RIM SIDE WITH THE VERKAMPS
In 1898, long before President Woodrow Wilson designated the Grand Canyon a national park in 1919, John George Verkamp was already at the rim selling American Indian curios. Most early tourists were wealthy, willing to foot the bill for a train to Williams, Ariz., and an onward stage for the arduous 60-mile ride to the south rim of the mammoth gorge.
Born on Feb. 22, 1877, in Cincinnati, Ohio, John George Verkamp followed his neighbors the five Babbitt brothers (David, George, William, Charles and Edward)
