How do I convince my parents that I dont want to go camping? Sadly, today theres no physical evidence that Murrays Dude Ranch ever existed. Some faced actual instances of violence or were arrested by local police, according to Farley. Duncan is in the Gila River valley, four miles (6 km) west of the ArizonaNew Mexico border. Being a Sundown Town meant for decades, Blacks and other groups were prevented from being out at night. Cheryl Resur, known as The Cookie Lady, happily sells us a toothsome assortment. In response, Victor H. Green, a postal worker from Harlem, compiled the Negro Motorist Green Book, a guide to accommodations that served Black travelers. Don't Know Unions, Organized Labor? Arizona State Route 75 leads north from Duncan 28 miles (45km) to Clifton. This 2,440-mile Road of Dreams speckled with romantic and unconventional attractions symbolized a pathway to easier times. "All white" is in quotes because some towns allowed one black family to remain when they drove out the rest. There are three different campgrounds for lakeside camping as well as fishing, bird watching and water activities. The railroad stop in Duncan made the town a marketing center for farm produce and a shipping point for ore and cattle. [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. Guests include Jim Hunt, president of the National League of Cities . The US average is 28 inches of snow per year. The site of contemporary Duncan had its origin sometime in the 1870s. Sundown towns kept Black people out by a combination of laws and informal policies, including racist housing covenants and police intimidation, said James Loewen, a sociologist and . 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. In April the average diurnal range is as high as 43.7F (24.3C) and it is only less than 36F (20C) in the often stormy months of July and August when over a third of the year's total rainfall can be expected. At that time, the town was located on the north bank of the Gila. [3] Duncan is in the Gila River valley, four miles (6 km) west of the Arizona- New Mexico border. The lynching of two Black teenagers in Marion, Indiana, in 1930, for instance, resulted in the towns 200 Black residents moving away never to return. Zinc and copper mines were established in the hills around Duncan. He found them outside Los Angeles, in midwestern farming villages . Do you put hand warmers for camping inside a camping tent? (There were Green Book businesses in other parts of Chicagobut not on the Road of Dreams.) Read our Review here. 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. Sundown Towns are all-white communities, neighborhoods, or counties that exclude Blacks and other minorities through the use of discriminatory laws, harassment, and threats or use of violence. The Duncan Valley Rural Fire District declared the "mass evacuation of flood prone areas in Duncan" early Monday, listing more than a dozen streets in the 712-person town as subject to the order . 76 miles to Charlotte, NC. Hours: Monday - Thursday 8:00 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. (Excluding Federal Holidays) Phone: (928) 359-2791. But Springfield at least was helpful, with 26 listings: 13 tourist homes, four taverns, three beauty parlors, two service stations, and one restaurant, barbershop, drugstore, and hotel. Duncan is a town in Greenlee County, Arizona, United States. As a result, black soldiers made good use of the Mother Road. 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. You can get a self-guided walking tour map at the Duncan Visitor Center on the main highway through town. With the rail, settlement of the fertile, easily irrigated valley boomed. During World War II, Route 66 played a major role in military efforts, becoming a primary route for shuttling military supplies across the country. During a typical year 131.6 nights will fall below 32F (0C), but only 7.8 days fail to top 50F (10C), and there are only seven occurrences of nights falling to 0F (17.8C) or lower, notably on December 24, 1953, and January 11, 1962, when the record low of 2F (18.9C) was set. Sundown Towns are all-white communities, neighborhoods, or counties that exclude Blacks and other minorities through the use of discriminatory laws, harassment, and threats or use of violence. Of course Route 66 wasnt any more racist than any other road in America at the time. Whats it like to be woken up by a bear while camping? sundown town, also called sunset town, in U.S. history, a town that excluded nonwhite peoplemost frequently African Americansfrom remaining in town after sunset. Almost every level acre is under cultivation, thickets of cottonwood trees shelter old farmhouses and ranches, and cattle and horses seem to outnumber people. In Town Job Shift Day (M-F) Approx 7:30am - 2:30pm Job Category Education ***Base rate of pay starting at $13.85-15.00/hour and an additional lump sum payment up to $80.50 per pay period Current Opening: Duncan Head Start, 0001 McGrath Ave., Duncan, AZ 85534, 1 opening, 7 hours per day, M- F, Approximately 7:30am - 2:30pm, mid July thru mid May If you were black and didnt have this information, how would you know where to go? , Coronado Trail National Scenic Byway. Today, politicians and television anchors speak of terrorism as though it is a new phenomenon to the United States. Duncan Opera House - built in 1920 and located in 218 Hill Street. What is the best battery pack for camping? Safford, Arizona gets 10 inches of rain, on average, per year. Today, the town continues to thrive as an agricultural community, especially noted wine tasting rooms and award-winning vineyards. Greenlee County was created in 1909 and named for Mason Greenlee, who was an early settler in the Clifton area. [7], The territory that includes present-day New Mexico and Arizona was designated as "New Mexico. One Green Book business that did survive over the decades is Cliftons, a quirky Depression-era cafeteria in downtown Los Angeles at the corner of 7th Street and South Broadwaythe original terminus of Route 66. Not only were they shut out of pools and beaches, black Americans also couldnt eat, sleep, or even get gas at most white-owned businesses. ranching town for several decades, and its downtown slowly disintegrated. Third, the Simpson Hotel B&B is located here. 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. The images on this website are copyrighted. Duncan is a town in Greenlee County, Arizona, United States. 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. Hats made from the fur of beavers were very popular in the 1800s. Half is a store with peachy-rose walls and wood floors full of integrity. 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. Duncan, Arizona 85534, Hours: It prospered right Alan Hjorth drops in to visit; he and his wife moved from Utah because her family is from here, and now, they love their town. Also included are photographs of the antique town clock and the 1950 Chevrolet 6400 2-ton fire truck once used in Duncan. By 1962, the Green Book reached a circulation of 2 million people. It serves as an excellent base from which to explore the surrounding countryside for several days. Cotton is the principal agricultural commodity. 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. Horses and cattle were owned by a lot of people in Compton. He said the woman sitting next to him (his wife) was his employers maid, and he was taking her and her son (Ron) home. 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. (Today, nothing remains of Grahams, except a tourist cabin that an area law firm uses as its storage shed.). Phone: (928) 359-2791, Duncan Valley Rural Fire District With more hope than resources, Dust Bowl migrants and others escaping poverty caused by the Great Depression could motor west on Route 66 in search of a better life. The city council of New In 2001, local citizens formed the Duncan Pride Society and began restoring and re-purposing some of the old buildings. Duncan, Arizona - a small town located along the New Mexico border. ullstein bild/Getty Images The Chicago suburb of Cicero was one of the most infamous sundown towns to ever exist in Illinois. Segregation was in full force throughout the country. The methods for enforcing such racial segregation ranged . On July 3, 1919, active members of the Army's segregated 10th Cavalry Regiment ("Buffalo Soldiers") were in Bisbee, Arizona, to participate in the town's Independence Day parade. Black motorists who drove nice cars were especially susceptible to regular harassment by law enforcement. 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. 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. Reproduction in part or whole without written permission from the publisher is prohibited. But, yes Prescott area is one of the whitest areas in this state. The county seat is Globe. Other towns passed ordi-nances in Arizona, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, Missouri, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Tennessee, Ohio, Maryland and probably many other states. Interestingly, the hotel website, simpsonhotel.com also has the best information on visiting the surrounding area. 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. What makes Route 66 different is that the open-road branding associated with it celebrated a time when black Americans had to navigate racial violence and the Jim Crow policies that shut them out of businesses and recreational sites. But for black Americans, the Mother Roads lonely expanses were rife with danger. As of the 2010 census, the population of the town was 696. Background: The Gila River Relocation Center was located about 50 miles south of Phoenix and 9 miles west of Sacaton in Pinal County, Arizona. 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. 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 . Cliff dwellers, conquistadors, Apache warriors, mountain men, westering immigrants each in their time has traveled its banks. We mourn the loss of our friend and colleague and remain committed to the work he began. They named their home Duncan, after Duncan Smith, the companys managing director. and last updated 10:00 AM, Sep 21, 2022. For black soldiers stationed at Fort Leonard Wood near Rolla, Missouri, for example, their best option for a little R&R was a full 80 miles away: Grahams Rib Station in Springfield, Missouri, an integrated local landmark that opened in 1932 and was owned by an African American couple, James and Zelma Graham. I'm mixed with Black/White, and lived here my whole life in the Phoenix area. Graham. Town Hall His Green Book featured barbershops, beauty salons, tailors, department stores, taverns, gas stations, garages, and even real-estate offices that were willing to serve black people. Click HERE to see some of the interesting places not far from Duncan. Safford is a mining town in Eastern Arizona.