The settlers in the farming communities along the Little Colorado River and the miners working the mines around Clifton found themselves facing a 280-mile trip to the seat of Yavapai County at Prescott to conduct legal business.
     The Tenth Legislature, meeting in 1879 created Apache County from the part of Yavapai County lying east of 119° 45' west longitude and a very small piece of eastern Maricopa County. The legislature placed the county seat at Snowflake (named for two early Mormon settlers, Erastus Snow and William J. Flake).   However, there was provision for a local election, and the voters chose St. John's as the county seat.   In the following year the seat was moved to Springerville.   In 1881 it was moved back to St. Johns.