Ash Fork

History

Ash Fork has proclaimed itself "The Flagstone Capital of the World", due to the large number of stone quarries and stone yards in and around the town. The community was established as a siding of the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad, later known as the Santa Fe Railroad, in October 1882. It was purportedly named in 1883 by F.W. Smith, general superintendent of the railroad, in reference to a thicket of ash trees at the site. The first official post office was established on April 12, 1883, with one Henry W. Kline serving as the first Postmaster. Following an uncontrollable fire in 1885, the entire town of Ash Fork burned in 1893, and was rebuilt on the opposite side of the railroad tracks from its original location, where it remains today. In later years, Ash Fork was the location of the Escalante, a large hotel and "Harvey House" built in 1907 and closed in 1948, operated by the Fred Harvey Company. Ash Fork's convenient location along the railway and later famous U.S. Route 66 made it recognizable to many cross-country travelers, as evidenced by its fleeting mention in several films from the era of classical Hollywood cinema such as 1947's Dark Passage, starring Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall. U.S. Route 66 provided a slight boost to the town's economy in the 1950s, but construction of the divided highway through the town resulted in the destruction of many of the storefronts, sidewalks, and residential streets, forever altering the aesthetic qualities of the downtown area. In 2023 the postal service announced that it was relocating because the current facility is too small for its operations. Ground was broken for the new location in February of 2024. Certain areas of the town were selected to be used as sets in the filming of 1992's Universal Soldier,…

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of , all land. Geologic places of interest include the Cathedral Caves, which are about west of town off Arizona Road, and Dante's Descent, a deep sinkhole also known as "Devil's Hole", which is around 5 miles northwest of Ash Fork, off Crookton Road. After its closing by the state, however, Dante's Descent cannot legally be visited by the public. Pictorial and historic documentation of the natural attraction may be found at the Ash Fork Library. Ash Fork lies near Kaibab National Forest and Coconino National Forest, and international attractions such as the Grand Canyon are roughly an hour's drive away using major roads. Service roads allow swifter access to back areas of Grand Canyon National Park, but may not be open to public thoroughfare. Approximately to the north of Ash Fork is Beale Road, which has the distinction of being the first federally funded highway. The internationally renowned U.S. Route 66 also runs directly through the town. Notably, the longest original, uninterrupted stretch of Route 66 still in existence (about 9.6 miles (15.4 km) long) can be found between Ash Fork and Seligman, Arizona, beginning just beyond Ash Fork at Crookton Road. The surrounding geographical area and settlements served as inspiration for the 2006 Pixar film Cars. This region experiences warm (but not hot) and dry summers, with no average monthly temperatures above 89 °F. According to the Köppen climate classification, Ash Fork has a warm-summer Mediterranean climate, Csb on climate maps.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Common Raven

  Corvus corax Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  136
• Woodhouse's Scrub-Jay

  Aphelocoma woodhouseii (S.F.Baird, 1858) · Aves
  63
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  55
• Turkey Vulture

  Cathartes aura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  50
• Red-tailed Hawk

  Buteo jamaicensis (Gmelin, 1788) · Aves
  48
• Lesser Goldfinch

  Spinus psaltria (Say, 1822) · Aves
  46
• House Finch

  Haemorhous mexicanus (P.L.Statius Müller, 1776) · Aves
  44
• Western Bluebird

  Sialia mexicana Swainson, 1832 · Aves
  43

Largest nearby schools

• Ash Fork Elementary School
  Elementary · Ash Fork · 119 students · 23.8:1 ratio
• Ash Fork High School
  High · Ash Fork · 100 students · 20:1 ratio
• Ash Fork Middle School
  Middle · Ash Fork · 74 students · 24.7:1 ratio
• MIJTED - Ashfork High School
  High · Ash Fork

Most recent

• M 2.5 — 2025-04-15
  14 km N of Clarkdale, Arizona
• M 2.6 — 2024-10-15
  20 km NE of Parks, Arizona
• M 2.8 — 2023-09-17
  20 km ESE of Peach Springs, Arizona
• M 2.6 — 2023-08-14
  9 km WSW of Williams, Arizona
• M 3.8 — 2023-07-23
  2 km E of Chino Valley, Arizona
• M 3.1 — 2023-05-10
  31 km SW of Cameron, Arizona