Williamsport is a former mining town and present day
ghost town, on the bank of the
Colorado River in
La Paz County, Arizona
La Paz County is the 15th county in the U.S. state of Arizona, located in the western part of the state. As of the 2020 census, its population was 16,557, making it the second-least populous county in Arizona. The county seat is Parker. Th ...
.
It was also a landing for
steamboats of the Colorado River, first located in
Yuma County from 1863 through the 1870s, then in
Arizona Territory
The Territory of Arizona (also known as Arizona Territory) was a territory of the United States that existed from February 24, 1863, until February 14, 1912, when the remaining extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the state of ...
.
[ Richard E. Lingenfelter, ''Steamboats on the Colorado River, 1852–1916'', University of Arizona Press, Tucson, 1978]
History
In the fall of 1863, the
Eureka Mining District
Eureka (often abbreviated as E!, or Σ!) is an intergovernmental organisation for research and development funding and coordination. Eureka is an open platform for international cooperation in innovation. Organisations and companies applying th ...
was formed when silver strikes were made in the
Chocolate Mountains of Arizona.
Eureka Landing and Williamsport grew serving these new mines in the district. The landings and mining district appear in the 1865 Map of the new Arizona Territory. Eureka was a small cluster of adobe buildings on the riverbank, 47 miles up river from Arizona City and 2 miles up river from Eureka Landing. Across the Colorado River was
Picacho, California
Picacho ( Spanish for "Big Peak") is an unincorporated community in Imperial County, California. It is located on the Colorado River south-southeast of Palo Verde, at an elevation of 203 feet (62 m).
Picacho, now a ghost town, was an ea ...
and the
Picacho Mining District Picacho may refer to:
;Mexico
*Villa de Hidalgo, San Luis Potosí
*Picacho del Diablo, Baja California
;Panama
*Picacho Mountain
;United States
*Picacho, California
**Picacho State Recreation Area
*Little Picacho Wilderness, California
*Picacho, ...
.
[
]
Today
Today the old landing of Williamsport on the riverbank has disappeared. It was located approximately at .
References
External links
Official Map Of The Territory Of Arizona, With All The Recent Explorations. Compiled by Richard Gird C.E. Commissioner. Approved By John N. Goodwin, Governor. In Accordance With An Act Of The Legislature, Approved Oct. 23d. 1864. We hereby certify that this is the Official Map of the Territory of Arizona, and approve the same. Prescott October 12th 1865. (with signed seal dated 1863). Published By A. Gensoul, Pacific Map Depot. No. 511 Montgomery St. San Francisco. Lith. Britton & Co. San Francisco. Accessed from www.davidrumsey.com, December 1, 2014.
Shows location of Eureka, Williamsport and the Eureka District, and other landings, settlements and mining districts along the Colorado River and the interior of the territory in 1865.
Ghost towns in Arizona
Former populated places in La Paz County, Arizona
Port cities and towns in Arizona
Steamboat transport on the Colorado River
1863 establishments in Arizona Territory
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