By Davy Crockett
“Prof” Thomas Henry Cureton (1875-1957) of Williams, Arizona, was a significant Grand Canyon rim-to-rim contributor. Through his selfless service in the 1920s, he passed on the love of the inner Grand Canyon to a generation of youth who lived at the doorstep of the Canyon. Over several years, he guided about 50 youth across the Canyon and back, teaching them minimalist camping skills and how to love the Canyon while hiking on the developing inner Canyon trails. Fascinating and very detailed accounts of their Canyon adventures have been recently discovered and are preserved in this article. His pioneer rim-to-rim efforts inspired and launched hikes involving thousands of boy scouts to hike rim-to-rim in the decades to come.

Cureton was also the grandfather of future rim-to-rim record holder, Allyn Carl Cureton (1937-2019). What led Thomas Cureton to make such an impact on the youth of Williams and to introduce them and the citizens of Williams to the joy of crossing the Grand Canyon rim to rim?



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Williams School in 1906

Superintendent of Schools in Williams, Arizona

Cureton was originally from Missouri. He started teaching in 1894 in a country school near Neals, Missouri and then moved to Montana, where he taught for several years. Furthering his education, he moved to Lawrence, Kansas, and received a law degree at the University of Kansas. While attending, he married Nellie May King (1880-1960), of his home state of Missouri. She also attended Kansas, where she received a master’s degree in Latin. Both were highly educated and natural leaders.

In 1906, they moved to Williams, Arizona, where Cureton became the superintendent of schools. He was given the title/nickname of “Professor” or “Prof.” Teaching conditions were challenging in the small city, with about 1,000 residents. The school, grades 1-8, were crowded with up to 200 children, 50 per room, in the four-room school where Cureton was both the principal and teacher of multiple grades. The school was built in 1894 and expanded in 1900. During his first year there, another needed addition was built onto the school, expanding the classrooms, completed in 1907.

After two years, in 1908, Cureton resigned his job in Williams to take a “more lucrative position” in Guanajuato, Mexico. After a year, he went back to school and attended Harvard University, where he earned a Master of Arts degree.

Return to Williams

Williams before trees were planted

In 1911, Cureton returned to Williams to lead and teach again. He was asked why he returned to Williams. “Well, for one thing, I was interested to see how that lot of trees had grown that we planted when I was here before.” The city of Williams had been mostly devoid of trees and Cureton had started a multi-decade effort to import and plant trees across the city.

As principal, Cureton was not timid about doing unusual things to spark the interest of his students. As the snow started to fall, he constructed a “toboggan slide” eighty feet long in the schoolyard for the eighth and ninth-grade boys. It was so popular that lanterns were put up around the slide the first night, allowing them to slide until a late hour. Boys would get to school early and slide until the school bell sounded. The girls asked for a similar slide to be constructed for them. It was reported that the slide “was a great help to the progress and discipline of the school as to keep the children busy and contented.”

Attendance at the school dramatically increased. Cureton soon introduced an athletic club at the school. He was a strong advocate of sports, especially basketball. While attending the University of Kansas, he had become acquainted with its physical education director, Dr.