MI Printing : AZ History One City At a Time: Yuma

The area's first settlers were Native American tribes whose descendants now occupy the Cocopah and Quechan reservations. In 1540, expeditions under Hernando de Alarcon and Melchior Diaz visited the area and immediately saw the natural crossing of the Colorado River as an ideal spot for a city. Later military expeditions that crossed the Colorado River at the Yuma Crossing include Juan Bautista de Anza in1774, the Mormon Battalion in1848 and the California Column in 1862.

Following the establishment of Fort Yuma, a town sprang up on the New Mexico (now Arizona) side of the Colorado. The townsite was duly registered in San Diego, demonstrating that both banks of the Colorado River just below its junction with the Gila were recognized as being within the jurisdiction of California. The county of San Diego collected taxes from there for many years.] The town, initially called Colorado City, was renamed Arizona City in 1858. It took the name Yuma in 1873.

Steamboats at Yuma Landing, CA, 1880From the 1850s through the 1870s, the Yuma Crossing was known for its steamboat crossing. It was a stop on the way up and down the river. The steamboats transported passengers and equipment for the various mines and military outposts. The Yuma Quartermaster Depot, today a state historic park, supplied all forts in present-day Arizona, as well large parts of New Mexico, Colorado, New Mexico. Yuma served as the gateway to the new Republic (later State) of California, as it was one of the few natural spots where travelers could cross the otherwise very wide Colorado River. After Arizona became a separate territory, Yuma became the county seat for the area in 1864.