Thatcher is a town in Graham 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 ...

, United States. According to the 2010 Census, the population of the town is 4,865. It is part of the Safford Micropolitan Statistical Area. Thatcher is the home of

Eastern Arizona College Eastern Arizona College (EAC), is a community college in Graham County, Arizona. The main campus is in Thatcher, with satellite locations in Gila County, and Greenlee County. It is the oldest community college in Arizona and the only community ...

(EAC), a college that offers two year degrees and includes a nursing school.

Geography

Thatcher is located at (32.832685, −109.762879). The town is centered in the Upper Gila River Valley with one of Arizona's famous

Madrean Sky Islands The Madrean Sky Islands are enclaves of Madrean pine–oak woodlands, found at higher elevations in a complex of small mountain ranges in southern and southeastern Arizona, southwestern New Mexico, and northwestern Mexico. The sky islands are s ...

towering to the south and the Gila River to the north. 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 town has a total area of , including of water.

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 4,022 people, 1,281 households, and 927 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 1,427 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 84.7%

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 ...

, 0.8%

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 ...

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 ...

, 1.8% Native American, 0.5% 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 ...

, 9.9% 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 2.2% from two or more races. 19.5% of the population were

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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 1,281 households, out of which 36.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.3% were married couples living together, 9.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.6% were non-families. 19.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.94 and the average family size was 3.37. In the town, the population was spread out, with 27.6% under the age of 18, 22.8% from 18 to 24, 18.9% from 25 to 44, 18.3% from 45 to 64, and 12.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 25 years. For every 100 females, there were 87.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.5 males. The median income for a household in the town was $32,412, and the median income for a family was $40,392. Males had a median income of $35,815 versus $20,964 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 $12,961. 17.2% of the population lives 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 ...

Emergency response

Emergency 911 services are provided by the 24/7 dispatch center of the Graham County Sheriff's Office. Fire services are provided by the all volunteer Thatcher Fire Department, which has the capability to respond with various types of equipment, including several fire engines and a ladder truck. Mount Graham Regional Medical Center is the medical services provider for the area. The Thatcher Police Department (TPD) is the municipal law enforcement agency responsible for policing the town. It has an approximately 10-man uniformed division.

History

Thatcher was originally settled by members of

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a nontrinitarian Christian church that considers itself to be the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus Christ. The ch ...

. The first settler was John M. Moody who arrived in Thatcher with his wife and children in 1881. The founding of Thatcher is attributed to Mormon pioneer

Christopher Layton Christopher Layton (March 8, 1821 – August 7, 1898) was a Mormon colonizer and Patriarch who founded the cities of Kaysville, Utah; Layton, Utah; and Thatcher, Arizona. Layton, Utah, is named after him. Life Layton was born at Thorncote Gree ...

, who bought two thousand acres, named the acreage "Thatcher", divided them into lots, and sold those lots to Mormon settlers. Layton also bought a gristmill and built roads, canals and homes.

traces its history to the St. Joseph Stake Academy started by the church in nearby Central. Central is also the location of the Gila Valley Arizona Temple.

Transportation

San Carlos Apache Nnee Bich'o Nii Transit provides transportation from Thatcher to the San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation, Safford and

Globe A globe is a spherical model of Earth, of some other celestial body, or of the celestial sphere. Globes serve purposes similar to maps, but unlike maps, they do not distort the surface that they portray except to scale it down. A model glo ...

. Greyhound Lines serves Thatcher on its

Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...

–

El Paso El Paso (; "the pass") is a city in and the seat of El Paso County in the western corner of the U.S. state of Texas. The 2020 population of the city from the U.S. Census Bureau was 678,815, making it the 23rd-largest city in the U.S., the s ...

via

route. The Arizona Eastern Railway operates rail freight through town on a branch formerly operated by the Southern Pacific. Traffic is primarily copper products on the route between Bowie and Miami, AZ.

Notable people

Frank Wanlass Frank Marion Wanlass (May 17, 1933 in Thatcher, AZ – September 9, 2010 in Santa Clara, California) was an American electrical engineer. He is best known for inventing CMOS (complementary MOS) logic with Chih-Tang Sah in 1963. CMOS has since ...

, inventor of CMOS and pioneer in the field of solid-state electronics. * Spencer W. Kimball, former president of

. *

Don Lancaster Donald E. Lancaster is an American author, inventor, and microcomputer pioneer. Background Lancaster is a writer and engineer, who authored multiple articles for computer and electronics magazines of the 1970s, including ''Popular Electronics' ...

, early print on demand and personal computer pioneer, involved in the keyboard design of the

Apple I The Apple Computer 1, originally released as the Apple Computer and known later as the Apple I or Apple-1, is an 8-bit desktop computer released by the Apple Computer Company (now Apple Inc.) in 1976. It was designed by Steve Wozniak. The i ...

computer. *

Jess Mortensen Jesse Philo Mortensen (April 16, 1907 in Thatcher, Arizona – February 19, 1962) was an NCAA champion track athlete and coach. Mortensen is one of only three men to win Division I Men's Outdoor Track and Field Championship team titles as both ...

, former coach and

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

-champion track athlete from USC and former world record holder in decathlon. * Elliot Johnson, professional baseball player MLB * Jeremy Nelson, award-winning visual effects artist. * Jacque Mercer, Miss Arizona and Miss America, 1949.

Historic Brinkeroff Hotel and Spencer W. Kimball Childhood Home

References

External links

Town website

County website
{{authority control Populated places established in 1881 Towns in Graham County, Arizona Safford, Arizona micropolitan area 1881 establishments in Arizona Territory