In 1876 settlers made a flagstaff from a pine tree and hoisted the American flag. People believe that is why the town is so named. Flagstaff's elevation makes it a perfect summer town in the Southwest. Cool breezes. The smell of pine. Clean star-filled summer skies.
This clear air was why Percival Lowell built a telescope up on top of Mars Hill Road and in 1930 discovered the ninth planet, Pluto.
North of town are the Waputki Indian Ruins, a significant Anasazi and Sinagua community of the 12th to 14th centuries. We found that sports and ballfields have been with us for millenia. If you travel this far, go a bit further toSunset Crater Volcano National Monument.
East of the city off US 40 can be found the Hubbell Trading Post. John Lorenzo Hubbell was considered a honest white trader, something of a rarity in his day. He began trading in Ganado in 1876, spoke Navajo, and helped the Indian to learn the ways of the white man. When smallpox swept the reservation in 1886, he used his home as a hospital for the stricken Indians. Hubbell built his single trading post into a chain of 24 such posts. He died in 1930 after careers in business, politics and the law. One old Navajo expressed the sadness of his people when he said:
You wear out your shoes, you buy another pair; when the food is all gone, you buy more; you gather melons, and more will grow on the vine; you grind your corn and make bread which you can eat; and next year you have plenty more corn. But my friend Don Lorenzo is gone, and none to take his place.