A history of Flagstaff, Arizona, from the late 19th century to today, is accompanied by numerous period photographs.

George Breed began walking the paths, streets, and back alleys of Flagstaff, Arizona, in 2009. He had no car and did not want one. Retired from his previous life as a psychologist, martial artist, Marine, and trail hiker, he could roam wherever his spirit and feet took him. He saw sights about which car dwellers, even those who had lived in Flagstaff for years, knew nothing. He quickly added a camera to his daily stroll, to capture and share what he saw. As he walked, he became friends with this mountain town's street people, business owners, politicians, river runners, canyon hikers, buskers, street musicians and photographers, artists of paint and jewelry and acrobatics. The soul of the city made itself known to him. Through this unique book of images, he makes Flagstaff known to readers, who will come away charmed by the artist and his hometown.

Few American towns went untouched by World War II, even those in remote corners of the country. During that era, the federal government forever changed the lives of many northern Arizona citizens with the construction of the U.S. Army ordnance depot at Bellemont, ten miles west of Flagstaff. John Westerlund now tells how this linchpin in the war effort marked a turning point in Flagstaff's history. One of only sixteen munitions depots built between 1941 and 1943, the Navajo Ordnance Depot contributed significantly to the city's rapid growth during the war years as it brought considerable social, cultural, and economic change to the region. A clearing in the ponderosa pine forest called Volunteer Prairie met the military's criteria for a munitions depot--open terrain, a cool climate, plentiful water, and proximity to a railroad--and it was also sufficiently inland to be safe from the threat of coastal invasion. Constructing a depot of 800 ammunition bunkers, each the size of a 2,000-square-foot home, called for a force of 8,000 laborers, and Flagstaff became a boom town overnight as construction workers and their families poured in from nearby Indian reservations and as far away as the Midwest and South. More than 2,000 were retained as permanent employees--a larger workforce than Flagstaff's total pre-war employment roster. As Westerlund's portrait of wartime Flagstaff shows, prosperity brought unanticipated consequences: racism simmered beneath the surface of the town as ethnic groups were thrown together for the first time; merchants called a city-wide strike to protest emerging union activity; juvenile delinquency rose dramatically; Flagstaff women entered the workforce in unprecedented numbers, altering local mores along with their own plans for the future; meanwhile, hundreds of sailors and marines arrived at Arizona State Teachers College to participate in the Navy's "V-12" program. Whether recounting the difficulty of 3,500 Navajo and Hopi employees adjusting to life off the reservation or the complaints of townspeople that Austrian POWs-transferred to the depot to ease the labor shortage-were treated too well, Westerlund shows that the construction and maintenance of the facility was far more than a military matter. Navajo Ordnance Depot remained operational to support wars in Korea, Vietnam, and the Persian Gulf, and today Camp Navajo provides storage for thousands of deactivated ICBM motors. But in recounting its early days, Westerlund has skillfully blended social and military history to vividly portray not only a city's transitional years but also the impact of military expansion on economic and community development in the American West.

On July 4, 1876, members of the Second Boston Party made camp at Antelope Spring on their way to California. To celebrate the country's centennial, the men prepared a ponderosa pine tree by stripping it of its branches and creating a flagpole. With the arrival of the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad in 1882, this "flag staff" was once again discovered. The area was growing in population, so it became necessary to establish a post office. Many names were proposed for the new town, such as "Antelope City" and "Flagpole," but the name "Flag Staff" fit best. As an oasis in the middle of the southwest desert, Flagstaff has been a hub for many attractions surrounding the city, prompting visitors to send news of their experiences via a picture postcard. Many of the cards in this volume have messages and postmarks that help show a glimpse of what life was like in Arizona's High Country.

This is the story of Flagstaff, Arizona, during the 1880s, when the railroad came and assured the new town's continued growth. The precursor to Mountain Town (page 16).

A guide to interpreting everyday human landscapes focuses on Flagstaff, Arizona, exploring four urban districts: a themed historic business district, a pre-War multi-ethnic neighborhood, an expanding university campus, and a dynamic automobile commercial strip.

Written by Flagstaff's town historian, Mountain Town is a definitive history of a place where people from all walks of life intertwine.