Navajo County was formed on March 21, 1895, as the final act of the Territorial Assembly before it adjourned at midnight. What is now Navajo County was first included in Yavapai County, but in 1879, the area was added to the newly formed Apache County.

The county is divided into two distinct parts by the Mogollon Rim. The high country in the northern part of the county is and and desert-like with empty mesas and smaller plateaus. The southern part is a rugged mountain area, heavily wooded with pifion juniper and ponderosa pine.

Today, Navajo County's principal industries are tourism, coal mining, manufacturing, timber production and ranching.

Almost 66 percent of Navajo County's 9,949 square miles is Indian reservation land. Individual and corporate ownership accounts for 18 percent; the U.S. Forest Service and U.S. Bureau of Land Management together control 9 percent; and the state of Arizona owns 5.9 percent. All of Navajo County is an Enterprise Zone.

Maricopa County, named after the Maricopa Tribe, was created from portions of Pima and Yavapai counties in 1871. It was the fifth county formed in Arizona, and eventually portions were used to create Gila and Pinal counties.

In the late 19th century, citizens living far south of Prescott, the territorial capital and site of the Territorial Legislature, petitioned for a more local seat of government. Residents of the Salt River Valley and the Gila River area wanted a new county in their respective locations. After weighing both proposals, the Legislature agreed with the Salt River Valley group and created Maricopa County. In 1889, Phoenix became the final site of the territorial capital and retains its status as Arizona's capital city.

Today Maricopa County measures 9,222 square miles, 98 square miles of which is water. Twenty-nine percent of this area is owned individually or by corporation, and 28 percent is owned by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. The U.S. Forest Service and the State of Arizona each control 11 percent of the county; an additional 16 percent is owned publicly. Almost 5 percent is Indian reservation land. Parts of western Maricopa County has 11 designated Enterprise Zones as well as central and southern areas in the City of Phoenix.

Pinal County was formed from portions of Maricopa and Pima counties on Feb. 1, 1875, in response to the petition of residents of the upper Gila River Valley, as "Act #1 " of the Eighth Territorial Legislature. Florence, established in 1866, was designated and has remained the county seat.

The county encompasses 5 371 square miles, of which 30 are water. In both economy and geography, Pinal County has two distinct regions. The eastern portion is characterized by mountains with elevations to 6,000 feet and copper mining. The western area is primarily low desert valleys and irrigated agriculture.

The state of Arizona is the county's largest landholder with 35.3 percent, followed by individuals and corporations, 25.7 percent; Indian reservations, 20.3 percent; the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management, 17.5 percent, and the remaining 1.2 percent is other public land.

Graham County, formed in 1881 by the 11th Territorial Legislature, was created from parts of Apache and Pima counties. The Legislature broke with the tradition of naming Arizona counties after local Indian tribes when the new county Galled "Graham" was named after the 10,516-foot Mount Graham. The mountain, had been named after Lt. Col. James Duncan Graham.

Safford was the first county seat, but it was moved to Solomonville after two years. In 1915, after an election, the county seat was returned to Safford where it remains.

Graham County was almost twice its present size prior to the formation of Greenlee County. The county now measures 4,630 square miles, of which 22 square miles are water. The San Carlos Indian Reservation covers approximately one-third of the land, with San Carlos Lake a popular site for its excellent fishing and camping. Recreation and tourism follow farming and ranching as the principal industries in Graham County.

Individual or corporate ownership accounts for 9.9 percent of land ownership; the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management, 38 percent; the state of Arizona, 18 percent, Indian reservations, 36 percent. All of Graham County is an Enterprise Zone.

Greenlee County, Arizona's 14th county, was created in 1909 by an act of the 25th Territorial Assembly. The county was formed from the eastern portion of Graham County and named for Mason Greenlee, an early settler in the Clifton area. There was significant resistance to the formation of the new county because Graham County would lose considerable revenue as a result. As a compromise, Greenlee County was considerably smaller than originally proposed. Clifton is, and has always been, the county seat.

In addition to the major contribution copper makes to the county's economy, ranching, agriculture and tourism are factors as well. Apache National Forest in the northern half of the county is home to deer, elk, antelope and bear. Hannagan Meadow, at 9,092 feet, and the Blue Range Primitive Area are popular for hunters and campers.

Greenlee County covers 1,837 square miles. The vast majority of land is government-owned. The U.S. Forest Service controls 63.5 percent; the U.S. Bureau of Land Manage-ment, 13.6 percent; the state of Arizona, 14.8 percent; and individual or corporate ownership, only 8.1 percent.

Pima County, the second largest of the four original counties, was created in 1864 and included approximately all of southern Arizona acquired from Mexico by the Gadsen Purchase. Settlement of the region goes back to the arrival in the 1690s of the Spanish who encountered Native Americans already living there.

The Royal Presidio de San Augustin del Tucson was completed by 1781, and it remained the northern-most outpost of Mexico until the arrival of American soldiers in 1856. From a population of 395 in 1820, Tucson has grown to be the second largest city in Arizona. It has always served as the Pima County seat and was the Arizona Territorial capital from 1867 to 1877. Tucson is home to the University of Arizona and offers many historical and cultural attractions.

Although greatly reduced from its original size, Pima County still covers 9,184 square miles. It ranges in elevation from 1,200 feet to the 9,185-foot peak of Mount Lemmon. The San Xavier, Pascua Yaqui and Tbhono O'odham reservations together account for ownership of 42.1 percent of land located in Pima County. The state of Arizona owns 14.9 percent; the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management, 12.1 percent; other public lands, 17.1 percent; and individual or corporate ownership, 13.8 percent. Pima County has Enterprise Zones in the central areas of the cities of Tucson and South Tucson and a central portion of Pima County.

Cochise County was named for the renowned Apache chief in 1881, when it was established during the 11th Territorial Assembly. Archeological finds date civilization along the San Pedro River to 9000-6000 B.C., when members of the Clovis civilization inhabited the area.

Cochise County also is an important agricultural area. With 6,215 square miles, Cochise is as big as Rhode Island and Connecticut combined. Once known as the Cattle Capital of the nation, Willcox is the home of the largest weekly cattle auction in Arizona. Specialty crops and livestock, including exotic animals, play an important role in the local economy. Douglas, once dependent upon mining and agriculture, has developed a manufacturing base because of its location on the U.S.-Mexico, border. All Of Cochise County has been designated as an Enterprise Zone, except the northeast section of the county.

Cochise is one of only three counties in Arizona without an Indian reservation. Individual and corporate ownership account for 40 percent of the land; the state of Arizona, 34.6 percent; the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management, 22.2 percent; and other public lands comprise the remaining 3.2 percent.

Santa Cruz County is Arizona's smallest, encompassing only 1,236 square miles. Created by the 20th Territorial Assembly in 1899, the county is named after the river that flows into Mexico from Arizona before winding back into Santa Cruz and Pima counties. The river was named Santa Cruz, which means Holy Cross in Spanish, by Father Kino in the 17th century.

The fertile Santa Cruz Valley was populated by friendly Pima Indians when the Spaniards first arrived in the 1690s and established several missions, one of which, Tumacacori, is a national historical park.

Nogales, which means walnuts in Spanish, was chosen the county seat and remains such today. There are strong commercial, religious and cultural ties between Nogales, Arizona, and its sister city across the border, Nogales, Sonora. It serves as one of the major gateways between the U.S. and Mexico and is expected to grow in importance as the North American Free Trade Agreement continues to be implemented.

The U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management own 54.6 percent of the land; the state of Arizona, 7.8 percent; individual or corporate ownership, 37.5 percent.

The Yavapai County Libertarian Party has gained ballot access following a major petition drive. This will allow Libertarian candidates on the election ballot for partisan Yavapai County offices in the 2004 primary and general elections. Over one thousand Yavapai County voters signed the petition.
The Yavapai County Libertarian Party is recruiting registered voters and working to build a strong political base to participate more actively in County government.Our voter registration has increased by 25% in the last year. There are now about 700 registered Libertarians in Yavapai County. The Yavapai County Libertarian Party has recently participated in a very successful County Fair. We supported Libertarian candidates for State and Federal office and registered additional Libertarian voters.

Yavapai County Libertarian Party Officers
Chairman John V. DeThomas (928)778-5084 jvdethomas@att.net P.O. Box 11122 Prescott, AZ 86304	First Vice Chair Wayne Johnson (928)282-2442	Second Vice Chair Steve Schmitt (928) 649-8245
	Secretary Marta Morris (928) 282-4231 Sedona, AZ saxyzeke@juno.com	Treasurer Roy Carlson (480) 993-0337 Prescott, AZ rc@cottonwoodcreek.com