Editing Apache County, Arizona (section)

==History==
The United States acquired this territory following its victory in the [[Mexican–American War]] in 1848. It was originally part of the [[New Mexico Territory]] established at the time. In 1863, during the American Civil War, Congress established the [[Arizona Territory]] to improve regional administration. It operated until 1912 when it was admitted as a state.

In 1879 the Tenth Territorial Legislature organized Apache County from the eastern section of Yavapai County; officially all land east of 109°45′ W was included in the new county. As population increased in the area, by 1895, the legislature divided this county to create Navajo County and assigned some of the lands to the newly organized Graham, Greenlee and Gila counties. The county seat was first designated as the town of Snowflake, but a year later it was moved to [[St. Johns, Arizona|St. Johns]]. From 1880 to 1882, the county seat was temporarily in Springerville, before being returned to St. Johns.<ref>Walker, Henry (1986). ''Historical Atlas of Arizona'', p. 32. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, {{ISBN|978-0806120249}}.</ref>

An 1896 history of the area described the county by the following:
<blockquote>Apache County was created in 1879 and lies in the northeastern corner of the Territory. Until March, 1895, it also embraced what is now [[Navajo County, Arizona|Navajo County]], but at that date the latter was set apart and established as a separate county. Apache County is justly noted for its great natural resources and advantages. It is destined some day in the early future to have a large agricultural population. Now, immense herds of cattle and flocks of sheep roam over its broad mesas and its fertile valleys. The Navajo Indians occupy the northern part of the county-in fact, occupy much of the remainder of the county, as they refuse to remain on their reservation, preferring to drive their sheep and cattle on lands outside their reservation, where the grazing is better. The southern part is a fine grazing country, while the northern part is cut up into picturesque gorges and canyons by the floods of past centuries.<ref>{{Cite book |title=A Historical and Biographical Record of the Territory of Arizona |publisher=McFarland & Poole |year=1896 |location=Chicago |pages=300}}</ref></blockquote>

In the late 1880s, the county [[sheriff]] was Commodore [[Perry Owens]], a legendary [[Old West]] [[gunfighter]]. At that time, the county covered more than {{convert|21177|sqmi|km2}} in territory. In September 1887, near [[Holbrook, Arizona|Holbrook]] in what is now Navajo County, Owens was involved in a famous gunfight: he killed three men and wounded a fourth while serving a [[Warrant (law)|warrant]] on outlaw [[Andy Blevins]]/Andy Cooper, a participant in a raging [[range war]], later dubbed the [[Pleasant Valley War]].

In 2015, Apache County had the highest rate of deaths due to motor vehicles in the United States, with 82.5 deaths per 100,000 people.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Underlying Cause of Death, 1999-2015 Results |url=https://wonder.cdc.gov/controller/datarequest/D76;jsessionid=E63AD90E918B8FA3E71818EFDD738927?stage=results&action=sort&direction=MEASURE_DESCEND&measure=D76.M3 |access-date=January 11, 2017 |publisher=Centers for Disease Control and Prevention}}</ref>

The [[Fort Apache Indian Reservation]] occupies part of the county, as does the [[Navajo Nation]], whose territory extends well beyond it. The Apache and Navajo Nation are [[federally recognized tribes]] that long occupied territory here.