Sedona, Arizona – History

One can’t visit Sedona, Arizona without seeing the town. It is called “uptown” for some reason and never “downtown.”

Sedona began 350 million years ago. That’s how long it has taken for Nature to form the red rocks by earth thrusts, sea changes and erosion forces.

We started our tour of Sedona at the Sedona Heritage Museum. It was here that we learned about the history of Sedona. There were 15 homesteading families called this area home. T. C. Schnebly was an enterprising young man from Gorin, Missouri who had married Sedona Miller. T.C.’s brother, Ellsworth, had moved to Arizona for health reasons, and convinced T. C. and Sedona to join him in red rock country. The Schnebly’s built a large two-story home that also served as the area’s first hotel and general store. T.C. saw a need for regular mail service, and organized the little village’s first post office.

T. C. suggested the names, Oak Creek Crossing and Schnebly Station, to Washington, D.C., but the Postmaster General at the time had a prejudice for one-word names for postmarks. Ellsworth advised him, “Why don’t you name it after your wife?”

Here is one of the first fire engines in Sedona. Since Sedona is located in a desert, water from the Colorado River had to be used.

The Sedona Telegraph Office is the last remaining structure from the movie set that was built in Sedona; it was featured in John Wayne’s Angel and the Badman film.

Here is the kitchen as it was during the Jordan family living there. They were the original owners of this property.

It was so much fun to learn about the history of Sedona. It made all that we saw much more meaningful.

Have you been to Sedona? If so, what did you think?