Arizona Bell Rock Valley n13

Sedona /sɨˈdoʊnə/ is a city that straddles the county line between Coconino and Yavapai counties in the northern Verde Valley... more

by John Straton

Title

Arizona Bell Rock Valley n13

Artist

John Straton

Medium

Photograph

Description

Sedona /sɨˈdoʊnə/ is a city that straddles the county line between Coconino and Yavapai counties in the northern Verde Valley region of the State of Arizona. As of the 2010 census, its population was 10,031.[3]

Sedona's main attraction is its array of red sandstone formations. The formations appear to glow in brilliant orange and red when illuminated by the rising or setting sun. The red rocks form a popular backdrop for many activities, ranging from spiritual pursuits to the hundreds of hiking and mountain biking trails.

Sedona was named after Sedona Arabella Miller Schnebly (1877�1950), the wife of Theodore Carlton Schnebly, the city's first postmaster, who was celebrated for her hospitality and industriousness.
The first documented human presence in Sedona area dates to between 11,500 to 9000 B.C. It was not until 1995 that a Clovis projectile point discovered in Honanki revealed the presence of the Paleo-Indians, who were big-game hunters. Around 9000 B.C., the pre-historic Archaic people appeared in the Verde Valley. These were hunter-gatherers and their presence in the area was longer than in other areas of the Southwest, most likely because of the ecological diversity and large amount of resources. They left by 300 A.D. There is an assortment of rock art left by the Archaic people in places near Sedona such as Palatki and Honanki.[5]

Around 650 A.D., the Sinagua people entered the Verde Valley. Their culture is known for its art such as pottery, basketry and their masonry. They left rock art, pueblos, and cliff dwellings such as Montezuma Well, Honanki, Palatki and Tuzigoot, especially in the later period of their presence. The Sinagua abandoned the Verde Valley about 1400 A.D.[5] Researchers believe the Sinagua and other clans moved to the Hopi mesas in Arizona and the Zuni and other pueblos in New Mexico.[6]

The Yavapai came from the west when the Sinagua were still there in the Verde Valley around 1300 A.D. They were nomadic hunter-gatherers. Some archaeologists place the Apache arrival in the Verde Valley around 1450 A.D. Many Apache groups were nomadic or seminomadic and traveled over large areas.[7]

The Yavapai and Apache tribes were forcibly removed from the Verde Valley in 1876, to the San Carlos Indian Reservation, 180 miles (290 km) southeast. About 1,500 people were marched, in midwinter, to San Carlos. Several hundred lost their lives. The survivors were interned for 25 years. About 200 Yavapai and Apache people returned to the Verde Valley in 1900 and have since intermingled as a single political entity although culturally distinct [8] residing in the Yavapai-Apache Nation.

Anglo-American settlement[edit]
The first Anglo settler, John J. Thompson, moved to Oak Creek Canyon in 1876. The early settlers were farmers and ranchers. Oak Creek Canyon was well known for its peach and apple orchards. In 1902, when the Sedona post office was established, there were 55 residents. In the mid-1950s, the first telephone directory listed 155 names. Some parts of the Sedona area were not electrified until the 1960s.

Sedona began to develop as a tourist destination, vacation-home and retirement center in the 1950s. Most of the development seen today was constructed in the 1980s and 1990s. As of 2007, there are no large tracts of undeveloped land remaining.[

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December 10th, 2014