Including practically all the Mormons then resident within the new
Territory of Arizona, the first Arizona county to be created by
additional legislative enactment, following the Howell Code, was that of
Pah-ute, in December, 1865, by the first act approved in the Second
Arizona Territorial Legislative Assembly. The boundaries of the county
were described as: Commencing at a point on the Colorado River known as
Roaring Rapids; thence due east to the line of 113 deg. 20 min. west
longitude; thence north along said line of longitude, to its point of
intersection with the 37th parallel of north latitude; thence west, along
said parallel of latitude, to a point where the boundary line between the
State of California and the Territory of Arizona strikes said 37th
parallel of latitude; thence southeasterly along said boundary line, to a
point due west from said Roaring Rapids; thence due east to said Roaring
Rapids and point of beginning. Callville was created the seat of justice
and the governor was authorized to appoint the necessary county officers.
The new subdivision was taken entirely from Mohave County, which retained
the southernmost part of the Nevada point. It may be noted that its
boundaries were entirely arbitrary and not natural and the greater part
of the new county's area lay in what now is Nevada. October 1, 1867, the
county seat was moved to St. Thomas. November 5, 1866, a protest was sent
in an Arizona memorial to Congress against the setting off to the State
of Nevada of that part of the Territory west of the Colorado. The grant
of this tract to Nevada under the terms of a congressional act approved
May 5, 1866, had been conditioned on similar acceptance by the
Legislature of Nevada. This was done January 18, 1867.
Without effect, the Arizona Legislature twice petitioned Congress to
rescind its action, alleging, "it is the unanimous wish of the
inhabitants of Pah-ute and Mohave Counties and indeed of all the
constituents of your memorialists that the territory in question should
remain with Arizona; for the convenient transaction of official and other
business, and on every account they greatly desire it." But Congress
proved obdurate and Nevada refused to give up the strip and the County of
Pah-ute, deprived of most of her area, finally was wiped out by the
Arizona Legislature in 1871. At one time there was claim that St. George
and a very wide strip of southern Utah really belonged to Arizona.