Very interesting and good detective work, Ken! Thanks! I was getting ready to email the school in Roll and see if anybody knew..... Trisha Ken Henson wrote: > > > ...I've always associated the Mohawks with upstate New York, James > > Fenimore Cooper and all that. Does anyone here know how the "Mohawk > > influence" came to Yuma County, Arizona? Barring that, anyone have > any > > suggestions as to how I might find out? Googling "Mohawk" and > > "Arizona" wasn't much help. > > > > Steve, hope this is what your were looking for? > > Mohawk El.: 545’ Loc.: Yuma > > In 1869 Mohawk was not the same place as Mission Camp. The later is > thirty miles west northwest of Mohawk Station. The original stage > station was also not the same as Mohawk on GLO 1903 (twenty-two miles > to the west southwest of Chrystoval). > > The original Mohawk Station was so named by men who created the > Butterfield Overland stage route. Many came from New York State and > brought place names from there to Arizona. As a stage station, Mohawk > vanished. The name came to be applied to the valley in which the > stage > station was first located. Long before this time, the name had first > been applied to Mohawk Gap lying between Texas Hill on the east and > Antelope Hill on the west, now known as Mohawk Pass. This same place > shows a Mohawk on Smith Map 1879, the first map to use the name Mohawk > Range for the mountains bordering the western side of the valley. > These mountains were known in the early days as the Big Horn Mountain > or Mohawk Peak. > > In the 1880’s the present Mohawk was established and the population > was > sufficient to require a post office. In 1956 Mohawk consisted of a > section station on the railroad, a service station, a motel and a > single residence. According to post office records, Chrystoval was > changed to Mohawk as of September 30, 1905. > > The above was taken from: Arizona Place Names, Revised and enlarged by > Byrd H. Granger, The University of Arizona Press, 1960. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Although no one can go back and make a brand new start, Anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~