Happy Jack, Arizona

Happy Jack is an unincorporated community and campground located in the Mogollon Rim Region of Coconino County, Arizona, United States. The Lowell Discovery Telescope is located there.

Happy Jack, Arizona
Unincorporated community
Happy Jack
Happy Jack
Coordinates: 34°44′36″N 111°24′27″W
CountryUnited States
StateArizona
CountyCoconino
Elevation
7,493 ft (2,284 m)
Time zoneUTC-7 (Mountain (MST))
ZIP code
86024
GNIS feature ID29736[1]

History

Happy Jack was founded in 1947 as a logging camp. The community also contained a ranger station and post office.[2] By 1948, 300 people lived in the town, and at its peak, housed around 500 people.[3] The town was built by the Saginaw and Manistee Lumber company.[3]

The community petitioned for a school in 1970.[4]

The first logging camp closed approximately 30 years after it opened. The logging company requested Happy Jack be moved 13 miles, closer to Clint's Well, starting around 1974.[5] The Happy Jack post office moved 15 miles down the road to a place known locally as Long Valley in 1983 and is also known as Happy Jack Too.[6] However, Long Valley does not appear on any maps.[2]

Etymology

The town was founded at a place called Onion Flat, and was originally called "Yellowjacket." However, three other Yellowjacket place names already existed, so a new name had to be chosen for the new community.[7]

Happy Jack may have been named for a cheerful local lumberman.[8] However, another newspaper report says the Coconino National Forest Supervisor Ronald Rotty named Happy Jack after an area of Wyoming where a bandit named Happy Jack committed crimes.[2]

Climate

According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Happy Jack has a Continental climate, abbreviated "Dsb" on climate maps.[9]

References
  1. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Happy Jack, Arizona
  2. Cook, James E. (July 14, 1988). "Long Valley disappears under Happy Jack".
  3. "Cabins House 300 Dwellers". Arizona Republic. October 10, 1948. p. 1, Section 2.
  4. "Happy Jack School Studied; Bus Changes Rejected". Arizona Daily Sun. September 2, 1970.
  5. "Happy Jack plans move south". Arizona Daily Sun. September 25, 1974.
  6. O'Connell, Maureen (March 28, 1991). "Deep in the forst, Happy Jack represents 'untouched solitude'". Arizona Daily Sun.
  7. "'Happy Jack' formerly was 'Onion Flats'". Arizona Daily Sun. May 19, 1949. p. 6.
  8. Blackwood, Alisa (April 15, 2001). "Whimsical names mark Arizona towns". Reading Eagle. pp. E11. Retrieved 23 April 2015.
  9. Climate Summary for Happy Jack, Arizona



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