An Archaeological Investigation of The Historic Black Settlement at Mobile, Arizona

Summary

An archaeological investigation of the historic black settlement at Mobile, Arizona was conducted in November 1991. This investigation was conceived by Pat H. Stein and Bruce Jones, of the Arizona State Historic Preservation Office and Statistical Research, respectively. The work was performed by Mark T. Swanson. This work has been funded with the assistance of a matching grant-in-aid from the Department of the Interior, National Park Service, under provisions of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, as amended and as administered in Arizona by the Arizona State Parks Board through the State Historic Preservation Office.

The archaeological investigation included an archival search through the major historic repositories of Arizona, an examination of Federal homestead records on file at the Bureau of Land Management of Phoenix and at the National Archives in Washington, D.C., and a search through the deed records on file with Maricopa County. Interviews with local residents were also conducted.

Fieldwork, which followed on the heels of the archival work and interviews, consisted of a judgmental survey of six square miles (six sections) in the center of what is now Mobile. Cultural resources that appeared to be 50 years of age or older were recorded as sites. Scaled sketch maps were also prepared. As a result of the judgmental survey, a total of 13 resources were discovered and recorded. These included the first Mobile church, the cemetery, seven of the original 12 homesteads within the six sections, and another four resources that date to the 1940s and may possibly be 50 years old.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• SRI Press

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Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): SRI Press

Contributor(s): Jay Ziemann; Jeffrey Altschul; Carey Dean

Field Director(s): Mark T. Swanson

Principal Investigator(s): Pat Stein; Bruce A. Jones

Sponsor(s): Department of the Interior, National Park Service

Prepared By(s): Statistical Research, Inc.

Submitted To(s): Arizona State Parks

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