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 History
is often best served by the preservation of
landmarks. The Superstition Wilderness is filled
with landmarks significant of historical mention. It
is very difficult to research the history of a given
area if all the historical landmarks have been
changed or erased. What if we became tired of place
names like Roosevelt Dam, the Apache Trail, Apache
Junction or maybe even Arizona and then have their
names changed. Where would the next generation be?
Shortly after the turn of the 20th century Tortilla
Mountain fell victim to a place name change. A group
of enterprising concession entrepreneurs from
Phoenix arbitrarily decided to change all the names
along the Mesa- Roosevelt Road (Apache Trail)
because they believed more romantic Spanish names
were needed to better serve the budding new industry
of tourism.
The group felt place names in general along the
Apache Trail were quite sterile and needed a more
Spanish or Western flavor. Names such as the Bronze
Wall, Paso Tesoro, Coronado Mountain and Kit Carson
Mountain begin to appear on travel maps and
brochures promoting the beauty of the Apache Trail,
the Canyon of the Salt River and Roosevelt Lake.
This occurred around 1916.
 These changes, for the most part, went unnoticed by
most Arizona residents. The concession entrepreneurs
that changed the place names along the Apache Trail
were not at all sensitive to the recommendations of
Arizona historians. However, there was one Arizona
historian whose ire was raised. This man was James
A. McClintock. His first response was indicative of
his outrage.
“Who are these men that would change our pioneer
names——change the meaning of Arizona History?,” he
said.
McClintock was a noted Arizona historian and had
been deeply involved with the development of the
Roosevelt Dam site and the suggested survey route of
the Apache Trail. He had served with Theodore
Roosevelt’s Rough Riders during the Spanish-American
War.
McClintock immediately appealed to the Arizona
legislature to set up a historical place name
commission that would oversee the naming and
renaming of Arizona landmarks. The legislature
formed the Historical Landmark Commission and
McClintock was appointed to the commission in 1919.
McClintock soon pointed out Kit Carson was never
near Superstition Mountains nor was the Spanish
explorer Coronado. The twenty or so place names
changed during this period had no significant
documentation to support a historical name change
other than the desire by the concession
entrepreneurs of the Southern Pacific Railroad to
please the appetite of Wild West tourist genre.
Ironically, McClintock had faced down the most
powerful lobby in the Arizona legislature, the
railroads, when he defied the change of place names
along the Apache Trail. Kit Carson Mountain was
changed back to Tortilla Mountain. The place named
Coronado Mountain for Superstition Mountain did not
survive one year.
The names the Bronze Wall, Inspiration Point,
Lookout Point and Paso Tesoro did linger on for a
few years. Arizona place names are often confusing
enough, but to mix them with fictitious romantic
history of the times distracts from the true nature
of pioneer history of the state.
There are always those who want to change pioneer
names of geographic landmarks to better suit their
needs with little or no consideration for history.
Recently we have been told, the place names within
the Superstition Wilderness Area do not actually
exist, the only purpose for the present names
remaining on maps are for emergency use by rescue
units. The names have no historical significance in
a wilderness area. The wilderness management plan
states a true wilderness has no place names left
behind by man. Doesn’t this dogmatic philosophy ring
of another era and of another continent?
Most Americans totally disagree with this
philosophy. It is ironic some believe we should
totally ignore our heritage for the satisfaction of
the future generations with invested interest in
place names. Can you imagine changing the name of
Potomac or Hudson Rivers? Can you imagine changing
the name of Washington, D.C., to better suite the
economic climate of the nation? The Southwest has a
strong heritage where historical names are of an
enormous value. Future bureaucrats will probably
make attempts to adjust and change the names of
southwestern landmarks because they are too Hispanic
in origin. We should note the Spanish and Mexican
pioneers were in the Southwest before the Mayflower
landed at Plymouth Rock.
The result of these changes often leaves landmarks
with two or more names. A classic example of this is
the landmark on Superstition Mountain called the
Flat Iron. It is also known by many as the Ship
Rock. The Flat Iron name is by far the oldest, but
Ship Rock is probably the most popular today.
Another example of landmark name change is Willow
Canyon to Peralta Canyon. This renaming was by Oren
Arnold, the first president of the Don’s Club, c.
1934. Arnold was a prolific writer and he wrote
several stories about the Mexican family Peralta who
searched for gold in the Superstition Mountains. His
romantic and fictitious novels became the source of
some landmark names in the Superstition Wilderness
Area.
Another example certainly worth mentioning is the
name Superstition Mountain. Originally,
cartographers for the United States Army Map Corps
made reference to Superstition Mountain (Mountains)
as the Salt River Mountains in 1870. Prior to this
date some military sketch maps called the mountains
Sierra de Espuma. Superstition Mountain began to
appear on military maps around 1872. Early in 1915,
the Southern Pacific Railroad concession
entrepreneurs changed several place names along the
Apache Trail. One of these landmarks was
Superstition Mountain. They changed the name to
Coronado Mountain. This change didn’t last long.
Another interesting change in landmark names is the
naming of U.S. Highway 60 through Apache Junction.
Early in 1943 this highway was named the Jefferson
Davis Memorial Highway. A granite marker can be
found west of the Peralta Road Estates turnoff east
of Gold Canyon on Highway 60. The highway was
renamed in 1961, the Lost Dutchman Gold Route, by
the National Highway Alliance. This renaming
primarily concerned U.S. Highway 70 from coast to
coast. Both Highways 60 and 70 run through Apache
Junction. There is a marker indicating this change
near the Lost Dutchman Monument in Apache Junction.
U.S. Highway 60’s name was changed again in the
early ‘90s to the Old West Highway in Apache
Junction. This particular change was a reasonable
request after the construction of the Superstition
Freeway in 1991. Each time U.S. Highway 60’s name in
Apache Junction was changed it was for completely
different reasons.
Cartographers are the ones who add and delete names
on their maps. In many aspects they have the
ultimate power to control the future of landmark
names associated with the Superstition Wilderness
Area or any other area of Arizona or the Southwest.
Will they dispute the pioneer history of the
Southwest, Arizona, or the Superstition Wilderness
Area? This remains to be seen. I have a historical
names database that contains more than 2,500 names
in the Apache Junction-Superstition Mountain region.
Everyone’s continued interest in historical names is
very important for those individuals interested in
the preservation of Arizona and Southwest history.
What can each of us do about historical name
preservation? Anytime a landmark name is changed it
should be thoroughly researched by a committee
dedicated to checking the original source of a name.
Let’s hope we pay particular attention to landmark
name changes in the future.
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