Joseph City, Arizona

Unincorporated community in the state of Arizona, United States

Census-designated place in Arizona, United States

Joseph City, Arizona

Census-designated place (CDP)

Location in Navajo County and the state of Arizona

Joseph City, Arizona

Location in the United States

Coordinates: 34°57′21″N 110°20′02″W﻿ / ﻿34.95583°N 110.33389°W﻿ / 34.95583; -110.33389
Country|  United States
State|  Arizona
County| Navajo
Settled| 1876
Area

[1]

• Total

| 7.41 sq mi (19.20 km2)
• Land| 7.40 sq mi (19.17 km2)
• Water| 0.01 sq mi (0.04 km2)
Elevation

[2]

| 5,043 ft (1,537 m)
Population

(2020)

• Total

| 1,307
• Density| 176.62/sq mi (68.19/km2)
Time zone| UTC−7 (MST)
• Summer (DST)| UTC−7 (no DST/PDT)
ZIP code|

86032

Area code| 928
FIPS code| 04-36430
GNIS ID(s)| 2582803[2]

Joseph City (elevation 5,000 ft) is a Census Designated Place located in Navajo County, Arizona, United States. It is located on Interstate 40, approximately eighty miles east of Flagstaff and about thirty-five miles west of Petrified Forest National Park. In 2010, there were 1,386 inhabitants.[3]

## History

[edit]

Joseph City in 2004

Joseph City was settled in 1876 by colonists who were members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This band of 73 pioneers was led by Captain William C. Allen.[4] They traveled to the Little Colorado River basin of Arizona. Joseph City was one of four Little Colorado River colonies.[5] The other colonies were Brigham City, Sunset, and Obed. Joseph City is the only remaining colony.[6]

The hardest challenge for the new colonists was trying to get water for their crops. This meant that they had to tame the Little Colorado River, which was difficult due to the flooding season that would destroy dams along the river. The first dam was built in 1876, shortly after the colonists arrived in the area. In the next 18 years the colonists built ten more dams. The eleventh dam was built in 1894. This dam lasted 29 years. In 1923, the eleventh dam was destroyed and the colonists were forced to build a new dam. This dam still stands and directs water to the inhabitants in the city.[7]

The name of the colony changed twice since its founding. The area settled by Captain Allen's group was called Allen's Camp, in honor of their leader. The name changed in January 1878 to St. Joseph. This change came about when the Little Colorado Stake was organized, to honor Joseph Smith, founder of the Latter Day Saint movement. In 1923 there was a final name change to Joseph City. Due to mail and freight shipment confusion, the Santa Fe Railway, which also ran through Saint Joseph, Missouri, asked St. Joseph, Arizona to change its name. The residents of the town voted and the name became Joseph City.[8]

## Geography

[edit]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 7.41 square miles (19.2 km2), of which 7.4 square miles (19 km2) is land and 0.01 square miles (0.026 km2) is water.

### Climate

[edit]

Joseph City has a semi-arid climate (BSk) with cold to cool winters and hot summers. Although the mean snowfall is 0.16 metres (6.30 in), the median is zero, so the majority of winters do not have measurable snow.

Climate data for Joseph City, Arizona

Month  | Jan  | Feb  | Mar  | Apr  | May  | Jun  | Jul  | Aug  | Sep  | Oct  | Nov  | Dec  | Year
Record high °F (°C)  | 74
(23)  | 99
(37)  | 89
(32)  | 93
(34)  | 101
(38)  | 108
(42)  | 106
(41)  | 109
(43)  | 106
(41)  | 96
(36)  | 89
(32)  | 78
(26)  | 109
(43)
Mean daily maximum °F (°C)  | 50.6
(10.3)  | 57.9
(14.4)  | 65.1
(18.4)  | 73.3
(22.9)  | 81.9
(27.7)  | 92.2
(33.4)  | 95.4
(35.2)  | 92.2
(33.4)  | 86.3
(30.2)  | 74.7
(23.7)  | 61.6
(16.4)  | 51.5
(10.8)  | 73.6
(23.1)
Mean daily minimum °F (°C)  | 20.9
(−6.2)  | 25.2
(−3.8)  | 30.3
(−0.9)  | 35.9
(2.2)  | 43.3
(6.3)  | 51.4
(10.8)  | 59.8
(15.4)  | 59.0
(15.0)  | 50.9
(10.5)  | 38.2
(3.4)  | 27.6
(−2.4)  | 20.9
(−6.2)  | 38.6
(3.7)
Record low °F (°C)  | −20
(−29)  | −19
(−28)  | 2
(−17)  | 10
(−12)  | 13
(−11)  | 30
(−1)  | 41
(5)  | 36
(2)  | 18
(−8)  | 15
(−9)  | −10
(−23)  | −21
(−29)  | −21
(−29)
Average precipitation inches (mm)  | 0.71
(18)  | 0.66
(17)  | 0.72
(18)  | 0.37
(9.4)  | 0.38
(9.7)  | 0.20
(5.1)  | 1.17
(30)  | 1.51
(38)  | 1.18
(30)  | 1.07
(27)  | 0.66
(17)  | 0.57
(14)  | 9.2
(233.2)
Average snowfall inches (cm)  | 1.5
(3.8)  | 1.3
(3.3)  | 0.7
(1.8)  | 0.8
(2.0)  | 0
(0)  | 0
(0)  | 0
(0)  | 0
(0)  | 0
(0)  | 0
(0)  | 1.1
(2.8)  | 0.9
(2.3)  | 6.3
(16)
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.01 inch) | 4.0  | 3.5  | 4.6  | 2.7  | 3.3  | 1.6  | 6.0  | 8.0  | 5.4  | 4.1  | 3.0  | 3.6  | 49.8
Average snowy days (≥ 0.1 inch) | 0.8  | 0.7  | 0.6  | 0.1  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0.6  | 0.6  | 3.4
Source: [9]

## Demographics

[edit]

Historical population Census| Pop.| Note| %±

|
|
|

2020| 1,307| | —
U.S. Decennial Census[10]

## Economy

[edit]

The Cholla Power Plant is located near Joseph City.

## Education

[edit]

Joseph City is served by the Joseph City Unified School District. Two schools, Joseph City Elementary School, and Joseph City High School, serve the community. Their schools have a very high AIMS standard. The current Superintendent of Joseph City Unified School District is Bryan Fields.[11]

## See also

[edit]

* Little Colorado River
* The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Arizona

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved October 29, 2021.
2. ^ a b U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Joseph City, Arizona
3. ^ "Census.gov". Census.gov. United States Census Bureau.
4. ^ Tanner, George S and J Morris Richards, Colonization on the Little Colorado: The Joseph City Region (Flagstaff, Arizona: 1977) 16.
5. ^ Tanner, George S and J Morris Richards, Colonization on the Little Colorado: The Joseph City Region (Flagstaff, Arizona: 1977) xiii.
6. ^ Tanner, George S and J Morris Richards, Colonization on the Little Colorado: The Joseph City Region (Flagstaff, Arizona: 1977) 21, 32, 34.
7. ^ Tanner, George S and J Morris Richards, Colonization on the Little Colorado: The Joseph City Region (Flagstaff, Arizona: 1977) 41–50.
8. ^ Tanner, George S and J Morris Richards, Colonization on the Little Colorado: The Joseph City Region (Flagstaff, Arizona: 1977) 36.
9. ^ "Holbrook, AZ" (PDF). National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 10, 2014. Retrieved December 5, 2011.
10. ^ "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2016.
11. ^ "Joseph City: Administration". Archived from the original on February 21, 2014. Retrieved February 10, 2014.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Joseph City, Arizona.

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Joseph City.

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Municipalities and communities of Navajo County, Arizona, United States

County seat: Holbrook

Cities|

* Holbrook
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Towns|

* Pinetop-Lakeside
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* Taylor

CDPs|

* Chilchinbito
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* Fort Apache
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* Hard Rock
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* Sun Valley
* Tees Toh
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* Woodruff

Populated
places|

* Aripine
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* Pivahn-hon-kya-pi
* Polacca
* Sipaulovi
* Smoke Signal
* Tsegi
* Twin Buttes
* Wepo Village

Indian reservations|

* Fort Apache‡
* Hopi‡
* Navajo‡

Ghost towns|

* Brigham City
* Cedar Springs
* Obed
* Sunset
* Wilford
* Zeniff

Footnotes|

‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties

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