Ehrenberg, also historically spelled "Ehrenburg", is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either hav ...

and

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a 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 counterparts of incorporated places, su ...

(CDP) in La Paz County,

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States. It is the list of U.S. states and territories by area, 6th largest and the list of U.S. states and territories by population, 14 ...

, United States. The population was 1,470 at the 2010 census. Ehrenberg is named for its founder, Herman Ehrenberg. Ehrenberg is located on the

Colorado River The Colorado River ( es, Río Colorado) is one of the principal rivers (along with the Rio Grande) in the Southwestern United States and northern Mexico. The river drains an expansive, arid watershed that encompasses parts of seven U.S. s ...

, which forms the border with

Riverside County Riverside County is a county located in the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 2,418,185, making it the fourth-most populous county in California and the 10th-most populous in the Uni ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

, near the city of Blythe. It is situated close to

Interstate 10 Interstate 10 (I-10) is the southernmost cross-country highway in the American Interstate Highway System. I-10 is the fourth-longest Interstate in the United States at , following I-90, I-80, and I-40. This freeway is part of the originally ...

, at the southern end of the Parker Valley and next to the Palo Verde Valley.

History

In 1863, German mining engineer Herman Ehrenberg was hired to survey a new townsite along the Colorado River, approximately from La Paz, Arizona. The town, named Mineral City, began to grow in 1866, after a new landing was established there, supported by the steamboat captains of the George A. Johnson Company. Mineral City attracted miners and many businessmen away from La Paz and by September 20, 1869, had grown large enough to win a post office.Hinckley and James, p. 44. The same year it was renamed "Ehrenberg".John and Lillian Theobald, ''Arizona Territory Post Offices & Postmasters'', The Arizona Historical Foundation, Phoenix, 1961. Over the next several years the town continued to grow, surpassing La Paz. By 1875 there were 500 residents. The population of La Paz dwindled, and many storekeepers relocated to Ehrenberg. Around the start of the 20th century, railroads began to bypass the river as the major means of transporting goods. The town's population declined, and it lost its post office on December 31, 1913.Hinckley and James, p. 46. Many of the surviving older buildings in town were torn down in the 1950s to make way for a

trailer park A trailer park,caravan park, mobile home park, mobile home community or manufactured home community is a temporary or permanent area for mobile homes and travel trailers. Advantages include low cost compared to other housing, and quick and ea ...

Geography

Ehrenberg is located in western La Paz County at (33.614617, -114.514766). It is located on the Colorado River, that forms the border of Arizona and California. The community is along

, which leads east to Phoenix and west to

Indio, California Indio ( Spanish for "Indian") is a city in Riverside County, California, United States, in the Coachella Valley of Southern California's Colorado Desert region. It lies east of Palm Springs, east of Riverside, east of Los Angeles, 148 mil ...

. 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 An economy is an area of th ...

, the Ehrenberg CDP has a total area of , of which are land and, or 1.78%, are water.

Climate

This area has a large amount of sunshine year round due to its stable descending air and high pressure. 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, nota ...

system, Ehrenberg has a

desert climate The desert climate or arid climate (in the Köppen climate classification ''BWh'' and ''BWk''), is a dry climate sub-type in which there is a severe excess of evaporation over precipitation. The typically bald, rocky, or sandy surfaces in desert ...

, abbreviated "Bwh" on climate maps.Climate Summary for Ehrenberg, Arizona
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Demographics

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 2000, there were 1,357 people, 545 households, and 348 families residing in the CDP. The population density was . There were 824 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the CDP was 82.8%

White White is the lightness, 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 diffuse reflection, reflect and scattering, scatter all the ...

, 1.1%

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 ha ...

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

, 1.6% Native American, 0.1% 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 Ocea ...

, 10.5% from other races, and 3.8% from two or more races.

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 for ...

or Latino of any race were 30.1% of the population. There were 545 households, out of which 31.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.7% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...

living together, 8.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.1% were non-families. 27.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.5 and the average family size was 3.1. In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 28.0% under the age of 18, 8.0% from 18 to 24, 27.3% from 25 to 44, 23.9% from 45 to 64, and 12.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 110.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 110.6 males. The median income for a household in the CDP was $27,000, and the median income for a family was $28,000. Males had a median income of $35,956 versus $18,100 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 $14,372. About 17.0% of families and 22.7% 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 ...

, including 25.7% of those under age 18 and 17.9% of those age 65 or over.

Image gallery

Pictured are the some of the remaining structures in Ehrenberg: * Ehrenberg General Store – 1896, now with an Arizona Oasis RV Resort sign on its side wall. * Old Meat Market – This building once housed the "Mercado de Amigos Meat Market" * The Blythe-Ehrenberg-Pipeline suspension bridge – over the Colorado River, built in 1916 * The Ehrenberg-Blythe Colorado River Bridge * The Ehrenberg Pioneer Cemetery – established in 1869

History

Geography

Climate

Demographics

Image gallery

References

Sources

Further reading