Clarkdale, Arizona
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Clarkdale (
Yavapai The Yavapai are a Native American tribe in Arizona. Historically, the Yavapai – literally “people of the sun” (from ''Enyaava'' “sun” + ''Paay'' “people”) – were divided into four geographical bands who identified as separate, i ...
: Saupkasuiva) is a town 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 The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
. The
Verde River The Verde River ( Yavapai: Haka'he:la) is a major tributary of the Salt River in the U.S. state of Arizona. It is about long and carries a mean flow of at its mouth. It is one of the largest perennial streams in Arizona. Description The ...
flows through the town as does Bitter Creek, an intermittent tributary of the river. According to the 2010 census, the population of the town was 4,097. Clarkdale, formerly a mining town, is now largely a retirement community and arts community.


History

Clarkdale was founded in 1912 as a company
smelter Smelting is a process of applying heat to ore, to extract a base metal. It is a form of extractive metallurgy. It is used to extract many metals from their ores, including Silver mining#Ore processing, silver, iron-making, iron, copper extracti ...
town by
William A. Clark William Andrews Clark Sr. (January 8, 1839March 2, 1925) was an American politician and entrepreneur, involved with mining, banking, and railroads. Biography Clark was born in Connellsville, Pennsylvania. He moved with his family to Iowa in 1 ...
, for his
copper mine 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 ...
in nearby
Jerome Jerome (; la, Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus; grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος Σωφρόνιος Ἱερώνυμος; – 30 September 420), also known as Jerome of Stridon, was a Christian presbyter, priest, Confessor of the Faith, confessor, th ...
. Clarkdale was one of the most modern mining towns in the world, including telephone, telegraph, electrical, sewer and spring water services, and was an early example of a
planned community A planned community, planned city, planned town, or planned settlement is any community that was carefully planned from its inception and is typically constructed on previously undeveloped land. This contrasts with settlements that evolve ...
. The Clark Mansion, a local landmark, was built in the late 1920s by William Clark III, Clark's grandson and heir to the United Verde Copper Company. The structure, east of town across the Verde River near Pecks Lake, was destroyed in 2010 by a fire of "suspicious" origin. The town center and business district were built in Spanish Colonial style, and feature the Clark Memorial Clubhouse and Memorial Library, both still in use. The Clubhouse is listed on the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
. The entire original town site is also on the National Register as the Clarkdale Historic District. The mine and smelter closed in 1953, and Clarkdale entered hard times. Clarkdale was bought and sold by several different companies. In 1957, Clarkdale was incorporated as a town. The 1959 construction of the
Phoenix Cement Company The Phoenix Cement Company, headquartered in Phoenix, operates a cement plant in Clarkdale in the U.S. state of Arizona. Built in 1959 by the American Cement Company to make cement for construction of the Glen Canyon Dam on the Colorado River, ...
plant restored a modest prosperity to the community. Clarkdale was a segregated town for much of its early history. Mexican and Mexican-American laborers were restricted to living in Patio Town (see
neighborhoods A neighbourhood (British English, Irish English, Australian English and Canadian English) or neighborhood (American English; American and British English spelling differences, see spelling differences) is a geographically localised community ...
), with a separate swimming pool and park; the town swimming pool was marked "whites only." Additionally, Upper Clarkdale was designated for engineers and executives, while Lower Clarkdale was for the "working class." A portion of the Yavapai-Apache Nation is within Clarkdale's boundaries.


Geography and climate

According to the United States Census Bureau, Clarkdale has a total area of , of which is land and is water. Clarkdale is at above sea level at the confluence of Bitter Creek and the Verde River in Yavapai County, northern Arizona. The town is about southwest of Flagstaff and about north of Phoenix. Arizona Route 89A skirts the town on its south edge, while Historic Route 89A passes through Clarkdale. Nearby towns include Jerome, about to the southwest, and Cottonwood, about to the southeast.
Tuzigoot National Monument Tuzigoot National Monument ( yuf-x-yav, ʼHaktlakva, Western Apache: ''Tú Digiz'') preserves a 2- to 3-story pueblo ruin on the summit of a limestone and sandstone ridge just east of Clarkdale, Arizona, 120 feet (36 m) above the Verde River fl ...
, a
Sinagua The Sinagua were a pre-Columbian culture that occupied a large area in central Arizona from the Little Colorado River, near Flagstaff, to the Verde River, near Sedona, including the Verde Valley, area around San Francisco Mountain, and signifi ...
pueblo In the Southwestern United States, Pueblo (capitalized) refers to the Native tribes of Puebloans having fixed-location communities with permanent buildings which also are called pueblos (lowercased). The Spanish explorers of northern New Spain ...
ruin, is between Clarkdale and
Cottonwood, Arizona Cottonwood is a city in Yavapai County, Arizona, United States. According to the 2010 census, the population of the city is 11,265. Geography Cottonwood is located at (34.7321, -112.0186). According to the United States Census Bureau, the c ...
, on land donated to the
National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propertie ...
by
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 1938. Sycamore Canyon Wilderness lies several miles north of town. Sycamore Creek, which flows through the wilderness, enters the Verde River canyon about north-northwest of Clarkdale. The average temperature in Clarkdale in January is , and in July it is . The highest recorded temperature for the town was in 1994, and the lowest was in 1990. The wettest month is August, averaging about of precipitation. In 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, Clarkdale has a tropical and sub-tropical steppe climate, abbreviated BSk on climate maps. Little snow falls in Clarkdale. Between 1949 and 1977, Cottonwood, Clarkdale's close neighbor, received an average of about of snow a year. About half of this fell in December. The average snow depth in Cottonwood during the period of record was reported as zero.


Commerce

The
Phoenix Cement Company The Phoenix Cement Company, headquartered in Phoenix, operates a cement plant in Clarkdale in the U.S. state of Arizona. Built in 1959 by the American Cement Company to make cement for construction of the Glen Canyon Dam on the Colorado River, ...
is Clarkdale's only major industry. The cement plant was built in 1959 to supply
Portland cement Portland cement is the most common type of cement in general use around the world as a basic ingredient of concrete, mortar, stucco, and non-specialty grout. It was developed from other types of hydraulic lime in England in the early 19th c ...
for the construction of
Glen Canyon Dam Glen Canyon Dam is a concrete arch-gravity dam on the Colorado River in northern Arizona, United States, near the town of Page, Arizona, Page. The high dam was built by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) from 1956 to 1966 and forms Lake Powe ...
and is owned by the
Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community Salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in the form of a natural crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quantitie ...
. Clarkdale is home to the
Verde Canyon Railroad The Verde Canyon Railroad is a heritage railroad running between Clarkdale and Perkinsville in the U.S. state of Arizona. The passenger excursion line operates on of tracks of the Clarkdale Arizona Central Railroad (AZCR), a shortline. ...
, a scenic excursion train that follows part of the route of the Verde Valley Railroad, constructed in 1911–12 to serve Clark's mine and smelter, to
Drake Drake may refer to: Animals * A male duck People and fictional characters * Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family name * Drake (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * ...
and Perkinsville, now ghost towns.
Yavapai College Yavapai College is a public community college in Yavapai County, Arizona. The main campus is in Prescott, with locations in Clarkdale, Prescott Valley, Chino Valley and Sedona. History Yavapai College was established in 1965 by means of a c ...
also has a campus in Clarkdale. Several motion pictures have been shot in Clarkdale, including ''
Desert Fury ''Desert Fury'' is a 1947 American film noir crime film directed by Lewis Allen and starring John Hodiak, Lizabeth Scott and Burt Lancaster. The story was adapted for the screen by Robert Rossen and A. I. Bezzerides (uncredited), based on th ...
'', ''
Midnight Run ''Midnight Run'' is a 1988 American road action comedy film directed by Martin Brest and starring Robert De Niro and Charles Grodin. Yaphet Kotto, John Ashton, Dennis Farina, Joe Pantoliano, and Philip Baker Hall play supporting roles. At the 4 ...
'', '' Universal Soldier'', '' Benefit of the Doubt'' and ''
Brothel A brothel, bordello, ranch, or whorehouse is a place where people engage in sexual activity with prostitutes. However, for legal or cultural reasons, establishments often describe themselves as massage parlors, bars, strip clubs, body rub par ...
''.


Arts

The Made in Clarkdale organization hosts an annual invitational art show each December in the Clark Memorial Clubhouse. The Verde Valley Theatre performs community theatre in Clark Memorial Clubhouse, and free concerts are offered in Clarkdale Park through the summer months.


Neighborhoods

Clarkdale's neighborhoods are not strictly defined, but include: * Upper Clarkdale, the oldest part of the historic section of town, from 9th Street/Miller's Hill west to 16th Street. * Lower Clarkdale, east of 9th Street/Miller's Hill, along Main Street to 4th Street and the railroad tracks. * Riverfront, between 4th Street/railroad and the Verde River (sometimes included in Lower Clarkdale). * Patio Town, across Bitter Creek between the train depot area and the river. * Centerville, the oldest development not in the historic site, along Avenida Centerville off of Arizona State Route 89A. Said to be named for its location at the geographical center of Arizona. * Foothills Terrace, a development west of Arizona State Route 89A along Lisa Street and Lanny Lane. * Black Hills, north of Black Hills Drive and west of Old Jerome Highway. Site of
Yavapai College Yavapai College is a public community college in Yavapai County, Arizona. The main campus is in Prescott, with locations in Clarkdale, Prescott Valley, Chino Valley and Sedona. History Yavapai College was established in 1965 by means of a c ...
's Clarkdale campus. * Bent River, east of Broadway ( Historic US Route 89A) along Bent River Road and Old Clarkdale Highway. * Verde Palisades, west of Broadway along Palisade Drive. * Giant's Grave, on a bluff north of Arizona State Route 89A along Panorama Way. * Newer developments, including Lampliter Village, Pine Shadows, Mingus Shadows, Mingus View Estates and Mountain Gate. * Individual homes in unsubdivided areas, including Haskell Springs, Hawk Hollow Way and Mescal Wash/Tavasci Road.


Education

Clarkdale is the home of Clarkdale–Jerome School District, a one-school district that encompasses both Clarkdale and
Jerome Jerome (; la, Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus; grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος Σωφρόνιος Ἱερώνυμος; – 30 September 420), also known as Jerome of Stridon, was a Christian presbyter, priest, Confessor of the Faith, confessor, th ...
. The public school has enrollment from kindergarten to eighth grade.
Mingus Union High School Mingus Union High School is a high school in Cottonwood, Arizona. It is one of two high schools in the Mingus Union High School District. The other school, Mingus Online Academy, is a computer based alternative school at the same location. Mingu ...
in Cottonwood encompasses Clarkdale for high school students. There are also charter schools in Cottonwood. In addition, Yavapai College has a community college campus in Clarkdale. The campus is home to the newly opened Southwest Wine Center. Historically, Clarkdale had an elementary school, located in Lower Clarkdale, a junior high school, located at the top of Miller's Hill in Upper Clarkdale, and a high school, next to the junior high school. Clarkdale High School combined with Mingus High School in Jerome in 1960 to form Mingus Union High School, then located in Jerome. The combined high school adopted the name of the Jerome school and the colors of the Clarkdale school. The school then moved to Cottonwood in 1972. In 1983, the junior high school burned down. A new elementary school was built, becoming the K-8 school at 16th and Main Streets in Upper Clarkdale in 1985.


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 incl ...
of 2000, there were 3,422 people, 1,433 households, and 994 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 1,546 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 84.5%
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 on ...
, 0.3%
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 ...
, 6.8% Native American, 0.4%
Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...
, 0.1%
Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe the original p ...
, 5.4% 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 2.6% from two or more races. 11.8% of the population were
Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, 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 Vic ...
or
Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...
of any race. There were 1,433 households, out of which 22.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.2% were married couples living together, 7.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.6% were non-families. 25.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.39 and the average family size was 2.82. In the town, the population was spread out, with 21.5% under the age of 18, 6.2% from 18 to 24, 20.4% from 25 to 44, 26.0% from 45 to 64, and 25.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 46 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.6 males. The median income for a household in the town was $34,911, and the median income for a family was $41,250. Males had a median income of $28,824 versus $21,811 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 town was $18,441. About 7.4% of families and 10.3% 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 10.9% of those under age 18 and 7.0% of those age 65 or over. Clarkdale became one of the municipalities in Arizona to recognize
civil union A civil union (also known as a civil partnership) is a legally recognized arrangement similar to marriage, created primarily as a means to provide recognition in law for same-sex couples. Civil unions grant some or all of the rights of marriage ...
s for same-sex partners and opposite-sex partners seeking a form of recognition other than marriage.


See also

*
List of historic properties in Clarkdale, Arizona This is a list, which includes a photographic gallery, of some of the remaining structures and monuments, of historic significance in Clarkdale, a former mining town in Yavapai County, Arizona. Clarkdale was Arizona's first master-planned commun ...


References


External links


Official Clarkdale website





Clarkdale community profile
from Arizona Department of Commerce {{authority control Towns in Yavapai County, Arizona Company towns in Arizona Populated places established in 1912 1912 establishments in Arizona