Fort McDowell is an unincorporated community in Maricopa County

Maricopa County, Arizona

-2010:Whereas according to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau:*73.0% White*5.0% Black*2.1% Native American*3.5% Asian*0.2% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander*3.5% Two or more races*12.7% Other races*29.6% Hispanic or Latino -2000:...

, Arizona

Arizona

Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...

, United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. Fort McDowell is 23 miles northeast of Phoenix, Arizona

Phoenix, Arizona

Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...

. Fort McDowell has a post office

Post office

A post office is a facility forming part of a postal system for the posting, receipt, sorting, handling, transmission or delivery of mail.Post offices offer mail-related services such as post office boxes, postage and packaging supplies...

 with ZIP code

ZIP Code

ZIP codes are a system of postal codes used by the United States Postal Service since 1963. The term ZIP, an acronym for Zone Improvement Plan, is properly written in capital letters and was chosen to suggest that the mail travels more efficiently, and therefore more quickly, when senders use the...

 85264.

History

The community named Camp McDowell, and later renamed Fort McDowell in 1867 was established by the California Volunteers on the Verde River in 1865 was named for Major General Irvin McDowell. Located within Indian country and built to be near the area's travel routes in an effort to protect them from the Apache who lived in the Gila & Salt River Valleys. The post office opened as McDowell in 1869 and changed to Fort McDowell in 1923. Some Native Americans of the region chose to seek refuge in the surrounding mountains rather than conform to the constraints of reservation life. These displaced Indians often traveled in small groups to avoid detection Their presence however caused fear and unrest for nervous settlers, and thus a military outpost (Camp Verde) was deemed necessary to protect trade routes within the region. In addition to the Salt and Verde rivers, Fort McDowell was in close proximity to a number of trails important to the Apache of central Arizona, and the installation conducted numerous military exercises against the Tonto Apache and others. Originally named Camp Verde, the fort was thought to be able to withstand an onslaught from these so called renegades' but in fact, the structures failed to survive the heavy summer monsoon rains, washing away not long after being built. Upon completion of reconstruction, the fort was renamed Camp McDowell, in honor of Major General Irwin McDowell. The Stoneman Military Trail

Stoneman Military Trail

The Stoneman Road, an important supply road between Fort McDowell and Fort Whipple in Prescott between 1870 and 1890. It was an important conduit for the shipping of supplies from Fort Whipple in Prescott to Fort McDowell on what is today the Yavapai Reservation near Fountain Hills.Established in...

 served as a supply trail and connected Ft McDowell to Ft. Whipple in Prescott, AZ during the years 1870-1890.