Lead me to a photograph, online or offline, of the community of
Montezuma Creek Utah.  The photograph must date earlier than the year
1900.  Montezuma Creek is located 15 miles east of Bluff Utah, in the
south-east corner of Utah.  The site is on the banks of the San Juan
River.  Such a photograph will probably show a few cabins among
cottonwood trees along the river.  Here are a few leads.  The
community was established in 1879 by Mormon pioneers.  Their leader
was Silas S. Smith.  Others present were Henry H. Harriman, Jamas L.
Davis, Henry Holyoak, John Allan, Hyrum Fielding, Thales Haskell, and
William Hyde.  The location is also known as Fort Montezuma, or
Montezuma Fort.  Pictures of the area are believed to have been taken
by Utah State photographer Charles Goodman who died at Bluff Utah in
1912. Others probably took photos of the site also.  NOTE:  A right
answer is ONLY right after I have seen the photo and declared it to be
the correct site.  Anything short of that is NOT a correct answer. 
NOTE:  If you produce a photograph of the actual Fort Montezuma
comnplex you will receive an additional $70 tip.  Again, A RIGHT
ANSWER IS ONLY RIGHT IF I HAVE SEEN THE PICTURE AND IDENTIFIED IT AS
FORT MONTEZUMA, SO DON'T FILL OUT THE RIGHT ANSWER BOX AND COLLECT MY
MONEY UNTIL I HAVE ACCEPTED IT.  I need this photo for a book I am
writing.  Good Luck.

---

Clarification of Question by tibiaron-ga on 28 Jan 2003 08:43 PST

Justaskscott, and Sublime1:  Thank you for your efforts on this
search.  You tracked my own search path well, and you both found
things I already have, none of which include a photograph of early
Montezuma Creek, or Fort Montezuma.  I feel sure such a photo exists,
but perhaps the owner doesn't know it's identity.  I have been
searching for such a photo for five years.  I finally decided to try
the pro researchers on Google Answers as a last ditch effort.

I have contacted an expert on the area from that time period.  I will
let you know if I receive any useful information in reply.

Unfortunately, the expert informed me that he does not know of any
such pictures.  He says that there are some pictures of the Aneth
Trading Post and  some of the Antes' Navajo Mission, but that is all
that he is aware of.  If information is useful to you, please let me
know.

tibiaron...

Issue #17 of Blue Mountain Shadows has photos by Charles Goodman,
and issue #5 has an article on 'Montezuma Creek Indian history':
http://www.sanjuan.k12.ut.us/sjsample/BLUEMTS/ORDER.HTM

That's all I found, but as both hits were on the same site, they
seem a potentially productive resource. The start page is here:
http://www.sanjuan.k12.ut.us/sjsample/BLUEMTS/STARTING.HTM

One of the founders, "LaVerne Tate had just recently been
 appointed as the first chairman of the San Juan County
 Historical Commission. She was very interested in preserving
 and collecting historical photographs."

and

"After meeting several times and brainstorming possibilities
 we determined to publish a regional magazine which would
 collect and interpret history and folklore from San Juan
 County and the Four Corners area. We had the dream, the
 ambition, and lots of ideas that needed researching and
 writing. What we didn't have was any money!" --Janet Wilcox
http://www.sanjuan.k12.ut.us/sjsample/BLUEMTS/STARTING.HTM

They've created an online "Tour of Bluff City" here:
http://www.sanjuan.k12.ut.us/sjsample/BLUFF/index.htm

They note that Bluff City was settled by the Mormons in 1880.

Janet Wilcox's email address is on this page:
http://www.sanjuan.k12.ut.us/sjsample/BLUEMTS/Homepage.htm

Let me know if this pans out for you.

sublime1-ga

Photographs of the first settlement might not have been taken. The
original settlement was in existence only for a brief time before
being washed away by the flood of Spring 1884.

BLUFF, UTAH EAST TO U.S. 160 Road Log
http://www.fourcornerssw.com/east_to_us_160.html

"Montezuma Creek has grown a bit in recent years due to the oil fields
being developed around it. Atop a mesa west of the village is a
natural gas plant. As you come into town you may notice a large, white
W on a hill. This is not an M turned upside down; the W stands for the
Whitehorse School just east of the highway. 

Montezuma Creek probably gets its name from the belief of the early
settlers in the area that a northern branch of the Aztecs built the
Anasazi ruins scattered across the landscape. Peter Shirts [or
Schurtz], who was in the area in 1877, thought that Montezuma, the
Aztec ruler, had escaped from Cortez, only to be recaptured and killed
here. Although it has been suggested that Shirts named this drainage
[as he seems to have done Recapture Creek], it appears that the name
was in use before his time.

The 1879 Mormon exploration party planned a settlement at the mouth of
Montezuma Creek and left two families behind to prepare the site. The
Hole in the Rock party settled at Bluff instead, and did not notify
those waiting for them for nearly six months. Later a few settlers
moved to Montezuma Creek. [The Mormon settlement may not have been
just where the present village is located.] Water wheels were built to
lift river water for irrigation, and a small village was in place by
1882, but the spring of 1884 was a wet one and, after a dramatic
rescue from the roiling torrent, the inhabitants watched their
community wash away down the flooding San Juan River. None stayed to
rebuild."

There might be photographs in the following article, but I don't have
access to the journal to check. Your local library should be able to
get it.

See:

Utah Historical Quarterly (volume:page)
Fort Montezuma: early San Juan settlers built, 55: 53; flood at, 55:
64

hlabadie-ga

Thanks hlabadie:  I have seen the page you posted, but I have not
checked out the reference you listed "Utah Historical Quarterly
(volume:page)
Fort Montezuma: early San Juan settlers built, 55: 53; flood at, 55:
64"  
I'll check that out and if I find a photo, I'll come back here and
give you credit.

You might want to track down the author of the UHQ article that
appeared in volume 55:

Navajos, Mormons, And Henry L. Mitchell: Cauldron Of Conflict On The
San Juan, Robert S. Mcpherson, pg. 50

hlabadie-ga