History of Flagstaff, Arizona

Flagstaff is a city in, and the county seat of, Coconino County in northern Arizona, in the southwestern United States. Established as a modern settlement in 1876 and incorporated as a city in 1928, the land had previously been lived on by native peoples of the southwest, primarily the Sinagua. Mountaineer Antoine Leroux then traveled the area, with Edward Fitzgerald Beale following in his footsteps and establishing a trail through the city in the mid-1800s. With a local spring, a small settlement grew by the wagon road, and the town was dominated by the McMillan, Riordan, and Babbitt families. Focused on agricultural pursuits, these families constructed some historic red stone buildings that still stand today.

Beale's trail was replaced with cross-country railroads and highways, including Route 66. This expanded tourism – a main draw of the city is its location surrounded by sites of natural wonder, including the Grand Canyon – and was cause for an economic boost even through the Great Depression, before overpopulation and poor infrastructure led to the city's decline. A heritage project revitalized the city in the 1990s, leading to it developing a downtown culture. Through its history, Flagstaff has also been an astronomy hot-spot, given its altitude of around 7,000 feet (2,100 m) and pollution-free skies.