Learn More >. 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. In Nevada, Sundown Town History Has Cultural Impacts For Washoe Tribal Members. Encompassing Gardens, 928-359-3590 or innkeeper@simpsonhotel.com, Dorothea Lange Portraits (1935-1939) Arizona small-town sheriff, Duncan, Arizona. Havent tried the lasagna yet. 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. The river water began spilling into Duncan early Monday . 2020 Sundown Town Resolution. Zinc and copper mines were established in the hills around Duncan. Arizona Highways 2039 W Lewis Ave, Phoenix, AZ 85009 602.712.2200. Businesses that served Black customers or hired Black employees would be boycotted by the white townspeople, ensuring that Blacks had few, if any, job opportunities in those communities. A rustic service station with a genuinely old truck would invite them to clamber over it until their mothers call them home to supper. The names posted are the original names used when the properties were first built. Valley residents are using the day to educate others about the history of African Americans in Arizona. One of the finest B&Bs in all of Southern Arizona. (There were Green Book businesses in other parts of Chicagobut not on the Road of Dreams.) James W. Loewen, Sundown Towns: A Hidden Dimension of American Racism (New York: The New Press, 2005); Candacy Taylor, The Roots of Route 66, The Atlantic, November 3, 2016, https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/11/the-roots-of-route-66/506255/; Sundown Towns, Encyclopedia of Arkansas, https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/sundown-towns-3658/. and last updated 10:00 AM, Sep 21, 2022. 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. 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 Cambridge University Press. Sometimes entire counties went sundown, usually when their county seats did. Green modeled his book after Jewish travel guides created for the Borsht Belt in the 1930s. Do you put hand warmers for camping inside a camping tent? 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. Click HERE to see the substantial variety of birds that have been sighted in or near Duncan recently. They held their cross burnings inside. 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. 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. Sundown town | Meaning & History | Britannica 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. If it does, I hope they appreciate it. According to AP News, these towns are inhabited by a majority of white people who insist that "Black and white residents get along really well." One popular safety precaution? Guests include Jim Hunt, president of the National League of Cities . Sundown towns weren't always all-white. The Spanish-Pueblo Revival style of the building features a conference room with seven 20-foot murals painted by a Zuni artist. Businesses have earnest, hardworking signage. And it is too early to celebrate the nations racial tolerance when ongoing racism and xenophobia is camouflaged under the banner of patriotism. In 1930, the black columnist George Schuyler wrote, Blacks who drove expensive cars offended white sensibilities, and some black people kept to older models so as not to give the dangerous impression of being above themselves., In the 1950s, my stepfather, Ron, experienced this firsthand as a child. There were 384 housing units at an average density of 150.2/sqmi (58.0/km2). Duncan is a small farming town 5 miles west of the New Mexico border on Hwy 70 (Old West Highway). 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. This page is not available in other languages. While many claim there is no more racism in the United States,. The new highway re-directed traffic away from Duncan and businesses began leaving the area. Hover over the pictures in the slideshow above to see the captions. The colorful historic sites of Route 66 have been mostly lost to time and neglect. In a country that desperately, fitfully, tries to be color-blind, even the first black president has not been able to stop the bleeding, let alone heal the old and deep wounds of white supremacy and systemic racism. Duncan is located in southern Greenlee County at 324333N 109552W / 32.72583N 109.09778W / 32.72583; -109.09778 (32.725828, -109.097686). Your email address will not be published. July 3, 1919: The Battle of Brewery Gulch - Zinn Education Project Greenlee County was created in 1909 and named for Mason Greenlee, who was an early settler in the Clifton area. In Tulsa, for example, travelers can now visit the Greenwood Cultural Center to learn about the Tulsa Race Riot. Other towns passed ordi-nances in Arizona, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, Missouri, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Tennessee, Ohio, Maryland and probably many other states. 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. Plus, the desolation of Route 66s stretches left black motorists particularly exposed. Pistachio trees have a small presence in the Grand Canyon State, but the pecan business is developing quickly. In 1913, Duncan was described by a map book as a place where 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. News Arizona Flash Floods Flooding Weather. The De Anza Motor Lodge on Route 66 in Albuquerque was built in 1939 and run by a prominent Zuni Indian trader; the motor lodge served black folks on a stretch of road where there were few options available to them. At that time, the town was located on the north bank of the Gila. Simpson Hotel. 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. Also included are photographs of the antique town clock and the 1950 Chevrolet 6400 2-ton fire truck once used in Duncan. They named their home Duncan, after Duncan Smith, the companys managing director. Now, the city has an $8.2 million plan to convert the property into a condo-hotel hybrid with shops and restaurants. Automobile travel symbolized freedom in America, and the Green Book was a resourceful, innovative solution to a horrific problem. As we head back up the street on the other side, a thick berm of trees with cropland stretching away evokes the idea that children in T-shirts will play actual outside games when school ends for the day. Monday - Thursday The wettest month since continuous records began in 1942 has been August 2014 with 6.17 inches or 156.7 millimetres, whilst the wettest calendar year has been 1983 with 18.88 inches or 479.6 millimetres and the driest 1956 with 3.49 inches or 88.6 millimetres. The median age was 28 years. Called "Purdy" in the Post Office register of 1883, it was founded by Messrs. Purdy and Bachelor as a way Budgets, Annual Financial Statements and Independent Auditors Report, Residential/Business Water and Sewer Service, Irrigation, Livestock and Construction Water. In 1921, the Tulsa Race Riot erupted in the Greenwood District of Tulsa, Oklahoma. Some towns believed their ordi-nances remained in effect long after the 1954 Brown decision and 1964 Civil Rights Act. Some posted signs that read, Nigger, Dont Let the Sun Set on You Here.. Background: The Gila River Relocation Center was located about 50 miles south of Phoenix and 9 miles west of Sacaton in Pinal County, Arizona. Is Prescott a sundown town? : r/Prescott - Reddit Sept. 27, 2020. . It was indeed all White for a while. Duncan receded then into a quiet farming and As of the 2020 census its population was 53,272. Glendale is the first city in CA to apologize for its history as a Sundown Town. And, although its no longer open to the public, the building still stands. The means to announce and enforce racial restrictions varied across the country. Living in Safford offers residents a sparse suburban feel and most residents own their homes. It was promoted by word of mouth, and a national network of postal workers led by Green sought out advertisers. In 1999, Dr. Loewen began a public database of sundown towns identified through research by himself and other contributors, a project he continued to grow until his death in the summer of 2021. According to the United States Census Bureau, the town of Duncan has a total area of 2.2 square miles (5.6km2), all of it land.[2]. 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. the river and renamed it "Duncan", after Duncan Smith, the managing director of the Arizona Copper Company. Angie Crouch reports for NBC4 News at 5 p.m. on Oct. 12, 2020. Lordsburg, New Mexico, to meet the Southern Pacific line. Next door, a half-moon sign announces that the turquoise front surrounded by cream-colored, textured brick houses the Bank of Duncan, established in 1908. Hosted by Tougaloo College, Tougaloo, MS, 39174 and facilitated by Pantheon. Reproduction in part or whole without written permission from the publisher is prohibited. Things To Do In Duncan Arizona - SouthernArizonaGuide.com It doesnt. Minden's "sundowner" siren under scrutiny again Racial exclusion in sundown towns was also achieved with violence. 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. Sundown towns are all white cities, towns or neighborhoods that still practice racial segregation by excluding non-white people, usually through extreme violence or intimidation. Leafy greens, cabbage, dates, melons, lemons, oranges, apples, potatoes and tomatoes are just some foods harvested from Arizonas nourishing soil. A sundown town is not just a place where something racist happened. In the evenings, classic concoctions like absinthe are served at the bar, which features a 250-pound meteorite sitting on it. In fact, for short period between 1949 and 1950 George H. W. Bush and Lil W lived in Compton. The motor lodge was slated for demolition when the city purchased it in 2003. What is the best battery pack for camping? DUE TO NEW METER INSTALLS, OVER THE NEXT FEW WEEKS, YOU MAY EXPERIENCE MINOR ISSUES WITH WATER AVAILABILITY. The Gila River, near Duncan, which is east of Safford along the Arizona-New Mexico border, reached a major flood stage Monday morning. One of the Green Books most unusual Route 66 sites was Murrays Dude Ranch. Sundown suburbs formed a little later, mostly from 1900 to 1968." 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. Duncan is a small farming town 5 miles west of the New Mexico border on Hwy 70 (Old West Highway). In 1930, for instance, 44 of the 89 counties along the famed Route 66 from Chicago to Los Angeles featured no motels or restaurants and prohibited Blacks from entering after dark. [1][2][3][4], Francisco Vasquez de Coronado was a governor of a province in New Spain (in Mexico). In 1881 . Hats made from the fur of beavers were very popular in the 1800s. 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. I live in Los Angeles, California and love camping. Still, the property sat empty for more than a decade after that purchase. The state of Arizona gave us our own license plate, and we'd like you to take us for a ride. Reading Too Much Political News Is Bad for Your Well-Being. Sundown towns in Illinois: Where they were, what they are I'm mixed with Black/White, and lived here my whole life in the Phoenix area. Rich history of the Gila River Valley and the Town of Duncan, Arizona For many, the vulnerability of the road meant always having a plan, a cover story, or even a disguise. Unheard of by many, loved by everyone who calls it home. Duncan is in the Gila River valley, four miles (6 km) west of the ArizonaNew Mexico border. The images on this website are copyrighted. Town Hall 506 SE Old West Hwy Duncan, Arizona 85534. Town . Office: (928) 865-4149Emergency: 911. The term meant that if you were not white you had to be out of the town by nightfall or suffer the consequences. "We didn't have Jim Crow [laws] here in California, but we did have sundown town laws," said Peterson . Copying and downloading images from this site is strictly prohibited. sundown town, also called sunset town, in U.S. history, a town that excluded nonwhite peoplemost frequently African Americansfrom remaining in town after sunset. Greenlee County Sheriff's Department Office: (928) 865-4149 Emergency: 911 They began to proliferate during the Great Migration, starting in about 1910, when large numbers of African Americans left the South to escape racism and poverty. His father had a good job with the railroad and owned a nice car. 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. Given this mass denial, its not surprising that Route 66 is weighted down with nostalgia, suffocating from an idealized past that never was. There Are Still 137 Sundown Towns Across 21 States - Democratic Underground Many families live in Safford and residents tend to lean conservative. Duncan has a semi-arid climate (Kppen climate classification BSk) with huge diurnal temperature ranges year-round except during periods of thundery monsoon weather. There are primarily three reasons to visit Duncan. It is an entire community (or even county) that for decades was "all white" on purpose. It looks like a movie set. All rights reserved. Duncan is a town in Greenlee County, Arizona, United States. Duncan might attract people who now realize they can work remotely from anywhere. Horses and cattle were owned by a lot of people in Compton. Published: Aug. 23, 2022 at 5:03 PM PDT. California cities grapple with racist history of sundown towns 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. Where is duncan arizona? - Whip O Will Campground In response, Victor H. Green, a postal worker from Harlem, compiled the Negro Motorist Green Book, a guide to accommodations that served Black travelers. 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. So when the United States promotes freedom and democracy, fights for those values abroad, and then fails to abide by them at home, the hypocrisy feels cruel. At that time, the town was located on the north bank of the Gila. 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. Cliff dwellers, conquistadors, Apache warriors, mountain men, westering immigrants each in their time has traveled its banks. For every 100 females, there were 90.6 males. More generally, sundown town is used to describe a place where the resident population was through deliberate action made to be overwhelmingly composed of white people. 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". Safford averages 1 inches of snow per year. The 15 Most Dangerous Cities In Arizona: 2022's Ultimate List 20072023 Blackpast.org. Apart from oral histories, there are often few archival records that describe precisely how sundown towns excluded Blacks. 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. The Gila River crested at a record-breaking 30.28 feet on Sunday night near Virden, New Mexico, a town just 7 miles from Duncan, Arizona.