Jacob Lake, Arizona
Encyclopedia
Jacob Lake is a small unincorporated community
on the Kaibab Plateau
in Coconino County
, Arizona
, United States
, at the junction of U.S. Route 89A
and State Route 67. Named after the Mormon
explorer Jacob Hamblin
, the town is known as the "Gateway to the Grand Canyon" because it is the starting point of Route 67, the only paved road leading to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon
some 44 miles to the south. The town itself consists of the Jacob Lake Inn which maintains motel rooms and cabins, a restaurant, lunch counter, gift shop, bakery, and general store; a gas station/garage; campground; and a visitors center run by the U.S. Forest Service. In the summer months, there is also a nearby center for horse rides.
forest which is part of the Kaibab National Forest
. In its lower elevations, the Kaibab Plateau
consists of pinon
-juniper
forests, and the ponderosas give way to aspen
, spruce
, and fir
higher up. However, the ponderosa biosphere is home to the endangered Kaibab Squirrel
. Jacob Lake is also home to mule deer
, coyote
s, porcupine
s, bobcat
s, numerous bird species, horned lizard
s, and mountain lions.
The town is roughly a mile from Jacob Lake. This pond was named for Jacob Hamblin
, an early Mormon pioneer
of southern Utah
and northern Arizona
. He was shown its location probably in 1858 by the Kaibab band of Southern Paiute
s who summered on the plateau, and with whom he was on friendly relations.
Though small, the lake was a permanent source of water which was a rarity on the porous Kaibab Limestone
. Known to some as the "waterless mountain," in pioneer days the Kaibab was called the "Buckskin Mountain," but the name itself is a Paiute
word meaning "mountain inside out," or "mountain lying down." However, Jacob Lake's situation and permanent water made it an important stopping place for travelers moving from Utah into Arizona. Despite its diminutive size, locals are fond of saying that Jacob Lake "waters more deer than the entire Pacific Ocean."
The vicinity of Jacob Lake remained popular despite, or perhaps because of, its relative inaccessibility. It was an important source of lumber and game for local settlements, and cattle would graze on the Kaibab's abundant grass during the summer months. During the winter months, ten feet of snow was not an unusual occurrence.
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the Jacob Lake area and the rest of the Kaibab was the summer range of the "Bar Z outfit" or the Grand Canyon Cattle company. This brand ran upwards of 100,000 cattle throughout the Arizona Strip
. In the early 1900s "Buffalo Jones" used the Bar Z's corral
s at Jacob Lake to pen a herd of buffalo
which he then drove onto a ranch in House Rock Valley on the East side of the Kaibab. These same corrals were later home to a "cattalo," a hybrid between one of Jones' buffalos and a domesticated Hereford
bull. The remnants of this buffalo herd are still in House Rock and occasionally wander up on top of the Kaibab to the Grand Canyon.
US President Theodore Roosevelt
frequented the area of Jacob Lake on his trips to the Kaibab to hunt mountain lion and visit the Grand Canyon
. It was also one of the haunts of the colorful Uncle Jim Owens, who reputedly rode with Jesse James
and acted as a game warden on the Kaibab. His real life adventures provided fodder for the western writer Zane Grey
and he was featured in the beloved children's book Brighty of the Grand Canyon.
. The ancestors of both of these had been early converts to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and had taken important roles in the settlement and exploration of southern Utah and northern Arizona. Nina's great-grandfather, Edwin D. Woolley
, was a close friend and associate of Joseph Smith
and a successful businessman in Nauvoo
. He remained financially successful and was a trusted (though sometimes contrary) counselor to Brigham Young
once they moved to Utah. See Kimball-Snow-Woolley family
. Nina's grandfather, Franklin B. Woolley, had been involved in some of the first mapping expeditions in southern Utah and northern Arizona. He was later killed by Indians on his way back to Utah from California with a load of goods for his store in St. George, Utah
. Harold's father, Henry E. Bowman, was also a successful merchant. He had lived in Kanab, Utah, where Harold was born, but soon moved his family to the Mormon colonies in Mexico
and settled at Colonia Dublan
. There he set up a profitable store doing business as far away as Mexico City until his family and many others were driven out of the country in 1912 during the Mexican Revolution
. In the midst of this turmoil, young Harold was kidnapped by bandits and held for ransom, but was rescued by his uncle. Harold returned with his family to the United States and later served in the First World War.
Unincorporated area
In law, an unincorporated area is a region of land that is not a part of any municipality.To "incorporate" in this context means to form a municipal corporation, a city, town, or village with its own government. An unincorporated community is usually not subject to or taxed by a municipal government...
on the Kaibab Plateau
Kaibab Plateau
The Kaibab Plateau is located in northern Arizona in the United States. The plateau, part of the larger Colorado Plateau, is bordered on the south by the Grand Canyon and reaches an elevation of 9241 feet above sea level. The plateau is divided between Kaibab National Forest and the "North Rim"...
in Coconino County
Coconino County, Arizona
-2010:Whereas according to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau:*61.7% White*1.2% Black*27.3% Native American*1.4% Asian*0.1% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander*3.1% Two or more races*5.2% Other races*13.5% 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...
, at the junction of U.S. Route 89A
U.S. Route 89A (Arizona)
U.S. Route 89A is a north–south auxiliary U.S. highway, though its actual direction of travel is more east–west. The highway is an old routing of U.S. Route 89 from Bitter Springs, Arizona to Kanab, Utah. The state of Arizona has designated this highway the Fredonia-Vermilion Cliffs...
and State Route 67. Named after the Mormon
Mormon
The term Mormon most commonly denotes an adherent, practitioner, follower, or constituent of Mormonism, which is the largest branch of the Latter Day Saint movement in restorationist Christianity...
explorer Jacob Hamblin
Jacob Hamblin
Jacob Vernon Hamblin was a Western pioneer, Mormon missionary, and diplomat to various Native American Tribes of the Southwest and Great Basin. During his life, he helped settle large areas of southern Utah and northern Arizona where he was seen as an honest broker between Mormon settlers and the...
, the town is known as the "Gateway to the Grand Canyon" because it is the starting point of Route 67, the only paved road leading to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon
Grand Canyon
The Grand Canyon is a steep-sided canyon carved by the Colorado River in the United States in the state of Arizona. It is largely contained within the Grand Canyon National Park, the 15th national park in the United States...
some 44 miles to the south. The town itself consists of the Jacob Lake Inn which maintains motel rooms and cabins, a restaurant, lunch counter, gift shop, bakery, and general store; a gas station/garage; campground; and a visitors center run by the U.S. Forest Service. In the summer months, there is also a nearby center for horse rides.
Geography
Jacob Lake is situated at roughly 8000 feet in a large ponderosa pinePonderosa Pine
Pinus ponderosa, commonly known as the Ponderosa Pine, Bull Pine, Blackjack Pine, or Western Yellow Pine, is a widespread and variable pine native to western North America. It was first described by David Douglas in 1826, from eastern Washington near present-day Spokane...
forest which is part of the Kaibab National Forest
Kaibab National Forest
At 1.6 million acres the Kaibab National Forest borders both the north and south rims of the Grand Canyon, in north-central Arizona. It is divided into three major sections: the North Kaibab Ranger District and the South Kaibab and are managed by USDA Forest Service...
. In its lower elevations, the Kaibab Plateau
Kaibab Plateau
The Kaibab Plateau is located in northern Arizona in the United States. The plateau, part of the larger Colorado Plateau, is bordered on the south by the Grand Canyon and reaches an elevation of 9241 feet above sea level. The plateau is divided between Kaibab National Forest and the "North Rim"...
consists of pinon
Piñon
Piñon may refer to:* Pinyon pine * Pinon Airplant, Tillandsia excelsa-Places:* Piñon, Arizona, United States* Piñon, New Mexico, United States* Pinon, Aisne, a commune of the Aisne department in France...
-juniper
Juniper
Junipers are coniferous plants in the genus Juniperus of the cypress family Cupressaceae. Depending on taxonomic viewpoint, there are between 50-67 species of juniper, widely distributed throughout the northern hemisphere, from the Arctic, south to tropical Africa in the Old World, and to the...
forests, and the ponderosas give way to aspen
Aspen
Populus section Populus, of the Populus genus, includes the aspen trees and the white poplar Populus alba. The five typical aspens are all native to cold regions with cool summers, in the north of the Northern Hemisphere, extending south at high altitudes in the mountains. The White Poplar, by...
, spruce
Spruce
A spruce is a tree of the genus Picea , a genus of about 35 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the Family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal regions of the earth. Spruces are large trees, from tall when mature, and can be distinguished by their whorled branches and conical...
, and fir
Fir
Firs are a genus of 48–55 species of evergreen conifers in the family Pinaceae. They are found through much of North and Central America, Europe, Asia, and North Africa, occurring in mountains over most of the range...
higher up. However, the ponderosa biosphere is home to the endangered Kaibab Squirrel
Kaibab Squirrel
The Kaibab Squirrel is a tassel-eared squirrel that lives in the Kaibab Plateau in the Southwest United States, in an area of 20 by 40 miles...
. Jacob Lake is also home to mule deer
Mule Deer
The mule deer is a deer indigenous to western North America. The Mule Deer gets its name from its large mule-like ears. There are believed to be several subspecies, including the black-tailed deer...
, coyote
Coyote
The coyote , also known as the American jackal or the prairie wolf, is a species of canine found throughout North and Central America, ranging from Panama in the south, north through Mexico, the United States and Canada...
s, porcupine
Porcupine
Porcupines are rodents with a coat of sharp spines, or quills, that defend or camouflage them from predators. They are indigenous to the Americas, southern Asia, and Africa. Porcupines are the third largest of the rodents, behind the capybara and the beaver. Most porcupines are about long, with...
s, bobcat
Bobcat
The bobcat is a North American mammal of the cat family Felidae, appearing during the Irvingtonian stage of around 1.8 million years ago . With twelve recognized subspecies, it ranges from southern Canada to northern Mexico, including most of the continental United States...
s, numerous bird species, horned lizard
Horned lizard
Horned lizards are a genus of lizards which are the type genus of the family Phrynosomatidae. The horned lizard is popularly called a "horned toad", "horny toad", or "horned frog", but it is neither a toad nor a frog. The popular names come from the lizard's rounded body and blunt snout, which...
s, and mountain lions.
The town is roughly a mile from Jacob Lake. This pond was named for Jacob Hamblin
Jacob Hamblin
Jacob Vernon Hamblin was a Western pioneer, Mormon missionary, and diplomat to various Native American Tribes of the Southwest and Great Basin. During his life, he helped settle large areas of southern Utah and northern Arizona where he was seen as an honest broker between Mormon settlers and the...
, an early Mormon pioneer
Mormon Pioneer
The Mormon pioneers were members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, also known as Latter-day Saints, who migrated across the United States from the Midwest to the Salt Lake Valley in what is today the U.S. state of Utah...
of southern Utah
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
and northern 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...
. He was shown its location probably in 1858 by the Kaibab band of Southern Paiute
Paiute
Paiute refers to three closely related groups of Native Americans — the Northern Paiute of California, Idaho, Nevada and Oregon; the Owens Valley Paiute of California and Nevada; and the Southern Paiute of Arizona, southeastern California and Nevada, and Utah.-Origin of name:The origin of...
s who summered on the plateau, and with whom he was on friendly relations.
Though small, the lake was a permanent source of water which was a rarity on the porous Kaibab Limestone
Kaibab Limestone
The Kaibab is a geologic formation that is spread across the U.S. states of northern Arizona, southern Utah, east central Nevada and southeast California. This geologic unit is part of the Park City Group in Nevada and Utah and is sometimes locally classified as a geologic group in Utah...
. Known to some as the "waterless mountain," in pioneer days the Kaibab was called the "Buckskin Mountain," but the name itself is a Paiute
Paiute
Paiute refers to three closely related groups of Native Americans — the Northern Paiute of California, Idaho, Nevada and Oregon; the Owens Valley Paiute of California and Nevada; and the Southern Paiute of Arizona, southeastern California and Nevada, and Utah.-Origin of name:The origin of...
word meaning "mountain inside out," or "mountain lying down." However, Jacob Lake's situation and permanent water made it an important stopping place for travelers moving from Utah into Arizona. Despite its diminutive size, locals are fond of saying that Jacob Lake "waters more deer than the entire Pacific Ocean."
The vicinity of Jacob Lake remained popular despite, or perhaps because of, its relative inaccessibility. It was an important source of lumber and game for local settlements, and cattle would graze on the Kaibab's abundant grass during the summer months. During the winter months, ten feet of snow was not an unusual occurrence.
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the Jacob Lake area and the rest of the Kaibab was the summer range of the "Bar Z outfit" or the Grand Canyon Cattle company. This brand ran upwards of 100,000 cattle throughout the Arizona Strip
Arizona Strip
The Arizona Strip is the part of the U.S. state of Arizona lying north of the Colorado River. The difficulty of crossing the Grand Canyon causes this region to have more natural connections with southern Utah and Nevada than with the rest of Arizona....
. In the early 1900s "Buffalo Jones" used the Bar Z's corral
Corral
Corral is a town, commune and sea port in Los Ríos Region, Chile. It is located south of Corral Bay. Corral is best known for the forts of Corral Bay, a system of defensive batteries and forts made to protect Valdivia during colonial times. Corral was the headquarters of the system...
s at Jacob Lake to pen a herd of buffalo
American Bison
The American bison , also commonly known as the American buffalo, is a North American species of bison that once roamed the grasslands of North America in massive herds...
which he then drove onto a ranch in House Rock Valley on the East side of the Kaibab. These same corrals were later home to a "cattalo," a hybrid between one of Jones' buffalos and a domesticated Hereford
Hereford
Hereford is a cathedral city, civil parish and county town of Herefordshire, England. It lies on the River Wye, approximately east of the border with Wales, southwest of Worcester, and northwest of Gloucester...
bull. The remnants of this buffalo herd are still in House Rock and occasionally wander up on top of the Kaibab to the Grand Canyon.
US President Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States . He is noted for his exuberant personality, range of interests and achievements, and his leadership of the Progressive Movement, as well as his "cowboy" persona and robust masculinity...
frequented the area of Jacob Lake on his trips to the Kaibab to hunt mountain lion and visit the Grand Canyon
Grand Canyon
The Grand Canyon is a steep-sided canyon carved by the Colorado River in the United States in the state of Arizona. It is largely contained within the Grand Canyon National Park, the 15th national park in the United States...
. It was also one of the haunts of the colorful Uncle Jim Owens, who reputedly rode with Jesse James
Jesse James
Jesse Woodson James was an American outlaw, gang leader, bank robber, train robber, and murderer from the state of Missouri and the most famous member of the James-Younger Gang. He also faked his own death and was known as J.M James. Already a celebrity when he was alive, he became a legendary...
and acted as a game warden on the Kaibab. His real life adventures provided fodder for the western writer Zane Grey
Zane Grey
Zane Grey was an American author best known for his popular adventure novels and stories that presented an idealized image of the Old West. Riders of the Purple Sage was his bestselling book. In addition to the success of his printed works, they later had second lives and continuing influence...
and he was featured in the beloved children's book Brighty of the Grand Canyon.
History
Jacob Lake Inn was founded in 1923 by Harold I. Bowman and his wife Effie Nina Nixon to facilitate tourists attempting to reach the Grand CanyonGrand Canyon
The Grand Canyon is a steep-sided canyon carved by the Colorado River in the United States in the state of Arizona. It is largely contained within the Grand Canyon National Park, the 15th national park in the United States...
. The ancestors of both of these had been early converts to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and had taken important roles in the settlement and exploration of southern Utah and northern Arizona. Nina's great-grandfather, Edwin D. Woolley
Edwin D. Woolley
Edwin Dilworth Woolley, Sr. was a Mormon pioneer, an early Latter-day Saint bishop in Salt Lake City, and a businessman in early Utah Territory who operated mills....
, was a close friend and associate of Joseph Smith
Joseph Smith
Joseph Smith was founder of what later became known as the Latter Day Saint movement or Mormons.Joseph Smith may also refer to:-Latter Day Saints:* Joseph Smith, Sr. , father of Joseph Smith...
and a successful businessman in Nauvoo
Nauvoo, Illinois
Nauvoo is a small city in Hancock County, Illinois, United States. Although the population was just 1,063 at the 2000 census, and despite being difficult to reach due to its location in a remote corner of Illinois, Nauvoo attracts large numbers of visitors for its historic importance and its...
. He remained financially successful and was a trusted (though sometimes contrary) counselor to Brigham Young
Brigham Young
Brigham Young was an American leader in the Latter Day Saint movement and a settler of the Western United States. He was the President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1847 until his death in 1877, he founded Salt Lake City, and he served as the first governor of the Utah...
once they moved to Utah. See Kimball-Snow-Woolley family
Kimball-Snow-Woolley Family
The Kimball–Snow–Woolley family is a U.S. political family. It is linked by marriage to the Smoot–Rowlett Family and linked by blood to the Udall Family.-Heber Chase Kimball:*Lieutenant Governor of the Utah Territory 1851–68...
. Nina's grandfather, Franklin B. Woolley, had been involved in some of the first mapping expeditions in southern Utah and northern Arizona. He was later killed by Indians on his way back to Utah from California with a load of goods for his store in St. George, Utah
St. George, Utah
St. George is a city located in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Utah, and the county seat of Washington County, Utah. It is the principal city of and is included in the St. George, Utah, Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city is 119 miles northeast of Las Vegas, Nevada, and 303 miles ...
. Harold's father, Henry E. Bowman, was also a successful merchant. He had lived in Kanab, Utah, where Harold was born, but soon moved his family to the Mormon colonies in Mexico
Mormon Colonies in Mexico
The Mormon colonies in Mexico are settlements located near the Sierra Madre mountains in northern Mexico which were established by members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints beginning in 1885. Many of the original colonists came to Mexico due to federal attempts to curb and...
and settled at Colonia Dublan
Colonia Dublan
Colonia Dublán began as a Mormon colony, located in the state of Chihuahua, Mexico. It is now a part of Nuevo Casas Grandes. It is one of the few surviving Mormon colonies in Mexico .-History:...
. There he set up a profitable store doing business as far away as Mexico City until his family and many others were driven out of the country in 1912 during the Mexican Revolution
Mexican Revolution
The Mexican Revolution was a major armed struggle that started in 1910, with an uprising led by Francisco I. Madero against longtime autocrat Porfirio Díaz. The Revolution was characterized by several socialist, liberal, anarchist, populist, and agrarianist movements. Over time the Revolution...
. In the midst of this turmoil, young Harold was kidnapped by bandits and held for ransom, but was rescued by his uncle. Harold returned with his family to the United States and later served in the First World War.
See also
- Colorado PlateauColorado PlateauThe Colorado Plateau, also called the Colorado Plateau Province, is a physiographic region of the Intermontane Plateaus, roughly centered on the Four Corners region of the southwestern United States. The province covers an area of 337,000 km2 within western Colorado, northwestern New Mexico,...
- Lee's FerryLee's FerryLee's Ferry is a site on the Colorado River in Coconino County, Arizona, United States, about 7.5 miles southwest of the town of Page, Arizona and the Glen Canyon Dam, and about 9 mi south of the Utah-Arizona border. It is the former location of a ferry established by John D. Lee, a Mormon...
- Vermilion CliffsVermilion CliffsThe Vermilion Cliffs are the second "step" up in the five-step Grand Staircase of the Colorado Plateau. Reddish or vermilion-colored cliffs are found along U.S. Highway 89 and U.S. Highway 89A near Kanab, Utah . They extend from a location near Page, Arizona, west for a considerable distance, in...
- Vermilion Cliffs National MonumentVermilion Cliffs National MonumentVermilion Cliffs National Monument is located in Arizona, immediately south of the Utah state line. This National Monument, 294,000 acre in area, protects the Paria Plateau, Vermilion Cliffs, Coyote Buttes, and Paria Canyon...
External links
- Historic Jacob Lake Ranger Station in Uncle Sam's cabins: a visitor's guide to historic U.S. Forest Service ranger stations, by Les Joslin, 1995. ISBN 978-0964716711