Picture of Harvey Girls during a reunion at the La Posada Resort in Winslow, Arizona. Historians believe that maybe as many as 100,000 young American girls answered the call to come to the West. They lived in dormitories supervised by housemothers. They were issued trim black skirts, shirtwaists, stockings, shoes, and ties along with a high, white bib apron. They were a beautiful sight for tired travelers as well as the cowboys and railroad men of the West. The Harvey Girls helped tame the American West. They brought culture, refinement, humor, and romance with them. Historians also believe that over 20,000 Harvey Girls married ranchers, cowboys, miners, merchants, and railroad men of the West. Many mothers of the first American families of northern Arizona came to Arizona as Harvey Girls, working in the Harvey Houses along the Santa Fe Railroad. Fred Harvey died in 1901 at the age of 66. His sons, Ford and Byron, took over the family business. Their greatest accomplishment was building a Harvey House at the end of the railroad line of the Grand Canyon. The El Tovar Hotel, designed by architect Charles F. Whittlesey, was opened for business on January 14, 1905. It was advertised as the “Showplace of the West.” By 1919, the Santa Fe Railroad would bring over 44,000 tourists to the Grand Canyon. Most stayed at the great Harvey House, the El Tovar, and were served their meals by a great American legend, the Harvey Girls. 114  Chapter 11 • Arizona’s People