For 44 years, the schoolhouse served the community of Mt.
Trumbull. Homesteaders arrived in this remote valley about 1917
to farm and raise livestock. The schoolhouse, built in1918,
served not only as a school, but also as a church, dance hall,
and town meeting site. Population peaked at 200–250 in the
1930s, when a drier climate forced residents to switch their
livelihood from crops to cattle and sheep. The Taylor Grazing
Act of 1934 changed the face of ranching on the Arizona Strip as
a complex system of permits and regulations precluded use of the
range by many newly established homesteaders. People gradually
drifted away until the last full-time resident departed in 1984.
As the population around the schoolhouse dwindled, it fell into
disrepair. In 1966, its doors closed. In 1990, restoration
efforts began and were completed four years later, restoring the
schoolhouse to its near original condition. The schoolhouse once
again opened its doors to the public. In July 2000, arsonists
burned the historic Moun