Seligman
was founded in 1886 at the junction of the railroad from Prescott to
the Santa Fe’s main line. It was known as Prescott Junction until it was
renamed after Jesse Seligman, a prominent New York banker responsible
for financing railroad construction and companies. The railroad played a
big part of Seligman’s community for the next hundred years by
establishing repair facilities and the famous Harvey House.
Today
Seligman is a community that prides itself on staying true to the past
and keeping alive the lure of Historic Route 66. In fact, it was in
Seligman that the move to preserve Route 66 began. Eventually those
actions helped to garner the designation of Route 66 as a historic
highway. Seligman, unlike many towns that slowly faded away when Route
66 was replaced by other interstates, continues to thrive. Seligman now
marks the beginning of Historic Route 66 in Arizona. Another interesting
fact, Arizona can boast of having the longest stretch of Route 66 still
in existence.
Visitors
to Seligman will find a main-street community with an eclectic charm.
Part of the allure of Historic Route 66 is its unique landscape of
non-chain motels, restaurants and stores. Seligman is located
approximately 75 miles from the cities of Flagstaff, Kingman, Prescott;
170 miles from Phoenix and 270 miles from Tucson. We support our
Seligman Chamber of Commerce.