County of monument: Apache County in Arizona
San Juan County in New Mexico
Montezuma County in Colorado
San Juan County in Utah
Location of monument: NM-597, NW of US-160 - where all four states meet
Marker Text:
This is the only place in the United States marking the common corner of four states - Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona and Utah.
Who established this corner?
The four corners monument was established and perpetuated by U.S. Government Surveyors and Astronomers beginning in 1868. Surveyors Darling, Robbins, Reeves, and Carpenter surveyed the boundary lines between the states.
In 1899, U.S. Surveyors Hubert Page and James Lentz found the four corners monument disturbed and broken. They marked and set a new stone at the original location. Everett Kimmell, General Land Office, remonumented the Page - Lentz stone with a concrete and brass monument. In 1931, the Bureau of Land Management and The Bureau of Indian Affairs poured a concrete paving block around the Kimmell Monument.
In 1962, in 1992 Cadastral surveyors Darryl Wilson and jack Eaves officially remonumented the deteriorating Kimmell marker with an aluminum bronze disc. The structure that you see today was rebuilt by the Bureau of Land Management.
Four Corners is the only spot in the United States shared by four states. Managed by the Navajo Nation, this unique point connects the states of Arizona, Utah, New Mexico, and Colorado. The monument also marks the boundary between the Navajo Nation and the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe Reservation. The surrounding area is known as the Four Corners Region increasingly known for its unique style.
History
Once governed by Mexico following its independence from Spain, the area now known as the Four Corners was ceded to the United States by the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848.
The location of the Four Corners Monument was effectively set by Congress in 1861 as the southwest corner of the Colorado Territory. During the Civil War, Congress acted to form governments or territories in the area to thwart residents from aligning with the Confederacy. After the Civil War, the area was further surveyed to create states from the earlier, disputed territories increased.
In 1868, E.N. Darling designated the first survey of the boundary line with a sandstone marker. The second survey was completed in 1875 by Chandler Robbins, and the marker was moved to its current location. Survey results were later accepted as the legal boundary when states were established, and the first permanent marker was placed at the site in 1912.
The Navajo government placed a bronze disk at the Four Corners meeting point in 1931. With two words occupying each state, the disk reads, “Four states here meet in freedom under God.” In the 1960s, the Navajo Nation assumed custody of the monument. The monument has seen two renovations – rebuilt in 1992, and again in 2010.
The Four Corners Monument is open year round and hosts a small Demonstration Center featuring traditional, handmade Native jewelry, artesian crafts, and authentic tribal food. Navajo (or Dine), and Ute tribes populate the Four Corners region. Craftsmen and artists from both nations are represented at the monument.