List of historic properties in Cottonwood, Arizona
City
Cottonwood Commercial Historic District
Location of Cottonwood in Yavapai County, Arizona.

Part of a series of the
Cities and towns in Arizona with lists and images of historic properties; cemeteries or historic districts
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Lists of structures, etc. Agua Caliente Avondale Bisbee Black Canyon City Bouse Buckeye Camp Verde Casa Grande Cave Creek Chandler Clarkdale Cottonwood Dateland Flagstaff Florence Fort Tyson Gila Bend Gilbert Gillett Glendale Globe Goldfield Jerome Litchfield Park Mayer Mesa Miami New River Paradise Valley Parker Peoria Phoenix Quartzsite Queen Creek Sacaton Scottsdale Superior Tempe Tombstone Tucson Twin Arrows Two Guns Vulture City Weedville Wickenburg Winslow Yuma
Lists of cemeteries Ba Dah Mod Jo Cemetery in Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation. Boothill Cemetery in Tombstone. City of Mesa Cemetery in Mesa. Crosscut Cemetery in Phoenix. Double Butte Cemetery in Tempe. Liberty Cemetery in Liberty Glendale Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale. Goodyear Farms Historic Cemetery in Avondale. Greenwood/Memory Lawn Mortuary & Cemetery in Phoenix. Home Mission Cemetery in Surprise. Pioneer and Military Memorial Park in Phoenix. Russian Spiritual Christians Cemetery in Glendale. St. Francis Catholic Cemetery in Phoenix. Old Path Cemetery in Weedville. West Resthaven Park Cemetery in Glendale.
Historic Districts Catlin Court Historic District Clarkdale Historic District Cottonwood Commercial Historic District Globe Downtown Historic District Phoenix Historic Property Register Sunnyslope District in Phoenix
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This is a list, which includes a photographic gallery, of some of the remaining structures and monuments of historic significance in Cottonwood, a city in Yavapai County, Arizona. Cottonwood is located between the cities of Prescott, and Sedona.

Brief history[edit]

During the Pre-Columbian era, the area was occupied by Sinagua people who built their dwellings in the cliffs of the Verde Valley Mountains between the years of 1100 and 1425 AD. In 1583, Captain Antonio de Espejo and the Spanish conquistadors took possession of the Verde Valley.^[1]

In the 1860s settlers began to migrate into the Verde Valley to work in the mining industry. The United States Army established a minor post overlooking the farms which the settlers established in West Clear Water. A post called Camp Lincoln, which later was renamed Camp Verde, was established.^[2]

By 1879, a number of families from the mid-western area of the United States arrived in the area. Among them was Charles D. Willard and his family. He named the area Cottonwood because there was a circle of sixteen large cottonwoods growing about one-quarter of a mile away from the Verde River. Willard, who founded the town, is considered to be the "Father of Cottonwood." The area became a farming settlement.^[3]

Cottonwood also has a commercial district which was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 2000 (ref.#00000497) as the Cottonwood Commercial Historic District. Included are the buildings and residences from 712 to 1124 N. Main Street.^[4] Cottonwood, however, does not have the authority to deny a demolition permit. Therefore the owner of a property, listed either in the National Register of Historic Places or considered historical by the Verde Historical Society, may demolish the historical property in question if he or she so desires. Such was the fate of the 1875 Strahan House, which was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1986, reference #86002157. The historic house, which was located at 725 E. Main St., was demolished in 2007 and has since been removed from the NRHP.^[5]

According to Jim McPherson, Arizona Preservation Foundation Board President:

In charge of the preservation of the historical artifacts and structures of Cottonwood is the Verde Historical Society. The society headquarters is located in 1 N. Willard Road in the old Clemenceau High School. The Clemenceau High School, which is listed in the National Register of Historic Places, also houses the Clemenceau Heritage Museum.^[7]

Properties pictured[edit]

National Register of Historic Places[edit]

The following is a brief description with the images of the historic properties listed in the National Register of Historic Places that are pictured.^[4]

Clemenceau Public School

• The Smelter Machine Shop - built in 1900 and located at 1605 6th Street. It was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1986, reference #86002154.


• 
  Clemenceau Public School - built in 1923 and located at 1 N. Willard Street. It was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1986, reference #86002149.


• The Superintendent Residence - built in 1925 and located at 315 S. Willard Street. It was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1986, reference #86002159.


• The Master Mechanic's House - built in 1900 and is located at 333 S. Willard Street. It was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1986, reference #86002152.


• The Building on 826 Main Street - built in 1925 and is located at 826 S. N. Main Street. It was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1986, reference #86002147.


• The Mary Willard House - built in 1890 and is located at 1127 N. Main Street. It is the oldest house in Cottonwood. It was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1986, reference #86002166. According to the National Register of Historic Places, Mary Willard bought a large tract of land and homesteaded another parcel. With the help of her sons, she began building a large, two-story Queen Anne style house on her homestead in 1885. Clay was dug near the site and kilns were constructed. This was the first brick known to have been manufactured in the Upper Verde Valley.^[8]

Cottonwood Commercial Historic District[edit]

The following is a brief description with the images and the original names of the historic properties located within the Cottonwood Commercial Historic District.^[9]

Cottonwood Hotel

• The Bank of Clemenceau building - built in 1918 and is located at 1 N. Willard Street.


• The Old Church building - built in 1900 and is located at 421 S. Willard Street.


• The Cottonwood Civic Center building - built in 1939 and is located at 805 N. Main Street.


• The Carlson’s 5 & 10 Store building - built in 1939 and is located at 909 N. Main Street.


• The Sprouse-Reitz 5 & 10 Store building - built in 1933 and is located at 913 N. Main Street.


• The Cottonwood Hotel - built in 1917 and is located at 930 N. Main Street. Mae West stayed there and so did John Wayne and Gail Russell during their filming of ‘Angel & the Badman’ in 1946.


• 
  Joe Hall’s House - built in 1917 and is located at 1004 N. Main Street. The house was converted into an antique store.


• The Groves-Hansohn Grocery Store - built in 1917 and is located at 1016-18 N. Main Street.


• The Mark Willard Building - built in 1917 and is located at 1008 N. Main Street.


• The Stemmer’s Store building - built in 1923 and is located at 1034 N. Main Street.


• The County Jail building - built in 1929 and is located at 1101 N. Main Street. Al Capone inscribed his name on the outside jail cell wall. This jail is in the 1946 movie “Desert Fury” and the 1967 Elvis Presley movie "Stay Away, Joe".


• 
  Black Bert’s Service Station - built in 1952 and is located at 794 N. Main Street.

Historic properties and structures in Cottonwood[edit]

Historic individual structures in Cottonwood
listed in the National Register of Historic Places.^[4]

Welcome to Cottonwood

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  Smelter Machine Shop
  

  
  

  
  


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  Clemenceau Public School
  

  
  

  
  


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  Superintendent Residence
  

  
  

  
  


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  Master Mechanic's House
  

  
  

  
  


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  Building on 826 Main Street
  

  
  

  
  


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  Mary Willard's House
  

  
  

  
  

Further reading[edit]

• "Cottonwood (Images of America)"; by: Helen Killebrew and the Verde Historical Society; Publisher: Arcadia Publishing; .mw-parser-output cite.citationfont-style:inherit.mw-parser-output qquotes:"""""""'""'".mw-parser-output code.cs1-codecolor:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-free abackground:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-registration abackground:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-subscription abackground:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registrationcolor:#555.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration spanborder-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-errordisplay:none;font-size:100%.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-errorfont-size:100%.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-formatfont-size:95%.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-leftpadding-left:0.2em.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-rightpadding-right:0.2em
  ISBN 0738579998;
  ISBN 978-0738579993
  

See also[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Cottonwood, Arizona.

• Cottonwood, Arizona


• National Register of Historic Places listings in Yavapai County, Arizona

References[edit]