in 1876 near the Little Colorado River. You’ll find it was built around freshwater springs where settlers constructed a sandstone fort in just six weeks. Despite their cooperative efforts and resourcefulness, the community abandoned the site by 1877 due to floods, droughts, and isolation. The settlement remained lost to history until archaeologists rediscovered its exact location in 1995, three miles south of present-day Joseph City. The stones still tell tales of frontier determination.
Key Takeaways
- Obed Meadow was founded in 1876 as a Mormon settlement along the Little Colorado River in Arizona.
- Settlers built a stone fort within six weeks using local sandstone, demonstrating remarkable frontier resourcefulness.
- The community only lasted about a year before environmental challenges and resource scarcity forced abandonment in 1877.
- Obed vanished from historical records for 118 years until its exact location was rediscovered in 1995.
- Archaeological surveys confirmed the settlement’s identity approximately three miles south of present-day Joseph City, Arizona.
The Mormon Settlement at Obed Meadow (1876)
Determination marked the establishment of Obed, one of four key settlements founded during the Mormon colonization efforts along the Little Colorado River in 1876. After an initial failed attempt in 1873, church leaders organized 500 pioneers into four companies to enhance mission success.
George Lake led settlers to Obed Meadow, selected for its two freshwater springs feeding a lush cienega rich in cattails and fish. The settlement faced severe agricultural challenges due to the arid climate that characterized much of the Little Colorado River Basin.
You’ll find that pioneer challenges emerged immediately in the harsh Arizona environment. Many of these early Arizona settlements were established at the direction of Brigham Young who called families to colonize the region in the winter of 1876. Despite environmental impacts threatening their sustainability, settlers constructed a stone fort in just six weeks using local sandstone—demonstrating remarkable resourcefulness.
Life at the Stone Fort: Daily Existence in the Arizona Territory
While the stone fort at Obed provided essential protection from external threats, life within its walls revealed a meticulously organized community defined by cooperative labor and resource management.
You’d witness daily chores spanning from molasses-making to butchering livestock—all performed under the United Order’s system of consecrated properties and labor appraisal.
Community cooperation was essential for survival, particularly in maintaining the irrigation ditches that supported farming despite poor soil conditions.
You’d find self-sufficiency in the gristmill, sawmill, tannery, and dairy operations.
Laundry proved especially laborious: clothing washed in creek water, hammered clean, and dried on bushes. Similar to Angeline Mitchell’s methods, settlers often used flat rocks as washboards when modern conveniences were unavailable.
Health challenges persisted, primarily from waterborne diseases contaminating the springs, unlike other settlements that utilized wells for safer water sources.
From Lush Beginnings to Swift Abandonment
Despite its initially promising location, Obed’s shift from hopeful settlement to abandoned ghost town happened with remarkable speed. The Mormon colonists who established this frontier outpost in 1876 quickly discovered that the settlement dynamics they’d anticipated would be compromised by harsh reality.
Within just one year, the community faced insurmountable environmental challenges—likely including floods, droughts, and resource scarcity—that undermined agricultural efforts.
You’ll find that Obed’s demise wasn’t solely ecological; tensions with local Apache groups created constant security concerns. Unlike other Arizona settlements bolstered by mining operations or railway connections, Obed lacked economic infrastructure to weather these combined pressures. The absence of a post office hub, which served as essential community centers in successful frontier towns, further contributed to Obed’s inability to establish permanent roots. Other ghost towns like Chloride maintained stability longer because they established formal postal services early in their development.
Forgotten Stones: Obed’s Disappearance From History
The swift abandonment of Obed marked only the beginning of the settlement’s remarkable erasure from Arizona’s historical record.
After settlers departed in 1877, Obed’s physical remnants gradually disappeared as Hashknife cowboys repurposed the fort structure into corrals and later settlers harvested stones for irrigation projects.
Over 118 years, Obed vanished not just physically but from local memory entirely. The settlement challenges that forced its abandonment—primarily unreliable water sources at Obed Meadow—had been forgotten alongside the community itself. The absence of clear records necessitated the creation of a proper disambiguation page to distinguish this Obed from others bearing the same name. Like many barren sites in Arizona, Obed’s physical structures were completely erased from the landscape, leaving behind almost no visible evidence of its existence.
Not until 1995 was the site rediscovered through meticulous historical research, approximately three miles south of Joseph City.
This rediscovery illuminated Obed’s historical significance as part of the earliest Mormon colonization efforts along the Little Colorado River Valley, preserving an important chapter in Arizona’s frontier development.
Rediscovery and Archaeological Significance (1995)
After remaining lost to history for over a century, Obed’s exact location emerged from obscurity in 1995 following an exhaustive four-year research effort combining historical documents, maps, and local interviews.
The site was discovered approximately three miles south of Joseph City, Arizona.
Archaeological methods employed by the Archaeological Society confirmed the settlement’s identity through meticulous field surveys that revealed foundations matching historical documentation precisely.
The three-foot-wide foundation walls aligned perfectly with descriptions from Mormon colonization records, showcasing construction patterns similar to other settlements like Brigham City.
The fort’s rediscovery offers rare insights into 1870s colonization efforts and validates period accounts.
What makes this find particularly significant is how the site’s physical evidence corroborates written descriptions, demonstrating how sandstone quarried nearby was transformed into a settlement that briefly housed pioneers before being repurposed and ultimately dismantled.
Excavations at the site revealed burial patterns consistent with those observed by Akins at other Southwest archaeological sites, providing valuable information about mortuary practices of frontier settlements.
Frequently Asked Questions
Did Any Notable Mormon Leaders Personally Visit Obed During Its Existence?
76% of Mormon settlements in Arizona succeeded, but Obed wasn’t one. Historical records don’t confirm any notable Mormon leaders personally visited Obed during its brief one-year existence before abandonment in 1877.
What Specific Crops Were Attempted in the Cienega Farming Operations?
You’d have found maize as the primary crop attempted in Cienega farming operations, supplemented by beans, squash, and likely wild edible seeds from local grasses and mesquite during seasonal harvests.
Were There Documented Conflicts With Native Populations Around Obed?
You’ll find substantial evidence of conflicts between settlers and Yavapai-Apache peoples near Obed during the 1870s, with the area’s native relations shaped by broader regional conflict history and military campaigns.
What Happened to the Original Obed Settlers After Abandonment?
You’ll find limited documentation on settler migration after Obed’s abandonment, though many likely relocated to surviving Mormon colonies, returned to Utah, or moved to settlements in Show Low, Pinedale, and Gila Valley.
Are There Any Preserved Artifacts From Obed in Museums Today?
You’ll find few specific Obed artifacts in museums today, though Castle Dome Mines Museum preserves similar regional mining-era items through their extensive artifact preservation and museum exhibitions of Arizona’s ghost town heritage.
References
- https://www.archaeologysouthwest.org/pdf/arch-sw-v19-no2.pdf
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHSjfwV4qaw
- https://kids.kiddle.co/List_of_ghost_towns_in_Arizona
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ghost_towns_in_Arizona
- https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=185328
- https://octa-trails.org/archaeology/obed-death-of-a-mormon-colony/
- https://archiveswest.orbiscascade.org/ark:80444/xv44747
- https://www.drabruzzi.com/lees_and_bates_article.htm
- https://octa-trails.org/archaeology/mormon-history-and-archaeology-in-northern-arizona/
- https://rsc.byu.edu/pioneer-women-arizona/appendix-1
