Settled by Mormons beginning in 1878, Forestdale, Arizona, was abandoned in 1883 when it was determined to be within the boundaries of the White Mountain Indian Reservation. Narratives among the settlers' descendents highlight a uniform understanding of the event that diverges from archival sources but sheds light on the importance of the event for the community. Some uniformity may be the result of US senator Henry Fountain Ashurst's unsuccessful 1915-21 attempts to win compensation for Forestdale residents by arguing that the reservation boundaries had been moved and that settlers had been deceived by inaccurate maps and official information. In reality, however, the settlers may have known they were trespassing on Indian lands. The dispossession narratives should be considered within their larger sociopolitical context, with an understanding of the values and meanings these persistent memories hold.