Four Corners Monument - History

History

The area now called Four Corners was governed by Mexico following its independence from Spain, until being ceded to the United States by the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848. The location of the Four Corners Monument was effectively set in 1861 as the southwest corner of the Colorado Territory by the 36th United States Congress. Congress transferred land previously allocated to the Utah Territory by declaring the boundary of Colorado to be the 32nd meridian west from Washington. This line was derived from the reference used at the time, the Washington meridian.

In 1861, in the midst of the American Civil War, a group of people in the southern portion of New Mexico Territory passed a resolution condemning the United States for creating a vast territory with only a single, small government in place at Santa Fe. They claimed by doing so the U.S. had ignored the needs of the southern portion, left them without a functional system of law and order, and allowed the situation to deteriorate into a state of chaos and near anarchy. The group declared secession from the United States and announced their intent to join the Confederate States of America under the name of the Arizona Territory. The U.S. Congress responded in 1863 by creating another Arizona Territory with different, but partially overlapping boundaries. The Confederate boundaries split New Mexico along an east–west line, the 34th parallel north, allowing for a single state connection from Texas to the Colorado River. This would give the Confederacy access to California and the Pacific coast. The Union definition split New Mexico along a north–south line, extending the boundaries established for Colorado. This created the quadripoint at the modern Four Corners – with two territories separating California from Texas. After the split, New Mexico resembled its modern form, with slight differences.

After the Civil War, efforts began to survey and create states from the earlier territories. The first survey of the line was made by E. N. Darling in 1868, and marked with a sandstone marker. Another survey was completed in 1875 by Chandler Robbins, at which time the marker was moved to its current location. The results of this survey were later accepted as the legal boundary when states were established from the earlier territories. The first permanent marker was placed at the site in 1912. The first modern Navajo government convened in 1923 in an effort to organize and regulate an increasing amount of oil exploration activities on Navajo lands. A bronze disk was placed at the spot in 1931. The Navajo Nation has since assumed the monument, pouring a concrete pad and other site improvements during the 1960s. The monument was completely rebuilt in 1992, and again in 2010.