Arizona Cooperative Mercantile Institution

Commerce in Mormon Round Valley ran on cooperation, not just cash. Built of adobe in 1901 and fronted with cast iron shipped from St. Louis, this store was a local branch of the church's cooperative mercantile system, which pooled a community's buying power against frontier isolation and outside merchants. It sold goods here for some seventeen years before the co-op era faded and the building turned to other trades, a saloon, a variety store, a furniture emporium. Its imported iron facade still signals how far Springerville reached to outfit itself.

What the plaque says

Arizona Cooperative Mercantile Institution. Built of adobe in 1901 with a cast iron front shipped from St. Louis, the ACMI was a branch of the Mormon Cooperative Store system for 17 yrs. It later served the community as a saloon, variety store and furniture emporium.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Casa Malpais — steps away
  The Mogollon great house on the lava, and the catacombs sealed back shut
• Mount Baldy — 22 mi
  Dzil Ligai Si'an, the sacred White Mountain, and the summit you stop short of

More markers nearby

• Springerville Schoolhouse — steps away
• Becker's Transcontinental Garage — steps away
• Madonna of the Trail — steps away
• Baca Home — steps away