La Paz ( Yavapai: Wi:hela) was a short-lived early gold mining town along on the western border of current-day La Paz County,

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 ...

. The town grew quickly after gold was discovered nearby in 1862. ''La Paz'', Spanish for ''peace'', was chosen as the name in recognition of the

feast day The calendar of saints is the traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the day as the feast day or feast of said saint. The word "feast" in this context do ...

for Our Lady of Peace. Originally located in the

New Mexico Territory The Territory of New Mexico was an organized incorporated territory of the United States from September 9, 1850, until January 6, 1912. It was created from the U.S. provisional government of New Mexico, as a result of '' Nuevo México'' becomin ...

, the town became part of the

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 o ...

when President

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation throu ...

established the new territory in 1863. In 1983 the newly-formed County of La Paz adopted the name, long after the town had become a

ghost town Ghost Town(s) or Ghosttown may refer to: * Ghost town, a town that has been abandoned Film and television * ''Ghost Town'' (1936 film), an American Western film by Harry L. Fraser * ''Ghost Town'' (1956 film), an American Western film by All ...

. La Paz was the location of the La Paz Incident in 1863, noted for being the westernmost confrontation of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and t ...

History

Mountain man

Pauline Weaver Pauline Weaver (1797 – June 21, 1867), born Powell Weaver, was an American mountain man, trapper, military scout, prospector, and explorer who was active in the early Southwestern United States. A number of geographic features in Arizona are ...

discovered gold in the Arroyo De La Teneja, on the eastern bank of the Colorado River, on January 12, 1862. His discovery triggered the Colorado River gold rush. La Paz grew in the spring of 1862 along the Colorado River to serve the miners washing placer gold in the La Paz Mining District. This district produced about 50,000 troy ounces of gold per year in 1863 and 1864. La Paz had a population of 1,500 and was a stage stop between Fort Whipple, Arizona and

San Bernardino, California San Bernardino (; Spanish for "Saint Bernardino") is a city and county seat of San Bernardino County, California, United States. Located in the Inland Empire region of Southern California, the city had a population of 222,101 in the 2020 ce ...

. The town was the county seat of Yuma County from 1864 to 1870, and as the largest town in the territory in 1863 was considered for the Arizona territorial capital. The placers were largely exhausted by 1863, but the community hung on as a shipping port for steamboats of the Colorado River and supply base until 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 ...

shifted its course westward in 1866, leaving La Paz landlocked. The shipping business was taken over by a new river town, Ehrenberg, six miles south. In 1870 the population of La Paz had declined to 254. In 1871 the county seat was moved to Arizona City, later renamed Yuma in 1873. The county records were shipped to Yuma by Captain Polyphemus in the ''Nina Tilden''. Soon La Paz became deserted and as peaceful as its name.Gerald Thompson (1985) ''"Is there a gold field east of the Colorado?" the La Paz gold rush of 1862'', Historical Society of Southern California, v. 67, n. 4, pp. 345–63. Today nothing remains of La Paz except a couple of crumbling stone foundations and a historical marker.

Geography

La Paz is located at , at an elevation of above sea level.

References

External links

Ghosttowns.com: ''La Paz''
{{Steamboats of the Colorado River Ghost towns in Arizona Mining in Arizona Former populated places in La Paz County, Arizona Port cities and towns in Arizona Steamboat transport on the Colorado River 1862 establishments in New Mexico Territory Bradshaw Trail La Paz–Wikenburg Road

History

See also

Geography

References

External links