The town limits are on both sides of the Gila, but the primary portion of the town and the entire downtown area lie on the south side of the river. Read our Review here. the river and renamed it "Duncan", after Duncan Smith, the managing director of the Arizona Copper Company. Among the historic properties is the Benjamin F. Billingsley House, which is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. The society's vision statement is the following: "PRIDE is committed to work with our town government, community leaders and all area residents to preserve and enhance our town's overall image and historic value". 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. The rise of sundown towns made it difficult and dangerous for Blacks to travel long distances by car. Hosted by Tougaloo College, Tougaloo, MS, 39174 and facilitated by Pantheon. Sundown towns, or grey towns, were all-white neighborhoods in the United States that used discriminatory local laws, intimidation, or violence to keep their town all-white. The society has taken it upon themselves the task of restoring many of them. The Duncan Pride Society has identified various structures as significantly historical. . Town of Duncan. No other road has captured the imagination and the essence of the American Dream quite like Route 66. The US average is 38 inches of rain per year. Duncan, Arizona has a long history of flooding, levee failures What are 'sundown towns'? Historically all-white towns in - Yahoo PDF PRRAC Poverty & Race For black folks, it meant encountering fresh violence and the ghosts of racial terrorism already haunting the Mother Road. Duncan - History and Social Justice 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. sundown town, also called sunset town, in U.S. history, a town that excluded nonwhite peoplemost frequently African Americansfrom remaining in town after sunset. Sundown towns in Illinois: Where they were, what they are Greenlee County Sheriff's Department Office: (928) 865-4149 Emergency: 911 There were 294 households, out of which 42.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.3% were married couples living together, 17.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.6% were non-families. During a grisly lynching on Easter weekend, a vigilante white mob dragged Horace Duncan and Fred Coker to the town square, hanged them, burned their bodies while thousands watched, and then distributed their body parts among the crowd as keepsakes. Living in Safford offers residents a sparse suburban feel and most residents own their homes. [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. Safford is a mining town in Eastern Arizona. Black Truck Driver Tells Horrifying Story of His Night in a 'Sundown Town' 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. And although there were no formal segregation laws on the books in California, both Glendale and Culver City were sundown towns and the sun-kissed beaches of Santa Monica were segregated. 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 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. One of the Green Books most unusual Route 66 sites was Murrays Dude Ranch. In the evenings, classic concoctions like absinthe are served at the bar, which features a 250-pound meteorite sitting on it. 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. REGULAR TOWN MEETING MAY 11, 2023 AT 4:00 P.M. DUE TO NEW METER INSTALLS, OVER THE NEXT FEW WEEKS, YOU MAY EXPERIENCE MINOR ISSUES WITH WATER AVAILABILITY. The threat of lynching was of particular concern when black people traveled through the Ozarks on Route 66. Compton was also very rural at this time. As of the 2010 census, the population of the town was 696. 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. Lordsburg, New Mexico, to meet the Southern Pacific line. Simpson Hotel. The state of Arizona gave us our own license plate, and we'd like you to take us for a ride. Required fields are marked *. As of the census[8] of 2000, there were 812 people, 294 households, and 206 families residing in the town. Duncan is a small farming town 5 miles west of the New Mexico border on Hwy 70 (Old West Highway). Apart from oral histories, there are often few archival records that describe precisely how sundown towns excluded Blacks. Published: Aug. 23, 2022 at 5:03 PM PDT. It doesnt. Many families live in Safford and residents tend to lean conservative. Greenlee County was created in 1909 and named for Mason Greenlee, who was an early settler in the Clifton area. Duncan is at the juncture of the Gila River and the Arizona-New Mexico state border. You can also look for cities 4 hours from Duncan, SC (or 3 hours or 2 hours or 1 hour) or just search in general for all of the cities close to Duncan, SC. However, all that is changing. [2] In 2018 the estimated population was 789. Your email address will not be published. The site of contemporary Duncan had its origin sometime in the 1870s. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the Green Book ceased publication right around the time the Civil Rights Act passed. For many, the vulnerability of the road meant always having a plan, a cover story, or even a disguise. Excellent pizza and calzones. Was Your Town a Sundown Town? | UU World Magazine Knowing better than to say it was his, Rons father pretended to be a chauffeur. Why Black Americans Are Not Nostalgic for Route 66 - The Atlantic Ive been questioning the existence of racial equality ever since. Males had a median income of $32,232 versus $18,333 for females. The Spanish-Pueblo Revival style of the building features a conference room with seven 20-foot murals painted by a Zuni artist. 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 . The 15 Most Dangerous Cities In Arizona: 2022's Ultimate List Food and lodging were scattered over long distances, and there were also just fewer people living out West in general, and fewer black people in particular, which reduced the chances that black travelers could find trustworthy help in case they had car trouble or needed directions. Ha, there's no Sundown Towns her in AZ. Thus the new settlement was named Purdy. Duncan might attract people who now realize they can work remotely from anywhere. Special Report: A Hidden History of Ozark Sundown Towns - KNWA FOX24 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 The average household size was 2.76 and the average family size was 3.33. Plus, the desolation of Route 66s stretches left black motorists particularly exposed. That means places such as the Threatt Filling Station, a one-story sandstone bungalow with a slightly pitched and gabled roof, wide eaves, and a wooden door. Today, the town continues to thrive as an agricultural community, especially noted wine tasting rooms and award-winning vineyards. News Arizona Flash Floods Flooding Weather. For instance, the Ku Klux Klan ran Fantastic Caverns, a popular tourist site near Springfield. Some faced actual instances of violence or were arrested by local police, according to Farley. 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. 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) Black Voices: Sundown towns still exist in 2022 Americas favorite highway usually evokes kitschy nostalgia. [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. 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. Segregation was in full force throughout the country. The most snowfall ever in Duncan was 15.0 inches or 0.38 metres during the record Western cold wave of January 1949. Rainfall is generally scanty outside of the monsoon season, with substantial falls from winter storms being very rare, although December 1991 did see 4.76 inches or 120.9 millimetres of rain. The Mountain Villa Motel in Kingman, Arizona (147 miles west of Flagstaff), was listed in the 1957 Green Book, and the White Rock Court appeared in the 1956 edition. To accommodate the new "Arizona and New Mexico Railroad," the people of Purdy moved their settlement to the south bank of Serious flooding leaves town of Duncan, Arizona, under inches of - KNXV There Are Still 137 Sundown Towns Across 21 States - Democratic Underground Although the term most often refers to the forced exclusion of Blacks, the history of sundown towns also includes prohibitions against Jews, Native Americans, Chinese, Japanese, and other minority groups. AP Road Trip: Racial tensions in America's 'sundown towns' These huge trees, the old houses I love it.. Keep up withmyblogand you will findsome important thingsto help you on your journeys. The guide was published from 1936 to 1966, and at its height of popularity was used by two million people. Things To Do In Duncan Arizona - SouthernArizonaGuide.com Cattle and calves and dairy are leading Arizona ag products, with cotton, lettuce and hay positioned as top-produced crops. Sundown Towns Black People Should Be Aware Of - Black America Web As the Equal Justice Initiatives Bryan Stevenson points out: Civil rights in America is too often seen as a three-day carnival: On day one, Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on the bus. The site of contemporary Duncan had its origin sometime in the 1870s. The most accessible viewing station, at Bonita Creek, is a lovely 55-mile drive from Duncan. Copying and downloading images from this site is strictly prohibited. Ones chance of becoming a victim of either violent or property crime here is one in 28. It was a powerful tool for blacks to persevere and literally move forward in the face of racism. Almost every level acre is under cultivation, thickets of cottonwood trees shelter old farmhouses and ranches, and cattle and horses seem to outnumber people. Its all still true. The book stayed in publication until 1967, three years after the passage of the Civil Rights Act, which greatly reduced the number of sundown towns in America. Second, its on the Gila Rivers and near adjacent riparian areas for bird and wildlife observation. [12][8][9][13], The Duncan Pride Society was established on March 8, 2001. 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. Of course Route 66 wasnt any more racist than any other road in America at the time. Conflicts between the Apaches and the advancing Anglo settlers resulted in a war known as the Apache Wars. Called "Purdy" in the Post Office register of 1883, it was founded by Messrs. Purdy and Bachelor as a way Town . Phone: (928) 359-2791, Duncan Valley Rural Fire District The road certainly did not mean freedom for everyone, and it bore witness to some of the nations worst acts of racial terrorism. 76 miles to Charlotte, NC. The Safe Havens and No-Go Zones for 20th-Century Black American Duncan, Arizona - Wikipedia 506 SE Old West Hwy 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. Hover over the pictures in the slideshow above to see the captions. 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. (Today, nothing remains of Grahams, except a tourist cabin that an area law firm uses as its storage shed.). 151 miles to Atlanta, GA. 155 miles to Greensboro, NC. Simpson Hotel (former Hotel Hobbs) - 1914, River Front Lounge (former Bonnie Heather Bar/Pool Hall) - 1925, Old Duncan Bus Station now Hotel Duncan - 1920. Willcox is home to the Cowboy Hall of Fame, the Chiricahua Regional Museum and Research Center, and the Rex Allen Museum. Location of Duncan in Greenlee County, Arizona, List of historic properties in Duncan, Arizona. This lost gem was billed as The Only Negro Dude Ranch in the Worldwhich it very likely was. Eventually the Apaches, who were hunters, gatherers, and raiders, would become the dominant native-American force. The population density was 317.6 inhabitants per square mile (122.6/km2). This practice started in the late 19th century, but the impact continues today. Also included are photographs of the antique town clock and the 1950 Chevrolet 6400 2-ton fire truck once used in Duncan. He failed in his mission. (1911). 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. But, yes Prescott area is one of the whitest areas in this state. Wildlife viewing is good year-round but birding is best during the spring and fall migrations or the summer nesting season. Scottish investors financed the building of a narrow gauge railway from Clifton to Lordsburg, New Mexico. This was hundreds of years before the first white men, the Spanish explorers arrival. From hot springs to sand dunes to rock fields, Safford brings together many features that make Arizona famous in one place, creating the perfect family vacation destination. The state also boasts a growing nut and date crop industry. Remembering James W. Loewen Duncan Arizona Basic Information Type of Place Independent City or Town Metro Area Politics c. 1860? Principal Economic Activities The names posted are the original names used when the properties were first built. Jim McPherson, Arizona Preservation Foundation board president, has stated the following: It is crucial that residents, private interests, and government officials act now to save these elements of our cultural heritage before it is too late. 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 "Sundown suburbs" could be even larger, such as Glendale, a suburb of Los Angeles; Levittown, on Long Island; and Warren, a Detroit suburb. Cliff dwellers, conquistadors, Apache warriors, mountain men, westering immigrants each in their time has traveled its banks. Glendale has become the first city in California and the third in the nation to pass a resolution apologizing for its history as a . Historians have found that most sundown towns deliberately hid the means by which they became and remained all-white. L.A. suburb apologizes for racist past, denounces sundown laws - Los Report to the President: Japanese-American Internment Sites Preservation. All rights reserved. Duncan is a town in Greenlee County, Arizona, United States. It was not uncommon for Black motorists passing through these communities to be followed by police or local residents to the city limits. The Green Book covered the entire United States, but during the time it was in publication, Route 66 was easily the most popular road in America. Glendale is the first city in CA to apologize for its history as a Sundown Town. So far, they have done a splendid job. These were the only listings for Kingman, but considering its status as a former sundown town, they were a blessing. The US average is 28 inches of snow per year. The onsite motel court was built during the war specifically to offer lodgings to black soldiersbut Pearl Bailey and Little Richard stayed there as well. "At approximately 4:30 this morning, the water levels of the Gila River reached a point where water began to spill into portions of Duncan," the Duncan Valley Rural Fire District said. Additionally, citrus is a vital economic force, and the Grand Canyon State ranks second in the nation for cantaloupe, honeydew melons and lemon production. Today, they still play a critical role in U.S. history, revealing the untold story of black travel. Automobile travel symbolized freedom in America, and the Green Book was a resourceful, innovative solution to a horrific problem. [1][2][4][8][9], In 1845, Mexico severed its relations with the United States because of the annexation of Texas by the United States. History and Social Justice Website Copyright 2023, Using Lies My Teacher Told Me and Teaching What Really Happened, Resources for Teaching with Lies My Teacher Told Me, Teachers Corner: Teaching with Lies My Teacher Told Me, Contact Jim Loewen to Speak to Your Group, Causing Change With Lies My Teacher Told Me, Works Inspired or Influenced by Lies My Teacher Told Me, Useful Quotations about History and Social Justice, Native American Issues, Including the Explorers, Teaching Slavery, the Civil War, and Reconstruction, Civil Rights Movement to Modern Times: c. 1945 Now, Alphabetical Map of Sundown Towns by State, How to Research and Teach About Sundown Towns, Using Research Information to Help a Sundown Town Overcome Its Past, Loewens Work on Standardized Testing Used by Others, Embarrassing Questions about Standardized Tests. "Mass evacuations" were . This may be a regrettable fact to the Negroes, but it is nevertheless a fact, and must be reckoned with [T]he Negroes could make a definite contribution to good race relationship by remaining away from beaches where their presence is resented. A black couple, Nolie and Lela Murray, owned the property and offered black people traveling on Route 66 much-needed lodging and some good old-fashioned Western recreation. On Juneteenth, Valley residents share history of African - KNXV With the rail, settlement of the fertile, easily irrigated valley boomed. 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. A Brief History - Town of Duncan In response, Victor H. Green, a postal worker from Harlem, compiled the Negro Motorist Green Book, a guide to accommodations that served Black travelers. Having moved from Las Vegas to Duncan, Hilda doesnt mention Sandra Day OConnor, the Supreme Court justice who put this town on the map by writing about growing up on her nearby ranch. In 2001, local citizens formed the Duncan Pride Society and began restoring and re-purposing some of the old buildings. The citrus industry in Arizona even predates statehood by decades. It will guide you to more than 50 points of historical interest.The Visitor Center shares space with an interesting little shop called Country Chic Art Gallery & Crafts Boutique at 205 SE Old West Highway: 928-359-1955. My neighbor ladies and I walk every day, she says. She had no answer, or maybe she just didnt know how to explain institutional racism to a 7-year-old. The community is home for members of both the Akimel Oodham (Pima) and the Pee-Posh (Maricopa) tribes. U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor was born in El Paso, Texas, but grew up near Duncan on the Lazy B ranch, which straddles the border between Arizona and New Mexico. Almost every level acre is under cultivation, thickets of cottonwood trees shelter old farmhouses and ranches, and cattle and horses seem to outnumber people. Duncan, Arizona | Arizona Highways Clinton followed what he called the Cafeteria Golden Rule. His menu read, Pay What You Wish and Dine Free Unless Delighted.. But, after a young black man was wrongfully accused of assaulting a white woman, an angry lynch mob broke out. The conflict with the Apaches lasted 26 years. Acreage is also planted to kenaf, an alternative fiber for making paper, and vernonia, an oilseed. The median age was 28 years. Sept. 27, 2020. Cities Near Me - Duncan, South Carolina | Travelmath EASTERN ARIZONA Background: The Gila River Relocation Center was located about 50 miles south of Phoenix and 9 miles west of Sacaton in Pinal County, Arizona. Dianne Vandell, who sells her arts and crafts, came through on a trip from Colorado to Safford, and seeing horses in fields and fairgrounds enticed her to move. The Greenwood DistrictBlack Wall Streetwas eventually rebuilt; now the John Hope Franklin Reconciliation Park offers a space for healing, with a 25-foot memorial and three 16-foot granite sculptures honoring the dead. Tucson is located in the Sonoran Desert approximately 100 miles south of Phoenix and 60 miles north of the Mexico border. Duncan - History and Social Justice Home Arizona Duncan James W. Loewen (1942-2021) We mourn the loss of our friend and colleague and remain committed to the work he began. sundown. The Anasazi are considered by historians to have been an advanced ancient native-American civilization. Esso Gas Stations (Standard Oil, which operates as Exxon today) sold the Green Book and hired two black marketing executives, James A. Jackson and Wendell P. Allston, to promote and distribute it. I may be the only black woman to have written a travel guide about Route 66. The most dangerous cities in Arizona include Winslow, Page, Tolleson, Tucson, and more. Following the murder of George Floyd, the Coalition for an Anti-Racist Glendale drafted a Sundown Town Resolution that put on record the history of Glendale's formal policies and culturally enshrined practices of racism and anti-Blackness. 8:00 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. Rich history of the Gila River Valley and the Town of Duncan, Arizona I discovered that more than 90 percent of those who have written about the Mother Road are whiteand male. Click HERE to see the substantial variety of birds that have been sighted in or near Duncan recently. 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. Green modeled his book after Jewish travel guides created for the Borsht Belt in the 1930s. TEMPE, AZ The city of Tempe has declared June 19 a city holiday in honor of Juneteenth . Lonesome Dove Mercantile - built in 1860 and located in 404 North Ave. Saint Mary's Catholic Church - built in 1936 and located in 111 3rd Street. As of the 2020 census its population was 53,272. Sundown Towns, a Historical Look : NPR 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. Encyclopdia Britannica (11th ed.). The first time we visited Duncan we were on a 3-day road trip that included Clifton & Morenci as well as Black Hills Back Country Byway. 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. For Arizona Route 66 towns and cities, Kingman first appears in the Green Book in 1956, and three places in Flagstaff appear in the 1957 edition: The Park Plaza Motel, the Nackard Inn and El Rancho Motel- which populate the Green Book to the end of its production run. It was indeed all White for a while. 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. In Nevada, Sundown Town History Has Cultural Impacts For Washoe - KUNC Duncan receded then into a quiet farming and 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. Out of the eight states that ran through Route 66 (Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California), six had official segregation laws as far west as Arizonaand all had unofficial rules about race. Crops include long and short staple cotton, durum and winter wheat, barley, amaranth, alfalfa, beans, fruit trees, pecans and pistachios. The railway line was called the Arizona and New Mexico Railroad, and it passed through Purdy. Duncan is located in southern Greenlee County at 324333N 109552W / 32.72583N 109.09778W / 32.72583; -109.09778 (32.725828, -109.097686). duncanaz.us, Arizona Highways' award-winning photography and travel journalism, as well as its commitment to discovering the state's treasures, has celebrated the beauty and splendor of Arizona since 1925. Alan Threatt Sr., a black man, owned the gas station and served black motorists from 1915 to the 1950s in Luther, Oklahoma. 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. The median income for a household in the town was $27,368, and the median income for a family was $33,750. Duncan might attract people who now realize they can work remotely from anywhere. Cheryl Resur, known as The Cookie Lady, happily sells us a toothsome assortment. Gila River Indian Reservation was established in 1859, and the Gila River Indian Community formally established by Congress in 1939.

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