Have you ever wondered what life would have been like in previous eras? It’s always fun to imagine how your own life might have played out in a previous decade or century—who might you have been and what would your life have looked like, especially here in Arizona.
Well, life in Arizona would have been strikingly different just over a century ago. It only received statehood in 1912, there was no air conditioning, and your primary mode of transportation would have been your own feet with a horse or burro a close second. Let’s take a look at some photos of life in the early 1900s here in Arizona.
- On Second Mesa on the Hopi reservation, a group of children sit on top of two burros in 1901. Where do you think they’re headed?
Ashley Van Haeften/Flickr
- Arizona’s canals look a bit different these days! This is a view of a canal on the side of the Salt River.
WaterArchives.org/Flickr
- In a different time, people used to arrive to hotels and restaurants in style! Here’s a 1905 party arriving at the Grand Canyon’s El Tovar Hotel in a carriage and on horseback.
Grand Canyon National Park/Flickr
- This fashionable group in 1910 are spending a sunny day picking berries near an unnamed Arizona canal. Where do you think it might be located?
WaterArchives.org/Flickr
- Think back to the last time you were in Williams and imagine the old train station. Now, check out this photo from 1910! What has changed in the last century?
Kaibab National Forest/Flickr
- Located just outside the Bartlett Hotel in Jerome is this 1910 burro train ready to head out! We find this one fascinating because very little exists of the hotel these days.
Verde Canyon Railroad/Flickr
- Logging used to be big business in Arizona’s mountainous regions, like you see in this phot from 1912 in Coconino National Forest. By the way, each of those massive logs are 16 feet long!
Forest History Society/Flickr
- A Navajo family sits in a hogan preparing a meal. The photo was taken in the Painted Desert around 1901.
Ashley Van Haeften/Flickr
- A man and his horse water up at a well in 1907 near Palomas, located about halfway between Gila Bend and Yuma.
Marion Doss/Flickr
- Central Avenue in Phoenix looked quite different in 1908! Which intersection do you think this might be?
NickSchweitzer/Wikimedia Commons
- This postcard shows off a view of Bisbee in 1909. It’s amazing how much of it looks similar to today!
Wikimedia Commons
- Here are the Boston Red Sox pose in front of a train at the Grand Canyon in 1911.
Boston Public Library/Flickr
- Residents of Ehrenburg (located across the river from Blythe) greet a man who recently drove into town while on a cross country tour in 1911.
Marion Doss/Flickr
Those were some fascinating photos, don’t you think? Which photo stood out to you most? If you want to see more interesting photos, you might want to see some of the Great Depression. You can see a selection of photos shot around the state in 25 Rare Photos Taken In Arizona During The Great Depression.
Ashley Van Haeften/Flickr
WaterArchives.org/Flickr
Grand Canyon National Park/Flickr
Kaibab National Forest/Flickr
Verde Canyon Railroad/Flickr
Forest History Society/Flickr
Marion Doss/Flickr
NickSchweitzer/Wikimedia Commons
Wikimedia Commons
Boston Public Library/Flickr
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