List of ghost towns in Arizona

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CHS

CNO

GLA

GHM

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LPZ

MCP

MHV

NVO

PMA

PNL

SCZ

YVP

YMA

This is a partial list of ghost towns in Arizona in the United States of America. Most ghost towns in Arizona are former mining boomtowns that were abandoned when the mines closed. Those that weren't set up as mining camps were usually established as locations for mills, or supply points for nearby mining operations.^[1]

Conditions

1881 Assay Office of Vulture City

Ghost towns can include sites in various states of disrepair and abandonment. Some sites no longer have any trace of buildings or civilization and have reverted to empty land. Other sites are unpopulated but still have standing buildings. Still others may support full-time residents, though usually far less than at their historical peak, while others may now be museums or historical sites.^[1]

For ease of reference, the sites listed have been placed into one of the following general categories.

Barren site

• Site is no longer in existence
• Site has been destroyed, covered with water, or reverted to empty land
• May have a few difficult to find foundations/footings at most

Neglected site

• Little more than rubble remains at the site
• Dilapidated, often roofless buildings remain at the site

Abandoned site

• Building or houses still standing, but all or almost all are abandoned
• No population, with the possible exception of a caretaker
• Site no longer in use, except for one or two buildings

Semi-abandoned site

• Buildings or houses still standing, but most are abandoned
• A few residents may remain

Historic site

• Buildings or houses still standing
• Site has been converted to a historical site, museum, or tourist attraction
• Still a busy community, but population is smaller than its peak years

Ghost towns

Town name	Other name(s)	County	Settled	Abandoned	Current status	Remarks
Adamana		Apache	1896		Semi-abandoned site
Adamsville	Sanford	Pinal	1866	1920's	Neglected site	Original farming town mostly destroyed in a flood, now farmland. The remnant abandoned by the 1920s. Only its cemetery and some ruins remain.
Agua Caliente		Maricopa	1858		Neglected site	Hotel, ruins of a stone house and a swimming pool.
Alamo Crossing[2]	Alimo	Mohave	1899	1918	Barren site	Submerged in Alamo Lake.
Alexandra[2]		Yavapai	1875	c.1903	Barren site
Algert		Coconino	1883	1921	Neglected site	Walls of some of the school buildings, and some of the walls of the trading post are still standing.
Allen[2]	Gunsight, Allen City[3]	Pima	c.1880	c.1886	Barren site
Alma	Stringtown	Maricopa	1880		Historic site	Mormon settlement now part of Mesa, Arizona.[4]^:15
Alma		Pinal	1891	1898	Abandoned site	Wooden water tanks, concrete ore chute, and metal ore buckets, etc. as well as a small slag heap remain on the site within private property. A settlement with a post office, 6 miles above Old Camp Grant on the west side of the San Pedro River.[4]^:16
Alto		Santa Cruz			Neglected Site	Adobe Walls of old Post office and Sign for "Alto Camp". Historic Mining district back to the 18th Century.
American Flag[2]		Pinal	c.1879	c.1884
American Ranch	Lee's Ranch	Yavapai	1863	c.1883	Barren site	A stage stop on Mint Wash in Little Chino Valley on the Hardyville - Prescott Road with a large hotel for travelers. [5] [6] [7]
Angel Camp		Maricopa
Apron Crossing		Yavapai
Aravaipa		Graham
Aubrey Landing[2]	Aubrey	Mohave	c.1860	c.1886	Barren site	A steamboat landing, later inundated when Lake Havasu was formed
Aura		Graham	1899
Aztec		Yuma	1880's			Former railroad station
Bellevue		Gila	1906	1927	Abandoned site
Big Bug[2]	Bigbug, Red Rock	Yavapai	1862	c.1910	Barren site
Black Diamond		Cochise
Bonita[8]		Graham	c.1885	1950	Abandoned site	Catered to Fort Grant
Boyles	Carpenter	Greenlee	1904	1908	Barren site		Farming and ranching community at the mouth of the Blue River (Arizona)[9]
Bradshaw City		Yavapai	c.1860	c.1880	Barren site
Brigham City[10]		Navajo	1876	1881	Historic site
Bumble Bee[1][2]		Yavapai	1863		Semi-abandoned site	Privately owned, few residents.[1]
Calabasas[2]	Calabazas	Santa Cruz	1866	1913	Abandoned site	Was a Papago Village, Mexican Garrison, Military Base, mining town. The town was the known as the gateway to Mexico and had the finest hotel from San Francisco to Denver.
Camp Crittenden		Santa Cruz	1867	1873	Semi Abandoned site	Private Property, named Camp Crittenden by Generals Orders No. 57 Department of California, September 30, 1867, in honor of Thomas S. Crittenden, Col. 32nd U.S. Infantry Major General U.S. Volunteers. Established to protect settlements of Babocomari.
Canelo		Santa Cruz	c.1904		Semi Abandoned site	Several historic buildings remain, including a one-room schoolhouse and a United States Forest Service ranger station complex.
Canyon Diablo		Coconino	1882
Cascabel		Cochise			Semi Abandoned site	Several occupied adobes and ruined adobe walls, adjacent to Cascabel Rd.
Castle Dome[11]		Yuma	1869	1876	Historic site	Site of the Castle Dome Mines Museum.
Castle Dome Landing[1][2]	Castle Dome City	Yuma	1869	1884	Barren site	Submerged in Martinez Lake.
Chaparral		Yavapai	c.1895	c.1918	Barren site
Charleston[2]		Cochise	1879	1888	Neglected site	Maintained by the Bureau of Land Management.[12]
Catoctin		Yavapai	c.1902	c.1920	Barren site
Cedar		Mohave	c.1875	c.1911	Neglected site
Cerbat	Campbell	Mohave	c.1869	c.1912	Neglected site
Cerro Colorado		Pima	c.1856	c.1911	Neglected Site
Cherry[2]		Yavapai	1884	1943	Semi-abandoned site
Chloride		Mohave	1863
Cleator		Yavapai
Clemenceau		Yavapai	1917		Historic site	Now part of Cottonwood, Arizona
Cochise		Cochise
Cochran[2]		Pinal	1905	1915
Colorado City		Yuma	1853	1862	Barren site	Destroyed by Great Flood of 1862
Congress[1]		Yavapai
Contention City[2]	Contention	Cochise	1880	1888	Neglected site	Maintained by the Bureau of Land Management.[12]
Copper Creek[2]		Pinal	1880s	1942	Neglected site
Cordes	Antelope Junction	Yavapai	1883	1950s	Semi-abandoned site
Courtland[2]		Cochise	1908	1942	Abandoned site	Remains of old Jail and Cemetery
Crown King[2]		Yavapai	1894	1954	Historic site	Old Saloon and Many occupied buildings including general store
Curtis	Arizona City	Yavapai	1889	1907		Former mining town. Currently the site of a mining operation, just north of Mayer on Big Bug Creek.
Dome		Yuma	1892	1904	Neglected site	ruins of an adobe building, cemetery
Duquesne		Santa Cruz	1880s	1920s	Semi-abandoned site	Several wood buildings including Westinghouse home
Ehrenberg	Mineral City	La Paz	1863	1915	Neglected site
Fairbank[2]	Junction City, Kendall, Fairbanks[13]	Cochise	1883	1970s	Abandoned site	Maintained by the Bureau of Land Management.[13]
Fortuna	Fortuna Mine	Yuma	1896	1924	Neglected site	Foundation of General Store, Mill and Reservoir. Interpretive hiking trail maintained with signs by USMC-Yuma Marines. Mine shaft, Sign in log.
Fort Buchanan	Battle Site	Santa Cruz	1857	1865	Barren site	Civil War era Frontier Post, The post was officially abandoned in 1861 but during the American Civil War troops of the California Column occasionally manned the post. In February 1865 Apaches attacked and forced the small garrison to retreat. Hog Canyon...Nothing remains.
Galeyville[2]		Cochise	1881	1882	Barren site
Geronimo		Graham
Gillett	Gillette[14]	Yavapai	1878	1880	Neglected site	Gillett Cemetery and nearby Burfind Hotel foundations.
Gila City	Ligurta[15]	Yuma	1858	1863	Barren site	Destroyed by the Great Flood of 1862
Gleeson[2]	Turquoise	Cochise	1890	1940	Semi-abandoned site
Goldfield	Youngsburg	Pinal	1892,1920	1898,1926	Historic site	Goldfield revived as Youngsburg in 1920, is now a tourist attraction.
Goldroad[2]	Acme	Mohave	1902	1942	Neglected site
Guthrie		Greenlee	1880's	1922	Neglected site	A railroad stop, on the Arizona Copper Company railroad, at a railroad bridge across the Gila River. The town died when the bridge was washed out.[16]
Hardyville		Mohave	1864	1883	Historic site	Hardyville Pioneer Cemetery, a historic landmark and an unofficial historical marker for nearby Bullhead City, Arizona.
Harshaw[1][2]	Durazno	Santa Cruz	1880	1960	Semi-abandoned site	Cemetery, Several adobe walls, flat townsite pads still visible
Helvetia		Pima	1891	1921	Neglected site	small cemetery on approach with period graves, road to gunsite pass, small adobe wall and Smelter Stone Wall still visible
Hilltop		Cochise	1880s	1940s	Neglected site
Hyder		Yuma
Jerome Junction[17]		Yavapai	1894	1920
Johnson		Cochise
Kentucky Camp		Pima	1874		Historic site	Maintained by US Forest Service
Klondyke		Graham	c.1900		Historic site	Maintained by US Forest Service
Kofa		Yuma
La Laguna	Laguna	Yuma	1860	1862	Barren site	Site under Mittry Lake
La Paz		La Paz	1862		Neglected site
Lochiel		Santa Cruz	c.1880	1986	Neglected site
Metcalf		Greenlee	1889	1936	Neglected site	A copper mining town, died after the ore ran out in 1918.[18] Its post office lasted from 1899 to 1936.[19]
Millville		Cochise
Marinette[20]		Maricopa			Barren site	Sun City was built on the site of Marinette in the 1960s
McMillenville[2]	McMillianville, McMillanville	Gila	1876	c. 1886	Neglected site
Mohave City[2]	Mojave City	Mohave	1863	1938	Barren site	Absorbed into Fort Mojave Indian Reservation.[21]
Mowry		Santa Cruz
Mt. Trumbull[22]	Bundyville	Mohave	1916	c. 1970	Abandoned site, historic site	The site is mostly abandoned, but remains home to a reconstruction of a historic schoolhouse.[23] The town was sometimes called Bundyville, after the family that settled the area. As of 2006 one member of the Bundy family still lived alone on a 320-acre ranch near the abandoned town site.[24]
Oatman		Mohave	1902		Historic site
Obed		Navajo	1876	1877	Barren site
Octave		Yavapai			Neglected site
Oro Blanco		Santa Cruz	1873	1915	Neglected site
Oroville	Oro	Greenlee	1880	1882	Neglected site	A farm community supporting Clifton.[25]
Pantano		Pima	1858	c.1956	Barren site
Paradise[2]		Cochise	1901	1943	Barren site
Pedrick's	–	Yuma	1854	1879	?	Steamboat landing on the east bank of the Colorado River, just above the Sonora – Arizona border.
Piedmont		Yavapai
Pearce		Cochise	1896	1942	Semi abandoned	Mine Gold/silver workings, general store, cemetery and several occupied dwellings, Our Lady of Victory Catholic Church.
Pinal City		Pinal
Ray		Pinal	1958
Redington		Pima	1875
Reymert		Pinal
Rosemont		Pima			Semi Abandoned	Adobe walls at junction, old house now owned by Rosemont Mine. Soon to be destroyed by pit mine. Rosemont Mine
Ruby	Montana Camp	Santa Cruz	1870s	1941	Historic site
San Rafael		Pima			Barren site
Salero		Santa Cruz			Neglected Site	Old Bunkhouse and Assay Office, now off limits on Private property (Gated)
Santa Claus	Santa Claus Acres	Mohave	1937
Sacaton (village)		Pinal	1857	1880s	Barren site	One of the 19th century Maricopa villages among the Pima Villages
Sasco		Pinal	1907	1920s	Neglected site
Signal		Mohave	1877	1932
Simmons	Wilson, Williamson's Valley	Yavapai	1871	1934	Barren site	A stop on the Hardyville - Prescott Road, and a local post office.
Socatoon Station		Pinal	1858	1870s	Barren site
Spenazuma		Graham	1898	1899	Barren site
Stanton	Antelope Station	Yavapai	1863	1905	Historic site	Owned and maintained by the Lost Dutchman Mining Association
Stanwix Station	Flap Jack Ranch, Grinnell's Station	Yuma	1858	1880s	Barren site	Site of the Skirmish at Stanwix Station, often considered the westernmost engagement of the American Civil War.
Sunset		Navajo	1876	1887	Abandoned site	Only the cemetery remains today
Swansea[1][2]	Signal	La Paz	1908	1937	Abandoned site	Maintained by the Bureau of Land Management.
Tiger[2]	Schultz	Pinal	1881	1954	Barren site	All structures demolished
Tip Top		Yavapai	1876
Total Wreck		Pima	1879	c.1890	Neglected Site	Smelter walls and mine still remain, small rock cabin foundation to south, filming location for movie Hombre
Tres Alamos		Cochise	1874	1886	–
Twin Buttes		Pima	c.1903	c.1930	Barren site	Buried under the Twin Buttes Mine. All that remains is the cemetery.
Vulture City		Maricopa	1863	1942	Historic site	Privately owned and operated as a tourist attraction
Washington Camp		Santa Cruz	1880s	1920s	Semi-abandoned site
Weaver	Weaverville	Yavapai	1863		Neglected site
Webb		Cochise
White Hills		Mohave
Wilford[26]		Navajo	1883	1926	Barren site	Loose rock foundations.
Wolf Hole		Mohave
Zeniff[26]		Navajo	1909	1940s	Barren site	Few walls precariously standing amid piles of wood and adobe rubble.

See also

• American Old West
• New Mexico Territory
• Arizona Territory
• Copper mining in Arizona
• History of Arizona
• Silver mining in Arizona
• Tombstone, Arizona

References

1. Varney, Philip (April 2005). Stieve, Robert, ed. Arizona Ghost Towns and Mining Camps: A Travel Guide to History (10th ed.). Phoenix, Arizona: Arizona Highways Books. ISBN 1-932082-46-8.
2. Sherman, James E.; Barbara H. Sherman (1969). Ghost Towns of Arizona (First ed.). University of Oklahoma Press. ISBN 0-8061-0843-6.
3. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Gunsight
4. Barnes, Will C., Arizona Place Names, University of Arizona Bulletin, Vol. VI. No. 1, University of Arizona, Tucson, 1935
5. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: American Ranch
6. "Photographs Virtual Browsing Book – Buildings-Ranches – Sharlot Hall Museum". Retrieved 7 April 2016.
7. "A day trip to Seligman on the Williamson Valley Road". Sharlot Hall Museum Library & Archives. Retrieved 7 April 2016.
8. "Ghost Towns, Arizona: Bonita". Retrieved 2012-12-21.
9. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Blue River
10. "Historic Sites – Brigham City". Arizona Heritage Traveler. Retrieved 2010-07-27.
11. Lowe, Sam (April 1, 2007). "Southwest Arizona". Arizona Curiosities: Quirky Characters, Roadside Oddities & Other Offbeat Stuff (2nd ed.). Globe Pequot. p. 226. ISBN 0-7627-4114-7.
12. "San Pedro RNCA – Cultural Resources". Bureau of Land Management. February 2, 2009. Retrieved 2009-06-30.
13. "Fairbank Historic Townsite". Bureau of Land Management. February 2, 2009. Retrieved 2009-06-29.
14. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Gillette
15. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Ligurta
16. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Guthrie
17. Massey, Peter; Wilson, Jeanne (April 24, 2006). Backcountry Adventures Arizona: The Ultimate Guide to the Arizona Backcountry for Anyone With a Sport Utility Vehicle. Adler Publishing Co. ISBN 1-930193-28-9. Retrieved July 31, 2010.
18. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Metcalf
19. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Metcalf Post Office (historical)
20. Grant, Tina (1988). International directory of company histories. 14. St. James Press. p. 163. ISBN 1-55862-342-6. Retrieved July 31, 2010.
21. "Area Information: Our Past". Mohave Valley Chamber of Commerce. Archived from the original on March 3, 2009. Retrieved 2009-09-12.
22. George H. Billingsley and Helen C. Dyer, prepared in cooperation with the National Park Service and the Bureau of Land Management (2003). "Geologic Map of the Upper Hurricane Wash and Vicinity, Mohave County, Northwestern Arizona: Pamphlet to accompany Miscellaneous Field Studies Map MF-2410". US Geological Survey. Hurricane Wash begins near the abandoned village of Mt. Trumbull (Bundyville), Arizona.
23. "Mount Trumbull – Arizona Ghost Town". Archived from the original on 29 April 2012. Retrieved 21 May 2013.
24. Mark, Shaffer (21 May 2006). "Arizona man cherishes freedom, isolation". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved 21 May 2013.
25. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Oroville
26. Hanchett, Jr., Leland J. (1993). The Crooked Trail to Holbrook – An Arizona Cattle Trail (First ed.). Arrowhead Press. p. 163. ISBN 0-9637785-0-1.