Item Detail
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18628
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1
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0
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English
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Mormon Forestdale
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Journal of the Southwest
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Summer 2005
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47
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no.2
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In the late nineteenth century, more than a dozen Mormon families settled in a spring-fed valley several miles southwest of present-day Show Low, Arizona, and called the place Forest Dale (known today as Forestdale. They lived there for years, leaving when it was made clear to them that the site they inhabited was on the White Mountain Indain Reservation (now the Fort Apache Reservation). While some families left the Arizona Territory altogether, others relocated off the Mogollon Rim to such communities as Show Low, Pinedale, Fool's Hollow, and Lakeside, where many of their descendants live today. Another migration path took some families to the Gila Valley in Graham County. Despite the brief stay of the Latter Day Saints at Forest Dale, descendants of these early residents have retained a social memory of this settlement and the events leading to their ancestor's departures. This article discusses the significance of these memories and their principals themes, which are contrasted with the often divergent history found in archival sources. An analysis of the gaps between these versions of history reveals key cultural values of this Southwestern settler society. [journal abstract]