John D. Lee, Warren M. Johnson, James S. Emett, and Coconino County
Coconino County, Coconino County, Arizona
Marker Inscription
Lee's Ferry John D. Lee settled here in Dec. 1871 and established ferry service thirteen months later. After her husband's death, Warren M. Johnson ran the oar-driven ferry for Emma Lee, 1875 to 1879, when the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints purchased her interest. Johnson served until 1895. He was followed by James S. Emett who sold to the Grand Canyon Cattle Company in 1909. Coconino County operated the ferry from 1910 to 1928.
Erected by Daughters of Utah Pioneers
The Story
At this crossing of the Colorado River, the Mormon pioneer John D. Lee settled in 1871 and soon began a ferry that became the only practical wagon route across the river for hundreds of miles. After Lee's execution, the oar-driven boat was kept running by Warren Johnson for Emma Lee, then by the LDS Church and later operators, until Coconino County ran it into 1928. Lee's Ferry stitched together the isolated settlements of the Arizona Strip and the Mormon frontier.
Why it matters
For more than half a century Lee's Ferry was a vital gateway of westward settlement, the lifeline that let wagons, cattle, and colonists cross one of the most formidable rivers in the West.
Own a business near here? Add it to the map.
Related people
- · John D. Lee
- · Warren M. Johnson
- · Emma Lee
- · James S. Emett
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Virgin Valley
Mesquite, NV
The Virgin Valley was a corridor of Western exploration and migration long before it was farmed. Jedediah Smith passed through in 1826 and John C. Frémont in 1844, and the valley carried both the Old Spanish Trail (1829–1848) and the Mormon Road toward southern California. Latter-day Saint pioneers put down permanent roots, founding Bunkerville in 1877 and Mesquite in 1880, drawing life from the waters of the Virgin River.
Old Spanish Trail
Mesquite, NV
Stretching 130 miles across what is now Clark County, the Old Spanish Trail became Nevada's first route of commerce in 1829, when trade opened between Santa Fe and Los Angeles. This rugged horse-and-pack trail later carried gold-rush "49ers" and Mormon pioneers westward. Concrete posts were placed to mark its course in 1965.
Point of Rocks Railway Site
Yavapai County, AZ
These rocks mark where the Santa Fe, Prescott & Phoenix Railway once kept its buildings, part of the line that in the 1890s finally connected the isolated territorial capital of Prescott to the transcontinental network. The railroad ended the town's dependence on slow wagon freight and opened central Arizona's mines and ranches to national markets.
Old Spanish Trail: Journey of the Dead Man
Clark County, NV
On the Old Spanish Trail, the fifty-five waterless miles between Las Vegas and the Muddy River earned the grim name Jornada del Muerto, the Journey of the Dead Man. Bleached bones and broken wagons marked the sandy crossing, which seasoned travelers made by night to spare their animals the desert sun. When John C. Frémont crossed in 1844, his party chewed cactus and sour dock for moisture until, near midnight, their thirsty mules bolted ahead toward the welcome water of the Muddy.