The Snowflake Monument

Snowflake did not fall from the sky; it was assembled from two surnames. William J. Flake led five pioneer families into this valley in July 1878, his wives Lucy and Prudence among them, and bought a ranch to seed the settlement. That September, Mormon apostle Erastus Snow met Flake on the trail, and the town fused their names: Snow plus Flake. The bronze here freezes that roadside meeting. It is one of the more honest town names in Arizona, wearing its two founders on its face.

What the plaque says

Justin Fairbanks, sculptor. A new pioneer settlement was begun on July 21, 1878, when William J. Flake and his wives Lucy and Prudence led five families, their wagons and livestock into this valley. Lucy Flake described the scene as "a beautiful place" with "clear water" and "hills covered with green grass." Within weeks, destitute families began drifting in. Friends and strangers shared the small four-room adobe home sold to Flake with the land, and worked to harvest the crops on the newly purchased ranch., This monument portrays a trailside meeting in September 1878, which resulted in the naming of Snowflake. William J. Flake and part of his family were traveling north in a wagon to sell wool and purchase Utah cattle.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Show Low — 18 mi
  The Rim-country town a losing hand of cards named

More markers nearby

• Jesse Nathaniel Smith — 0.2 mi
• Show Low and You Win the Ranch — 18 mi
• Showlow Valley Settlement — 18 mi
• Agate House — 24 mi