Tortilla Flat - "Someone got hungry and made some tortillas right where the town stands today."
Updated: May 10, 2020
Nestled in a small valley in the Superstition Mountains lives the tiny town of Tortilla Flat. I say tiny because it is. The population of the town is 6. Yup, that’s right, 6. We decided to make the trip from Phoenix mainly because of the name. Who doesn’t want to check out a town with such a unique name? And at just over an hour straight East, it was a nice afternoon getaway.
This hidden gem has a town history that stretches back to 1904. Native Americans were in the area for hundreds of years before the first Spanish explorers moseyed on into the Superstitions in the beginning part of the 1500’s.
The story really gets started in the 1800’s. Mexico decides that it doesn’t want the Spanish around anymore and gains its independence. After a whole heap of gold was discovered in the Superstitions, the prospectors began to flood in. This did not make the local Native population all that happy and skirmishes with Apache and Yavapai were quite common. The rumor is that prospectors set up camps at the location where the town sits now, but there are no documents that verify this. There was a small trail, but in 1904 that trail became a road as the building of the Roosevelt Dam required a reliable way to get construction supplies and equipment to the dam site.
The town was more of a camp for the workers constructing the dam. Tonto National Forest was established in 1905 and the town was under the supervision of the Forest Service during construction.
Where the name came from is hotly contested. Some believe that cowboys on a cattle drive had too much to drink one night, forgot to buy supplies, and only had left over flour to make tortilla with. Others believe that some workers in the forest got stranded by flooding in the river on their way back from getting supplies in Phoenix, and only had flour to make tortillas with. In either case, someone got hungry and made some tortillas right where the town stands today.
The town consists of a saloon, a gift shop, a museum, and a country store. The saloon / restaurant is worth the trip alone. The stools at the bar are made from real horse saddles, and the walls are covered in dollar bills and some foreign currency proudly stating when each note was pinned to the wall. Some have quite clever messages written on them to entertain while you munch on burgers and chili. The country store sells a prickly pear gelato which is also well worth a try. The gift shop has all kinds of Tortilla Flat merch to buy as well as many Arizona souvenirs to take back or give to the dog sitter to say thanks for looking after your pooch.
Tortilla Flat is a great little break from the business of Phoenix. The drive has some amazing views and once you get to the town, the valley is simply stunning. Go for lunch and have a rest on the porch just like President Teddy Roosevelt did in 1911.
Sources: www.torillaflataz.com, www.wikipedia.com,
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