Agua Caliente, Arizona | |
---|---|
Populated place | |
Coordinates: | |
Country | United States |
State | Arizona |
County | Maricopa |
Elevation | 456 ft (139 m) |
Population (2010) | |
• Total | N/A |
Time zone | UTC-7 (Mountain (MST)) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC-7 (MST) |
ZIP codes | 85333 |
Area code | 520 |
GNIS feature ID | U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Agua Caliente, Arizona |
Agua Caliente in Maricopa County, Arizona on the border with Yuma County, is a place north of the Gila River near Hyder, Arizona. Named 'Santa Maria del Agua Caliente' in 1744 by Father Jacob Sedelmayer. In 1775, Father Francisco Garces used the current short form. [2] The location was the site of a resort established at the site of nearby hot springs. Agua Caliente, a name derived from Spanish meaning "hot water", [3] received its name from nearby hot springs which were originally used by the local Indigenous population.
Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
---|---|---|---|
1900 | 113 | — | |
1910 | 153 | 35.4% | |
1920 | 57 | −62.7% | |
1930 | 60 | 5.3% | |
U.S. Decennial Census [4] |
Agua Caliente's population was 113 in 1900. [5] Agua Caliente appeared as the Agua Caliente Precinct of Maricopa County on the 1910 U.S. Census. [6] It appeared again in 1920 as Precinct 54 [7] and 1930 simply as Agua Caliente Precinct again. [8] In the latter census, it reported a White majority. With the combination of all Arizona county precincts into 3 districts each in 1940, it did not formally appear again on the census to date. Agua Caliente's population in 1940 was 60. [9]
By 1858 Flap-Jack Ranch was located six miles from the Agua Caliente hot springs along the Gila River, 84 miles (135 km) from Fort Yuma. It was established as stagecoach station of the Butterfield Overland Mail. In 1862, it was called Grinnel's Ranch and was listed on the itinerary of the California Column in the same place as Flap Jack Ranch, (84 miles), from Fort Yuma on the route to Tucson. So too was what Union Army reports called Stanwix Ranch or Stanwix Station which became the site of the westernmost skirmish of the American Civil War. [10] In the early part of the 20th century, the alignment of U.S. Route 80 in Arizona passed in front of the property, increasing traffic and making it a tourist stop on the cross national highway, until the road bypassed the area.
John Ross Browne described his visit to the Agua Caliente Springs from Grinnel's Station in 1864:
While the Company were encamped at Grinnell's, Poston, White, and myself crossed the Gila, and rode about six miles to the ranch of Martin and Woolsey, situated near the Aqua Calliente. Mr. Woolsey had left, a few days before, with a large quantity of stock for the gold placers. We were hospitably entertained by his partner, Mr. Martin, who is trying the experiment of establishing a farm here by means of irrigation. The soil is excellent, and the prospect is highly encouraging. An abundant supply of water flows from the Aqua Calliente. We had a glorious bath in the springs next morning, which completely set us up after the dust and grit of the journey. They lie near the point of the hill, about a mile and a half from Martin's. I consider them equal to the baths of Damascus, or any other in the world. The water is of an exquisite temperature, and possesses some very remarkable qualities in softening the skin and soothing the nervous system. A Mr. Belcher lived at this place for four years, surrounded by Apaches. Indeed it was not quite safe now; and I could not but think, as Poston, White, and myself sat bobbing about in the water, what an excellent mark we made for any prowling Tontos that might be in the vicinity. It was here that the Indians who had in captivity the Oatman girls made their first halt after the massacre of the family. The barren mountains in the rear, and the wild and desert appearance of the surrounding country, accorded well with the impressive narrative of that disaster. [11]
In 1873, Agua Caliente Ranch, still owned by King S. Woolsey, [12] had become well known and visited by many people. A resort was built there in 1897 with 22 rooms and a swimming pool in which the hot waters from the spring collected for the use of the visitors. The remains of the hotel has survived into the present but the hot springs dried up as ground water was pumped out for irrigation.
Sam Hughes currently owns the Agua Caliente property that includes the hotel, which is no longer open, the caretakers quarters and approximately 2,700 acres (1,100 ha) of surrounding property. Some of the acreage is currently farmed; most of it is in its natural undisturbed state. There are also ruins of an old stone house, an old store and other old buildings in various states of decay. [13]
Maricopa County is in the south-central part of the U.S. state of Arizona. As of the 2020 census the population was 4,420,568, or about 62% of the state's total, making it the fourth-most populous county in the United States, the most populous county in Arizona, and making Arizona one of the nation's most centralized states. The county seat is Phoenix, the state capital and fifth-most populous city in the United States.
Avondale is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, adjacent to Phoenix. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 89,334, up from 76,238 in 2010 and 35,883 in 2000.
Buckeye is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States. It is Arizona's largest city by area, and it is the westernmost suburb in the Phoenix Metropolitan Area. As of the 2020 census, the population was 91,502, up from 50,876 in 2010, and 6,537 in 2000. It was the fastest-growing city in the United States for 2017, 2018, and 2021.
Gila Bend, founded in 1872, is a town in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States. The town is named for an approximately 90-degree bend in the Gila River, which is near the community's current location. As of the 2020 census, the population of the town was 1,892.
Dewey–Humboldt is a town in Yavapai County, Arizona, United States. The population of the town was 3,894 according to the 2010 census. The Dewey–Humboldt area was a census-designated place (CDP) at the 2000 census, at which time its population was 6,295.
Stanwix Station, in western Arizona, was a stop on the Butterfield Overland Mail Stagecoach line built in the later 1850s near the Gila River about 80 miles (130 km) east of Yuma, Arizona. Originally the station was called Flap Jack Ranch later Grinnell's Ranch or Grinnell's Station. In 1862, Grinnell's was listed on the itinerary of the California Column in the same place as Stanwix Ranch which became the site of the westernmost skirmish of the American Civil War. A traveler in 1864, John Ross Browne, wrote Grinnell's was six miles southwest of the hot springs of Agua Caliente, Arizona.
King S. Woolsey was an American pioneer rancher, prospector and politician in 19th century Arizona. Woolsey Peak and other features of Arizona geography have been named after him, but he has also been criticized by historians for brutality in his battles with Apache Native Americans.
Warner Springs is set of springs and a small unincorporated community in northern San Diego County, California. Warner Springs is on the Pacific Crest Trail.
The Yuma War was the name given to a series of United States military operations conducted in southern California and what is today southwestern Arizona from 1850 to 1853. The Quechan were the primary opponent of the United States Army, though engagements were fought between the Americans and other native groups in the region.
The Butterfield Overland Mail was a transport and mail delivery system that employed stagecoaches that travelled on a specific route between St. Louis, Missouri and San Francisco, California and which passed through the New Mexico Territory. It was created by the United States Congress on March 3, 1857, and operated until March 30, 1861. The route that was operated extended from where the ferry across the Colorado River to Fort Yuma Station, California was located, through New Mexico Territory via, Tucson to the Rio Grande and Mesilla, New Mexico then south to Franklin, Texas, midpoint on the route. The New Mexico Territory mail route was divided into two divisions each under a superintendent. Tucson was the headquarters of the 3rd Division of the Butterfield Overland Mail Company. Franklin Station in the town of Franklin,, was the headquarters of the 4th Division.
Pima Villages, sometimes mistakenly called the Pimos Villages in the 19th century, were the Akimel O’odham (Pima) and Pee-Posh (Maricopa) villages in what is now the Gila River Indian Community in Pinal County, Arizona. First, recorded by Spanish explorers in the late 17th century as living on the south side of the Gila River, they were included in the Viceroyalty of New Spain, then in Provincias of Sonora, Ostimuri y Sinaloa or New Navarre to 1823. Then from 1824 to 1830, they were part of the Estado de Occidente of Mexico and from September 1830 they were part of the state of Sonora. These were the Pima villages encountered by American fur trappers, traders, soldiers and travelers along the middle Gila River from 1830s into the later 19th century. The Mexican Cession following the Mexican American War left them part of Mexico. The 1853 Gadsden Purchase made their lands part of the United States, Territory of New Mexico. During the American Civil War, they became part of the Territory of Arizona.
Gillett, Arizona, is a ghost town in Yavapai County, Arizona, United States. It has an estimated elevation of 1,362 feet (415 m) above sea level. Historically, it was a stagecoach station, and then a settlement formed around an ore mill serving the Tip Top Mine, on the Agua Fria River in Yavapai County in what was then Arizona Territory. It was named for the mining developer of the Tip Top Mine, Dan B. Gillett and is spelled incorrectly as Gillette on U. S. Topographic Maps and elsewhere.
Texas Hill Station is a site of a later Butterfield Overland Mail stagecoach station. It was one of several built in 1859 to increase the number of water stops and team changes along the drier and hotter sections of the route and was located about 2 miles east of Texas Hill.
Sacate is a populated place in the Middle Gila River Valley area, within Pinal County, Arizona, United States. Located 8 mi (13 km) north of Maricopa on the south side of the Gila River near Pima Butte, Sacate was an Pima village, a railroad station of the Southern Pacific Railroad, and a Catholic mission. It had originally been called Sacaton Station but the name was shortened to its current version in 1904.
The Agua Caliente Mountains are a small range in eastern Yuma and western Maricopa counties in southwest Arizona. The community of Hyder is on the north side of the range adjacent to the Union Pacific rail line and Hyder Road. The community of Agua Caliente lies on the south flank of the range and the Gila River lies to the south.
Camp Hyder was a US Army installation in Arizona, functioning as a subcamp of the Desert Training Center in Riverside County, California. The main headquarters for the Desert Training Center was Camp Young, this is where General Patton's 3rd Armored Division was stationed. Camp Hyder is 2 miles (3.2 km) miles south of Hyder, Arizona. The camp was just north of the Gila River. Camp Hyder is 60 miles (97 km) miles east of Yuma, Arizona, near Camp Horn. Camp Hyder was built at the site of an old 1890s military base. Trained at Camp Hyder, in 1943, for six months was the 77th Infantry Division from April 1943 to September 1943. Then the 104th Infantry Division moved in for training. Unlike the other camps, no large tank activity was done. The camp was built by The 369th Engineer Regiment. Camp Hyder had its own rail station at which most troops arrived. The train station at Sentinel, Arizona south of the camp was also used. Over 13,000 troops were trained at Camp Horn and Camp Hyder.
The Camp Horn was a sub camp of the US Army, Desert Training Center in Riverside County, California. The main headquarters for the Desert Training Center was Camp Young, this is where General Patton's 3rd Armored Division was stationed. Camp Horn was near Camp Hyder about 6 miles (9.7 km) miles west of Hyder, Arizona. Camp Horn was just north of the Gila River. Camp Horn was 54 miles (87 km) miles east of Yuma, Arizona. Most troop arrived at Camp Horn from the train station at Camp Hyder or the train station at Sentinel, Arizona south of the camp. Over 13,000 troops were trained at Camp Horn and Camp Hyder. The 81st Infantry Division trained at Camp Horn was from June 1943 to November 1943.