Holbrook’s History

In 1881, railroad tracks were laid in Northeastern Arizona passing through an area known as Horsehead Crossing. The following year, a railroad station was built at Horsehead Crossing and the community’s name was changed to Holbrook in honor of H. R. Holbrook, first chief engineer of the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad. Holbrook became the county seat of Navajo County in 1895 and was incorporated in 1917.


Principal Economic Activities

Holbrook is an important trade center for Northeastern Arizona. Its location, on Interstate 40 at the junction of four major highways, between the Apache Sitgreaves National Forest to the south, and the Navajo and Hopi Indian Reservations to the north makes tourism an important contributor to the local economy.

Government employment is also significant. Holbrook is the Navajo County seat, and the site of various state and federal field offices. Major employers include government, education, transportation, utilities and the paper industry. All of Navajo County is a designated Enterprise Zone.

The Cholla Power Plant, Arizona Public Service Company’s largest coal-fired generating station, is located just outside of Holbrook and employs approximately 300 workers.

Foreign Trade Zone benefits are available to qualified companies, and can result in U.S. Custom duty savings and personal property tax reductions.


Scenic Attractions

Holbrook is located at the hub of Northern Arizona tourism. Using Holbrook as your base, enjoy a variety of surrounding attractions. To the north is the rugged plateau country with striking canyons containing prehistoric cliff-dwellings such as those found in Canyon de Chelly.

Much of the plateau country is Navajo and Hopi reservation land. These reservations offer unique attractions, including ceremonial dances, tribal events, and Indian art and crafts. Arizona’s scenic Mogollon Rim country, with its tall pines and quiet mountain lakes, is a short distance south of Holbrook. Visitors can hunt, fish and enjoy spectacular panoramas.

The Petrified Forest National Park, with petrified logs displaying an array of colors, and the Painted Desert, with formations of soft rock in many colors, offer unique experiences to area visitors. There is also a Museum and Visitors Center in Holbrook.

Holbrook hosts many events throughout the year including the annual Hashknife Sheriff’s Posse Pony Express Ride in January, Holbrook Old West Days in June, the annual Firemen’s Barbecue on the 4th of July, the Navajo County Fair in September, and the Christmas Parade of Lights and Festival of Trees in December.

Discovery Travel Kit

We provide complete travel information to those who call our 800 number. There is a lot for visitors to see and do in Northeastern Arizona. We want them to make informed decisions when they are planning itineraries. The Discovery kits are professionally presented. The Chamber’s poster and images are presented throughout the packet, providing travelers with a good idea of the adventure ahead.

Community Facilities

The City has a public pool for adults and children, three community parks with six softball fields, eight tennis courts, playground equipment, eight racquetball courts, a shooting range, a bowling alley, a nine-hole golf course, a community center, public library, and the county fairgrounds in downtown Holbrook featuring the county fair. Cholla Lake, located 10 minutes west of town, is great for water skiing, camping, swimming, boating, picnicking and fishing. One hour south of Holbrook the White Mountains provide hunting, fishing, boating, camping, skiing and backpacking.


Communication

In addition to communication resources from the rest of the state, Holbrook has a semi-weekly newspaper, The Holbrook Tribune-News, KDJI AM and Z92 FM radio stations, Cellular phone, ISP and 53 television channels from Phoenix, Flagstaff, Chicago and Atlanta, including HBO, Pay Per View, Disney and the Movie Channels.

Education

Holbrook is well-known for quality schools; we have one high school, one junior high, and two elementary schools, along with private schools. Enrollment is approximately 2,000 students. A Northland Pioneer College campus and the administrative offices are located in Holbrook. Northland Pioneer College is a nationally accredited two-year community college serving Navajo and Apache counties. The college has adopted the decentralized center concept and now has centers located in 17 communities. Areas of study include occupational, vocational, academic and avocational programs.

Medical
There is 24-hour emergency medical service available with well-qualified paramedics and EMTs. The community also has five physicians (including three general practitioners, one internist, and one pediatrician), two dentists, three chiropractors and one optometrist to serve health care needs.

Finance
There are two banks in Holbrook. Local businesses are eligible for assistance in financing fixed assets through GADA by contacting the Arizona Department of Commerce at 3800 N. Central Ave., Phoenix, Ariz. 85012. Information on private activity bonds within the City may be obtained from the Holbrook Chamber of Commerce at 100 E. Arizona, Holbrook, Ariz 86025.

Government
The City of Holbrook is governed by a mayor and six council members under a Charter form of government. There is a city manager and several city department heads running the day-to-day operations. Holbrook is the county seat.

Airport
Residents of Holbrook have access to the Holbrook Municipal Airport which has one 6,700 foot lighted runway, 24-hour service and fuel available.

Industrial Properties
The City of Holbrook has a business park with utilities available, access to air and Interstate 40. A large area is being privately developed with heavy industrial zoning. For further information contact the Holbrook Chamber Economic Development
 

How To Get Holbrook From There

From Phoenix:

Come through Globe and Show Low for a spectacular drive through the Salt River Canyon or drive through Payson and over the imposing Mogollon Rim.

You may also drive straight north out of Phoenix on Interstate 17 to Flagstaff, then head east on Interstate 40 to Holbrook and the Petrified Forest.

From the West, California or the Grand Canyon:

Holbrook is only a 75-minute drive from Flagstaff. You could stop at Walnut Canyon, Meteor Crater or Homolovi State Park on your way to your tour base in Holbrook.

You can explore segments of Historic Route 66. When you go to the Petrified Forest, the best way to get there is through downtown Holbrook and along State Route 180 to the south entrance of the National Park.

From the East or the Midwest:

Historic Route 66 started in Chicago. Follow it all the way to Arizona, and in Holbrook stay on authentic Route 66 and eat in cafes still run by the same families who served travelers in the ‘40s and ‘50s.

If you are going to the Petrified Forest, the best way to get there is to turn right on Interstate 40 at exit 311 at the north end of the park, east of town. When you’ve completed your tour of the park, you will exit the south gate, turn right on State Route 180 and be on your way to a pleasant evening in Holbrook.

On summer weeknights, make sure you get to town by 6:30 p.m. to take in the Native American dancing at the Historic Courthouse in downtown Holbrook.

Tourism Development

Holbrook’s history is one of our greatest assets. We are in the process of developing a comprehensive plan to share our history with the Arizona traveler. The planned Railroad District redevelopment in the original part of town and our ongoing documentation of Holbrook’s historic past will be key to future tourism growth.

Several buildings in the district are owned by the City, along with lots which are for sale to developers for tourism-related businesses.

Marketing our history will help develop our area as a destination. Buildings such as the Bucket of Blood Saloon have a rich and infamous history the traveler will want to know more about.

The original Blevins home still stands and was the stage for the famous shootout where Sheriff Commodore Perry Owens stood alone against four men and came away without a scratch.

There is a lot more history awaiting travelers, and Holbrook is preparing to share it with them.

Navajo County, Arizona

What is now Navajo County was first included in Yavapai County, but in 1879, the area was added to the newly formed Apache County. Navajo County was formed on March 21, 1895, as the final act of the Territorial Assembly before it adjourned at midnight. Holbrook, the county seat, was founded in 1881.

By the time it became Navajo County, the area was developed—the railroad had crossed the county for more than a decade, and North America’s third largest ranch, the Aztec Land and Cattle Company near Holbrook, had been established. Backed by Easterners, Aztec bought one million acres of land from the railroad at 50 cents an acre. The company—known as the Hashknife Outfit because of its brand—brought 33,000 longhorn cattle and 2,200 horses into Northern Arizona from Texas.

The county is divided into two distinct parts by the Mogollon Rim. The high country in the northern part of the county is arid and desert-like with breath-taking mesas and smaller plateaus. The southern part is a rugged mountain area, heavily wooded with pinon juniper and ponderosa pine.

In the north is Kayenta, founded in 1909 as a trading post, now the gateway to the Navajo Tribal Park at Monument Valley and a thriving Navajo community. Farther south is the Hopi Indian Reservation, which is completely surrounded by the Navajo Reservation. The Hopi Pueblo of Oraibi is one of the oldest continuously inhabited settlements in the United States.

Today, Navajo County’s principal industries are tourism, coal mining, manufacturing, timber production and ranching.

Almost 66 percent of Navajo County’s 9,949 square miles is Indian reservation land. Individual and corporate ownership accounts for 18 percent; the U.S. Forest Service and U.S. Bureau of Land Management together control 9 percent; and the state of Arizona owns 5.9 percent. All of Navajo County is an Enterprise Zone.


Holbrook is a community of hard working families, a community devoted to achieving the best possible place to live, work and play. The City of Holbrook is taking an active role in promoting a pro growth community through the production of economic development products such as the information on this site.

I hope you will take the time to learn more about Holbrook and our many strengths."