Questionable Place Names of Arizona

By Kristy McCaffrey

Arizona has its share of place names that might make people cringe today, dating back to a colorful past and regional biases.

Throughout the state there are at least 15 geographic features whose names include "Negro." This was actually an improvement that took place in 1963 when the U.S. Geological Survey updated designations that contained a different n-word. These places include Negro Ben Peak, Negro Ben Spring and Negro Flat. But not every name is linked to racist terminology—Cerro Negro, a summit in Pima County, gets its name from the Spanish words meaning "black hill."

Today, the word "squaw" is considered offensive. A rather prominent site in the Phoenix area, Squaw Peak, was renamed Piestewa Peak in 2003, after the first Native American woman to die in combat in the U.S. military in Iraq. But there are still at least a dozen features in the state with the word "squaw" in the name—two Squaw Buttes, two Squaw Creeks and six other Squaw Peaks.

Piestewa Peak

The Chinaman Trail, a 2.6-mile hiking trail in the Coronado National Forest, got its name because of the Chinese laborers who constructed it around the turn of the century. There are two China Peaks in Arizona. In Cochise County, Chinese people from California financed a mine in the area; in Graham County, chinaberry trees grew in the vicinity.

One of the China Peaks

Skull Valley, near Prescott, got its name after a battle between Yavapai and Maricopa Indians. The dead were never removed. When settlers moved in, they were forced to build on land littered with the remains of human skulls.

Bloody Basin, north of Phoenix, speaks to a deadly skirmish as well, but the name more likely originated when a herd of sheep crossed a bridge that gave way, sending the animals tumbling to the rocks below.

Bloody Basin

The most provocative name, however, is Helen's Dome in southeastern Arizona. Designated for a hill that lies within sight of Fort Bowie—and is shaped like a breast—it was reportedly christened after the well-endowed wife of an officer in residence at the fort. The original name was Helen's Tit, but was later softened to Helen's Dome.

Helen's Dome

While many place names have been changed, they are so numerous—with many in remote locations—that the Arizona State Board on Geographic and Historic Names considers name changes only when a petition is submitted.

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America’s Independence Day

By Kristy McCaffrey

The Fourth of July—or Independence Day—is a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. This document, ratified by the Second Continental Congress, set forth that the original thirteen American colonies were now a new nation—the United States of America—and no longer a part of the British Empire.

In actuality, the vote to separate from England occurred on July 2, 1776, but the date written on the Declaration of Independence—July 4—became the popular holiday. (It is also believed that the document itself wasn’t signed until August 2, 1776.) One of the signer’s (and the 2^nd U.S. President), John Adams, had this to say in a letter to his wife, although he was incorrect about the date:

“The second day of July, 1776, will be the most memorable epoch in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forever more.”

Out west, Independence Day celebrations didn’t begin until the 1800’s. For example, the first Independence Day celebrated in Prescott, Arizona took place on July 4, 1864. The town was just over one month old but three hundred people attended the festivities, which included a parade of the cavalry from Fort Whipple and speeches by Governor John Goodwin (the first governor of the Arizona Territory) and Secretary of Territory Richard McCormick. A huge meal was laid out of fried liver, venison and beef steaks, mutton stew, barbecued beef, and pot pies alongside coffee, tea and milk. A local saloon also provided whiskey. Over time, this annual celebration became a modern-day rodeo in Prescott, purported to be the oldest rodeo in Arizona.

Today, not much has changed for Fourth of July celebrations. Americans engage in cookouts, barbecues, picnics, parades, carnivals, fairs, concerts, and of course fireworks.

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Kristy McCaffrey has been writing since she was very young, but it wasn’t until she was a stay-at-home mom that she considered becoming published. She’s the author of several historical western romances, all set in the American southwest. She lives in the Arizona desert with her husband, two chocolate labs, and whichever of their four teenage children happen to be in residence.

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