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Montezuma Castle was once populated for about 300 years from 1100 A.D. and made a National Monument in 1906. No Aztec Indians ever occupied the site yet the name persists on other geographical locations of interest, such as; Montezuma's Chair and Montezuma Sleeping. Montezuma Castle is located just east of highway 17 between Phoenix and Flagstaff. the left, on 10 miles North of Montezuma Castle on highway 17 and a turn to county road 293, is Montezuma well. The small lake is 473 feet across and over 50 foot deep. This well over the centuries was the life blood of many cliff dwellings in the area. The well once supported a settlement called Montezuma City c. 1864 and was owned by the Wales Arnold ranch. To view the well, a small mound must be climbed to reveal well.

A few miles south of the monument is the well preserved Ft. Verde named after a nearby river. The fort was first started by early settlers and was later taken over by the military. In 1871. General Cook ordered the fort moved a mile south due to malaria.

Credits. Montezuma Castle and Well photograph by Byron McGrogh. 35mm slide film. Ft. Verde photo courtesy of Arizona Parks Department.

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