Cemetery closed to new interments in 1888. History of Sunset Cemetery & Fort: Although Homolovi State Park protects Hopi lands and cultural artifacts, the park also contains a small cemetery from a group of 19th century settlers who founded the Fort of Sunset. Sunset Cemetery stands as a mute testimony to the undaunted spirit of the brave pioneers who forged a living from this once desolate and forbidding land. On January 24, 1876, over 200 men, women and children were called as missionaries to settle the Little Colorado River Valley. James Brown and Lot Smith were appointed to lead the expedition by President Brigham Young of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The families had ten days to prepare for the journey south. It was necessary that they depart before the melting snow swelled the rivers and streams, making travel impossible. On February 3, 1876, teams of horses, mules and oxen pulled wagons filled with the necessities of life to establish new communities in the Arizona Territory. The journey took six weeks, covering 600 miles of new and unknown country. On Friday, the 24th day of March 1876, Lot Smith and 115 families arrived at Sunset Crossing where President Young had instructed the Saints to settle. Each company organized into the United Order, a cooperative system where all things were held in common, each contributing to the common good and receiving an equal share of the surplus as needed. Their attempts to dam the Little Colorado River were unsuccessful. The river would frequently flood, washing out the dams, flooding the fields and destroying the crops before they could be harvested and stored. Obed, St. Joseph, and Sunset relocated to higher ground and on Christmas Eve 1876, the Smith Company moved into the newly built fort of Sunset. Sunset Fort was constructed of cottonwood logs and measured 198 feet square, consisting of 31 dwellings 14 by 16 feet, one dining hall 55 feet by 15 feet, one school room 33 feet by 14 feet, one kitchen 15 feet by 15 feet, two store rooms 14 feet by 20 feet and 10 feet by 20 feet, a granary 8 feet by 12 feet, and a corn crib 10 feet by 32 feet. Sunset Fort housed 102 people: 19 men, 18 women, 43 boys and 22 girls. The first post office on the Little Colorado River was established at Sunset on July 5, 1876. The Post Master was Mr. Alfred M. Derrick. The post office closed November 23, 1887. The local newspaper was called the Enterprise, containing short stories, poems, and news of visiting missionaries. These early pioneers settled the territory, befriending and sharing the gospel with the Indians. After many hardships, floods and droughts, the pioneers were relieved of their calling in 1881. Many of the pioneers were called to other missions in the San Luis Valley at Manassas, Colorado and to colonize along the Gila River Valley of the Arizona Territory. The last to leave Sunset was Lot Smith, in 1888. Church President Brigham Young died on August 29, 1877. President Young called Lot Smith to the Arizona Territory and no other authority ever released him from his calling. Today this lonely windswept graveyard stands in memoriam to these early resourceful and resilient pioneering families.