Photo: Wikimedia Commons — see author and license on the file page.

Brigham City, Arizona

Ghost town
In Brigham City, Arizona
1.4 mi from Route 66
National Register of Historic Places

Brigham City, now a ghost town, lies near Winslow, AZ, about a mile and a half north of downtown and 1.4 miles off the old road. Latter-day Saint settlers founded it on the Little Colorado River in 1876, but floods wrecked their dams and crops, and the town was empty by 1881. One building and parts of its protective wall survive, and the site is on the National Register.

What is Brigham City?

Twenty Mormon families and fifteen single men came from Salt Lake City. They put their homes inside a defensive wall about 200 feet long and 7 feet tall. Today a single building and sections of that wall are what is left, and the remains have been undergoing restoration. Archaeologists have also dug at the spots where the grist mill and the pottery once stood.

History of Brigham City

The settlement began in 1876 and became a church ward in 1878. The census of 1880 counted 191 residents. Flash floods kept washing out the dams and irrigation ditches, the crops failed, and by 1881 the town had been abandoned. Of the four colonies on this river, only Joseph City survived. The site has been on the National Register since June 9, 1978.

Visiting Brigham City: tips

The site is about 1.4 miles off Route 66, a quick hop from downtown Winslow. Access details are not recorded, so check locally before planning a walk around the remains. Pair it with the La Posada Historic District, about 1.5 miles away, and the Sunset site, about 1.8 miles off.