Clarkdale was one of the Southwest’s first planned community developments, built by William Andrews Clark in and around 1914.

Clark was a mining magnate and owned the United Verde Copper Co. He oversaw the building of the town with a business district and private housing. The homes were equipped with a sewer system and wood floors — progressive for the time. He built the homes for the mine’s employees who rented them from Clark. In 1953, the mine and smelter shut down. Many employees moved to other mining cities and towns for work.

Most of the homes built at the time still stand and are inhabited by today’s Clarkdale residents. Several have opened their homes to the public for the fourth annual Clarkdale Historic Homes and Buildings Tour on Saturday, Dec. 15.

Clarkdale has the largest historic district in rural Arizona on 4,000 acres with 386 historic homes and buildings, said Cindy Emmett, a member of the board of directors for the Clarkdale Historical Society.

The homes were laid out in two districts known as upper town and lower town.

“Most of the homes and buildings could qualify for the National Register of Historic Places — more than any district in the state,” she said. “We’ll have four homes and four buildings on this year’s tour.”

The homes include a Vernacular ranch, which fazed in around 1930; a Bungalow style, referred to as a four-room brick; and a Craftsman, a five-room brick home. The Craftsman and Bungalow were the first style to be built between 1914 and 1917.

The Bungalow, owned by Tim and Cheryl Kessel, has a basement that was dug after the house was built. None of the houses was originally built with a basement.

For the full story, see the Wednesday, Dec. 12, edition of The Camp Verde Journal or the Cottonwood Journal Extra.