Pipe Spring National Monument facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Pipe Spring National Monument |
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IUCN Category III (Natural Monument)
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Winsor Castle
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 Pipe Spring National Monument
Location in Arizona
Pipe Spring National Monument
Location in the United States
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| Location | Mohave County, Arizona, US |
| Nearest city | Fredonia, AZ |
| Area | 40 acres (16 ha) |
| Created | May 31, 1923 |
| Visitors | 25,179 (in 2018) |
| Governing body | National Park Service |
| Website | Pipe Spring National Monument |
Pipe Spring National Monument is a special place in Arizona, USA. It's a United States National Monument that holds lots of history. You can learn about American Indian tribes, early explorers, and Mormon pioneers here. The National Park Service looks after this monument. Pipe Spring was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1966.
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A Spring in the Desert: Life at Pipe Spring
The water from Pipe Spring has always been very important. It allowed plants, animals, and people to live in this dry desert area. For over 1,000 years, Ancestral Puebloans and Kaibab Paiute Indians lived near the springs. They gathered seeds, hunted animals, and grew crops.
Early Explorers and Mormon Pioneers
In 1829, Antonio Armijo found the springs. He was traveling through the area on the Old Spanish Trail. Later, in 1858, a group of Latter-day Saint missionaries named the spring "Pipe Spring." This group was led by Jacob Hamblin.
In the 1860s, Mormon pioneers from St. George, Utah, brought cattle to the area. They started a large cattle ranch.
Building Winsor Castle
In 1866, several Native American tribes, including the Apache, Navajo, and Paiute, joined the Utes. They raided Pipe Spring during the Black Hawk War. Because of this, a strong fort was built by 1872 right over the main spring.
The next year, Brigham Young bought the fort and ranch for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). Anson Perry Winsor, a church leader from nearby Grafton, Utah, was hired to run the ranch. He also took care of the fort, which soon became known as Winsor Castle.
This isolated fort was a stop for people traveling across the Arizona Strip. This part of Arizona is separated from the rest of the state by the Grand Canyon. It also offered a safe place for families during the 1880s and 1890s. The LDS Church later lost ownership of the property due to a federal law called the Edmunds-Tucker Act of 1887.
The Kaibab Paiute Indian Reservation
The Paiute Indians continued to live in the area. Their way of life changed a lot after the Mormon settlers arrived. By 1907, the Kaibab Paiute Indian Reservation was created. It surrounded the privately owned Pipe Spring ranch. In 1923, the Pipe Spring ranch was bought. It became a national monument to remember the pioneer life in the American West.
Visiting Pipe Spring Today
Today, Pipe Spring National Monument has a Visitor Center and Museum. These explain the long human history of the area. You can take daily tours of Winsor Castle. In the summer, you might see "living history" demonstrations. These are people dressed up, showing how life was in the past. There's also an orchard, a garden, and a half-mile trail. All of these offer a look into American Indian and pioneer life in the Old West. The Paiute tribe also runs a small campground next to the monument.
Climate at Pipe Spring
Pipe Spring National Monument has a semi-arid climate. This means it has cold winters and hot summers.
