Bagdad is a

copper mining Copper extraction is the multi-stage process of obtaining copper from list of copper ores, its ores. The conversion of copper ores consists of a series of physical, chemical, and electrochemical processes. Methods have evolved and vary with coun ...

community and

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), 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 counte ...

(CDP) in

Yavapai County Yavapai County ( ) is a county 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 Pr ...

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

, United States, in the western part of the state. It is one of only two remaining

company town A company town is a place where all or most of the stores and housing in the town are owned by the same company that is also the main employer. Company towns are often planned with a suite of amenities such as stores, houses of worship, schoo ...

s in Arizona. The population was 1,876 at the 2010 census, up from 1,578 in 2000.

Name

According to legend, the name "Bagdad" is not a misspelling of "

Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...

". Supposedly a father and son operated a small-scale copper mining operation there in the late 1800s. The father dug out the ore and the son loaded it into bags. When one bag was full he asked his father "Do you have a bag, dad?" However, this is disputed and some say the name derives from the Iraqi capital,

, imagined as an epitome of wealth and luxury.

Demographics

Bagdad first appeared on the 1930 U.S. Census as the Bagdad Precinct of Yavapai County. It was recorded as having a Spanish/Hispanic majority for that census (the census would not separately feature that racial demographic again until 1980). With the combination of all county precincts into 3 districts in 1940, it did not formally appear again until 1960, when it reported as an unincorporated village. In 1980, it was made a census-designated place (CDP). As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2010, there were 1,876 people, 682 households, and 485 families residing in the CDP. The population density was . There were 838 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the CDP was 86.6%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.5%

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 3.0% Native American, 0.3% Asian, 0.1%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, 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 th ...

, 6.3% from other races, and 3.3% from two or more races. 24.4% of the population were

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race. There were 682 households, out of which 43.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.0% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 5.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.9% were non-families. 24.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 3.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.75 and the average family size was 3.29. In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 33.1% under the age of 18, 8.6% from 18 to 24, 29.6% from 25 to 44, 24.3% from 45 to 64, and 4.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females, there were 123.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 119.0 males. The median income for a household in the CDP was $58,277, and the median income for a family was $61,850. Males had a median income of $50,000 versus $40,506 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the CDP was $24,370. About 1.3% of families and 2.8% 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 4.8% of those under age 18 and 9.5% of those age 65 or over.

Geography and climate

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the CDP has a total area of , all land. According to the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

system, Bagdad has a typical Arizona

semi-arid climate A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of se ...

, located on the boundary between ''BSh'' and ''BSk'' on climate maps.

Copper mine

In 1882, prospectors W.J. Pace and J.M. Murphy staked a claim for gold, silver, and lead along Copper Creek. In 1883, John Lawler of

Prescott, Arizona Prescott ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Yavapai County, Arizona, United States. As of 2020 United States census, 2020 Census, the city's population was 45,827. In 1864, Prescott was designated as the capital of the Arizona Territory, r ...

paid Pace and Murphy $200 for their claims, but were unable to make a success of it. In 1907, the Giroux Syndicate purchased an option on Lawler's claims for $200,000 (), with Edmond Bronson as president. However, the mine was still not able to earn a profit, and operations languished off and on for years. In 1944, the operation was purchased by John C. Lincoln, the builder of the Camelback Inn, who converted the mine entirely from underground operation to

open-pit Open-pit mining, also known as open-cast or open-cut mining and in larger contexts mega-mining, is a surface mining technique that extracts rock (geology), rock or minerals from the earth. Open-pit mines are used when deposits of commercially ...

. In 1979, the operation was purchased by AMOCO Minerals, eventually owned by Cyprus Mines.

Cyprus Mines Corporation The Cyprus Mines Corporation was an early twentieth century American mining company based in Cyprus. In 1914, Charles G. Gunther began prospecting in the Skouriotissa area after reading in ancient books that the island was rich in copper and noti ...

operated the copper mine until Cyprus merged with Phelps Dodge.

Freeport-McMoRan Freeport-McMoRan Inc., often called Freeport, is an American mining company based in the Freeport-McMoRan Center, in Phoenix, Arizona. The company is the world's largest producer of molybdenum, a major copper producer and operates the world's la ...

(which acquired

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 ...

in 2007) now operates the copper/molybdenum mine. This copper mine does

open pit mining Open-pit mining, also known as open-cast or open-cut mining and in larger contexts mega-mining, is a surface mining technique that extracts rock or minerals from the earth. Open-pit mines are used when deposits of commercially useful ore or ro ...

and runs on an around-the-clock schedule. The copper concentrate is either trucked to southern Arizona, or taken by semi to 20 miles outside of town to the

BNSF Railway BNSF Railway is the largest freight railroad in the United States. One of six North American Class I railroads, BNSF has 36,000 employees, of track in 28 states, and over 8,000 locomotives. It has three Transcontinental railroad, transcontine ...

's Phoenix Subdivision in Hillside.

Services

Freeport-McMoRan owns all of the housing and commercial buildings in Bagdad. The town has a main

shopping center A shopping center in American English, shopping centre in English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English (see American and British English spelling differences#-re, -er, spelling differences), shopping complex, shopping arcade, ...

named Copper Plaza, with a small

Bashas' Bashas' is a grocery store chain, primarily located in Arizona, with two locations outside the state in Crownpoint, New Mexico, and Shiprock, New Mexico. Its headquarters are in Chandler. As of December 15, 2021, Bashas' is owned and operated by ...

grocery store and other businesses. Copper Plaza used to have a bank, but Stockmen's Bank pulled out due to lack of profits. However, the Arizona State Credit Union and the Bashas' Associates Federal Credit Union (BAFCU) both installed ATMs inside

. The Bagdad Community Health Center operates a medical clinic.

Fry's Food and Drug Fry, fries, Fry's or frying may refer to: Food and cooking * Frying, the cooking of food in hot oil or fat ** French fries, deep-fried potato strips ** Frying pan, cookware for frying People * Fry (surname), a British family name (including ...

operates a pharmacy in this clinic as well.

Education

Bagdad Unified School District was formed on July 1, 1930. The first graduating class from Bagdad High School was in 1945. The Bagdad Unified School District #20 consists of a high school, elementary school, and a junior high school. The high school and junior high are merged into one. All of the teachers in the high school and junior high teach every grade level. All schools of this district are now on one campus. Bagdad High School consists of 7th through 12th grades. Bagdad Elementary School consists of preschool through 6th grades. The Yavapai County Free Library District operates the Bagdad Library.

Transportation

Arizona State Route 96 connects Bagdad with Arizona State Route 97 and Hillside, Arizona.

References

External links

Bagdad, Arizona – official site

Community website

{{authority control Census-designated places in Yavapai County, Arizona Census-designated places in Arizona Mining communities in Arizona Company towns in Arizona