Apache Wells, Arizona

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Apache Wells, Arizona
Populated place
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Apache Wells
Location of Apache Wells in Arizona
Coordinates: 33°27′34″N111°42′39″W / 33.45944°N 111.71083°W / 33.45944; -111.71083 Coordinates: 33°27′34″N111°42′39″W / 33.45944°N 111.71083°W / 33.45944; -111.71083
Country United States
State Arizona
County Maricopa
Area
  Total1 sq mi (3 km2)
Elevation
[1]
1,427 ft (435 m)
Time zone UTC-7 (Mountain (MST))
  Summer (DST) UTC-7 (MST)
ZIP codes
85205
Area code(s) 480
FIPS code 04-02900
GNIS feature ID 36924

Apache Wells is the name of both fictional and real locations in southern Arizona.

Contents

Fictional Apache Wells

In fiction, particularly in Western movies, "Apache Wells" is a common name for a fictional location in the Old West, generally a remote stagecoach way station, typically in southern Arizona. It first came into conspicuous public use in John Ford's classic 1939 western movie Stagecoach, [2] the film that elevated John Wayne to stardom. (The film also had remakes in 1966 and 1986).

Subsequent westerns set partly, or chiefly, in or around the fictional "Apache Wells" have included:

At the time that the fictional "Apache Wells" first came into use, there was not any actual town of Apache Wells in Arizona, but there were two small, remote settlements in southern Arizona with closely related names: Apache Junction, and Desert Wells — both of which had existed since the 1800s, when they had been sites of stagecoach way stations.

Real Apache Wells

Today, Apache Wells is a populated place and retirement community situated within the boundaries of the city of Mesa (a major suburb of Phoenix, part of the Phoenix Metropolitan Area) in Maricopa County, in the state of Arizona, in the United States. [9] Apache Wells was established in 1962 and developed by the Hughes family. [10] It has an estimated elevation of 1,427 feet (435 m) above sea level, and is approximately one square mile in size.

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Tortilla Flat is a small unincorporated community in far eastern Maricopa County, Arizona, United States. It is located in the central part of the state, northeast of Apache Junction. It is the last surviving stagecoach stop along the Apache Trail. According to the Gross Management Department of Arizona's main U.S. Post Office in Phoenix, Tortilla Flat is presumed to be Arizona's smallest official "community" having a U.S. Post Office and voting precinct. The town has a population of 6. Tortilla Flat can be reached by vehicles on the Apache Trail, via Apache Junction.

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References

  1. "Feature Detail Report for: Apache Wells". Geographic Names Information System . United States Geological Survey.
  2. Bandy, Mary Lea; and Kevin Stoehr: "The Big Trail and Stagecoach," Oct 1, 2012, in Ride, Boldly Ride: The Evolution of the American Western, p.95, University of California Press, retrieved February 16, 2022
  3. "Duel at Apache Wells: 1957", Internet Movie Database, retrieved February 16, 2022
  4. "Duel at Apache Wells (1957)", RareFilm.com, retrieved February 16, 2022
  5. Chennault, Nicholas: "Apache Territory," February 9, 2015, in "Great Western Movies," retrieved February 16, 2022
  6. "Rampage at Apache Wells: 1966," Turner Classic Movies, retrieved February 16, 2022
  7. "40 Guns to Apache Pass: 1967," Internet Movie Database, retrieved February 16, 2022
  8. "40 Guns to Apache Pass (1967); Plot," Internet Movie Database, retrieved February 16, 2022
  9. "Apache Wells (in Maricopa County, AZ) Populated Place Profile". AZ Hometown Locator. Retrieved January 8, 2016.
  10. "Apache Wells HOA - History of Apache Wells" . Retrieved 2021-11-12.