Bagdad is a
copper mining
Copper extraction refers to the methods used to obtain copper from its ores. The conversion of copper consists of a series of physical and electrochemical processes. Methods have evolved and vary with country depending on the ore source, loca ...
community and
census-designated place
A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only.
CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the count ...
(CDP) in
Yavapai County
Yavapai County is near the center of the U.S. state of Arizona. As of the 2020 census, its population was 236,209, making it the fourth-most populous county in Arizona. The county seat is Prescott.
Yavapai County comprises the Prescott, AZ M ...
,
Arizona
Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...
, United States, in the western part of the state. It is one of only two remaining
company towns in Arizona. The population was 1,876 at the
2010 census, up from 1,578 in 2000.
Geography and climate
Bagdad is located at (34.576604, -113.174832).
According to the
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of t ...
, the CDP has a total area of , all land.
According to the
Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...
system, Bagdad has a typical Arizona
semi-arid climate
A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of sem ...
, located on the boundary between ''BSh'' and ''BSk'' on climate maps.
Demographics
Bagdad first appeared on the 1930 U.S. Census as the Bagdad Precinct of Yavapai County. It was recorded as having a Spanish/Hispanic majority for that census (the census would not separately feature that racial demographic again until 1980). With the combination of all county precincts into 3 districts in 1940, it did not formally appear again until 1960, when it reported as an unincorporated village. In 1980, it was made a census-designated place (CDP).
As of the
census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses in ...
of 2010, there were 1,876 people, 682 households, and 485 families residing in the CDP. The population density was . There were 838 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the CDP was 86.6%
White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...
, 0.5%
Black
Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ...
or
African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
, 3.0%
Native American, 0.3%
Asian, 0.1%
Pacific Islander
Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...
, 6.3% from
other races
Other often refers to:
* Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy
Other or The Other may also refer to:
Film and television
* ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack
* ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...
, and 3.3% from two or more races. 24.4% of the population were
Hispanic
The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad.
The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties forme ...
or
Latino of any race.
There were 682 households, out of which 43.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.0% were
married couples living together, 5.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.9% were non-families. 24.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 3.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.75 and the average family size was 3.29.
In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 33.1% under the age of 18, 8.6% from 18 to 24, 29.6% from 25 to 44, 24.3% from 45 to 64, and 4.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females, there were 123.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 119.0 males.
The median income for a household in the CDP was $58,277, and the median income for a family was $61,850. Males had a median income of $50,000 versus $40,506 for females. The
per capita income
Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population.
Per capita i ...
for the CDP was $24,370. About 1.3% of families and 2.8% of the population were below the
poverty line
The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...
, including 4.8% of those under age 18 and 9.5% of those age 65 or over.
Name
According to legend, the name "Bagdad" is not a misspelling of "
Baghdad
Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon. I ...
". Supposedly a father and son operated a small-scale copper mining operation there in the late 1800s. The father dug out the ore and the son loaded it into bags. When one bag was full he asked his father "Do you have a bag, dad?" However, this is disputed and some say the name derives from the Iraqi capital,
Baghdad
Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon. I ...
, imagined as an epitome of wealth and luxury.
Copper mine
![Malachite-Quartz-Chrysocolla-22818](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/07/Malachite-Quartz-Chrysocolla-22818.jpg)
In 1882, prospectors W.J. Pace and J.M. Murphy staked a claim for gold, silver, and lead along Copper Creek. In 1883, John Lawler of
Prescott, Arizona
Prescott ( ) is a city in Yavapai County, Arizona, United States. According to the 2020 Census, the city's population was 45,827. The city is the county seat of Yavapai County.
In 1864, Prescott was designated as the capital of the Arizona ...
paid Pace and Murphy $200 for their claims, but were unable to make a success of it. In 1907, the Giroux Syndicate purchased an option on Lawler's claims for $200,000 (), with Edmond Bronson as president. However, the mine was still not able to earn a profit, and operations languished off and on for years. In 1944, the operation was purchased by
John C. Lincoln, the builder of the
Camelback Inn, who converted the mine entirely from underground operation to
open-pit
Open-pit mining, also known as open-cast or open-cut mining and in larger contexts mega-mining, is a surface mining technique of extracting rock or minerals from the earth from an open-air pit, sometimes known as a borrow.
This form of mining ...
. In 1979, the operation was purchased by
AMOCO Minerals, eventually owned by Cyprus Mines.
Cyprus Mines Corporation operated the copper mine until Cyprus merged with Phelps Dodge.
Freeport-McMoRan
Freeport-McMoRan Inc., often called Freeport, is an American mining company based in the Freeport-McMoRan Center, in Phoenix, Arizona. The company is the world's largest producer of molybdenum, is a major copper producer and operates the world's ...
(which acquired
Phelps Dodge
Phelps Dodge Corporation was an American mining company founded in 1834 as an import-export firm by Anson Greene Phelps and his two sons-in-law William Earle Dodge, Sr. and Daniel James. The latter two ran Phelps, James & Co., the part of the o ...
in 2007) now operates the
copper/molybdenum mine. This copper mine does
open pit mining
Open-pit mining, also known as open-cast or open-cut mining and in larger contexts mega-mining, is a surface mining technique of extracting rock or minerals from the earth from an open-air pit, sometimes known as a borrow.
This form of mining ...
and runs on an around-the-clock schedule. The copper concentrate is either trucked to southern Arizona, or taken by semi to 20 miles outside of town to the
BNSF Railway
BNSF Railway is one of the largest freight railroads in North America. One of seven North American Class I railroads, BNSF has 35,000 employees, of track in 28 states, and nearly 8,000 locomotives. It has three transcontinental routes that ...
's
Phoenix Subdivision in
Hillside.
Services
Freeport-McMoRan owns all of the housing and commercial buildings in Bagdad. The town has a main
shopping center
A shopping center (American English) or shopping centre (Commonwealth English), also called a shopping complex, shopping arcade, shopping plaza or galleria, is a group of shops built together, sometimes under one roof.
The first known collec ...
named Copper Plaza, with a small
Bashas'
Bashas' is a family-owned grocery store chain, primarily located in Arizona, with two locations outside the state in Crownpoint, New Mexico, and Shiprock, New Mexico. Its headquarters are in unincorporated Maricopa County, Arizona, near Chan ...
grocery store and other businesses. Copper Plaza used to have a bank, but Stockmen's Bank pulled out due to lack of profits. However, the Arizona State Credit Union and the Bashas' Associates Federal Credit Union (BAFCU) both installed ATMs inside
Bashas'
Bashas' is a family-owned grocery store chain, primarily located in Arizona, with two locations outside the state in Crownpoint, New Mexico, and Shiprock, New Mexico. Its headquarters are in unincorporated Maricopa County, Arizona, near Chan ...
.
The Bagdad Community Health Center operates a clinic and provides Bagdad with medical care. The clinic is operated by registered nurses and one doctor. The one doctor is from the Prescott area and is in charge of the facility.
Fry's Food and Drug
Fry's Food and Drug is a chain of supermarkets that has a major presence in the U.S. state of Arizona. Fry's also operates under the banner of ''Fry's Marketplace'', a combination of groceries and general merchandise comparable to a Walmart Supe ...
operates a pharmacy in this clinic as well.
Education
Bagdad Unified School District was formed on July 1, 1930. The first graduating class from Bagdad High School was in 1945.
The
Bagdad Unified School District
Bagdad Middle and High School is a junior high and high school in Bagdad, Arizona. It is the only high school in the Bagdad Unified School District,
Bagdad Middle and High School is accredited by Cognia, a division of AdvancED and participate ...
#20 consists of a high school, elementary school, and a junior high school. The high school and junior high are merged into one. All of the teachers in the high school and junior high teach every grade level. The Hillside Community School is not a member of this district. All schools of this district are now on one campus.
Bagdad High School consists of 7th through 12th grades. Bagdad Elementary School consists of preschool through 6th grades.
The Yavapai County Free Library District operates the Bagdad Library.
Transportation
Arizona State Route 96 connects Bagdad with
Arizona State Route 97
State Route 97 (SR 97) is a state highway in the U.S. state of Arizona. It runs from U.S. Route 93 (US 93) northwest of Congress northeast to SR 96 southeast of Bagdad. The road was built by the late 1930s and improved during the late 1940s. ...
and
Hillside, Arizona.
See also
*
Upper Burro Creek Wilderness
Upper Burro Creek Wilderness is a 27,440-acre (11,100 ha) wilderness area located in Yavapai and Mohave Counties in the U.S. state of Arizona, approximately 10 miles (16 km) northwest of the town of Bagdad
References
Further reading
* Jarman, Max
"Copper is lifeblood for Bagdad" ''
Arizona Republic
''The Arizona Republic'' is an American daily newspaper published in Phoenix. Circulated throughout Arizona, it is the state's largest newspaper. Since 2000, it has been owned by the Gannett newspaper chain. Copies are sold at $2 daily or at $3 ...
'', May 28, 2005.
External links
Bagdad, Arizona – official siteCommunity website
{{authority control
Census-designated places in Yavapai County, Arizona
Mining communities in Arizona
Company towns in Arizona