How Did Chino Valley Get Its Name?

If you've ever driven Highway 89 north out of Prescott and watched the land open into wide grassland, you've already seen the answer. Chino Valley is named for a grass. According to the Sharlot Hall Museum's Days Past archive, Lieutenant Amiel W. Whipple chose the name during his 1853 to 1854 survey, after the grama grass that carpeted the valley. Mexican members of his party called that range grass "the chino." So the name is a description of the land itself: a valley covered in grass.

Let's walk through who Whipple was, why he was here, and how that grassy valley grew into the town you can visit today.

In the 1850s, Lieutenant Amiel Weeks Whipple led an expedition west across what is now northern Arizona, determined to follow the 35th parallel. A Days Past article from the Sharlot Hall Museum traces the trip: on December 19, 1853, the party was camped on the Little Colorado River, and from there the route took them west past Bill Williams Mountain toward the present-day Seligman area, then into a valley Whipple named Chino. The party reached Los Angeles on March 2, 1854.

Grass mattered on a trip like that. The same article describes the party's worn-out mules regaining their strength once they were allowed to eat their fill of grass. A valley covered in grama grass would have been worth noticing, and worth naming.

In everyday Spanish, "chino" can mean a few different things. Here, the history ties it to one meaning: the range grass that covered the valley floor. The Days Past archive explains that Mexican members of Whipple's party called that grass "the chino," and that chino grass was later commonly cut as hay to feed livestock, including cavalry horses.

Here's a quick way to keep the story straight:

Within a decade, Whipple's name was part of Arizona's earliest history in another way. According to a Days Past article from the Sharlot Hall Museum, the first Fort Whipple was established near Del Rio Springs, some 20 miles north of Prescott, on December 23, 1863. It was too far from the gold panning on Lynx Creek and too far from timber for building, so plans soon moved the post south to a spot on Granite Creek.

General Carleton named the outpost in honor of the recently deceased Whipple, who was shot at Chancellorsville in 1863 during the Civil War. So the same man left his mark on the region twice: once by naming a valley after its grass, and once as the namesake of the fort that helped shape early Prescott.

Chino Valley's place in history goes beyond its name. The town notes that it was the site of Arizona's first territorial capital in 1863, before the capital moved to Prescott in 1864. We've told that story in more detail in how a spot in Chino Valley became Arizona's first capital.

For many years after Whipple passed through, the valley's character came from that same land: open country suited to ranching and farming. The community grew over the decades, and Chino Valley was incorporated as a town in 1970.

Here's the part we love about this story. The name still fits. Drive through today and you'll still see wide parcels, open views, and homes on land. The grass that caught a surveyor's eye more than 170 years ago is a big part of why the valley looks the way it does now.

If you'd like to dig deeper, the Sharlot Hall Museum in downtown Prescott keeps a large archive of Days Past articles on the region's history, and it's an easy trip from Chino Valley or Prescott Valley. Here's what you can see at the Sharlot Hall Museum. It's a nice way to spend a morning, especially if you're visiting while you get to know the area.

A lot of the people we meet first got curious about the Quad Cities on a drive just like this one, through the open country of Chino Valley and back through Prescott Valley. If you're exploring a move, we're glad to help you build a timeline for your visits so you can see the area in more than one season, without feeling rushed. Here's our newcomer's overview of living in Chino Valley.

What does Chino mean in Chino Valley, Arizona?
It refers to grass. According to the Sharlot Hall Museum's Days Past archive, Mexican members of Lieutenant Whipple's survey party called the valley's grama grass "the chino," and the valley took its name from it.

Who named Chino Valley?
Lieutenant Amiel W. Whipple named the valley during his 1853 to 1854 survey along the 35th parallel.

When was Chino Valley incorporated?
The Town of Chino Valley was incorporated in 1970.

Was Chino Valley the first capital of Arizona?
Yes, Chino Valley was the site of Arizona's first territorial capital before the capital moved to Prescott in 1864. Here's when Prescott was the capital of Arizona.

Love a good local story? Our weekly local events email is a simple roundup of what's happening around Prescott Valley and the Quad Cities, from museum programs to community events. Send us a note through our contact page and we'll add you to the list.