Crown King, Arizona
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Crown King is an
unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...
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. Crown King has a ZIP Code of 86343; in 2000, the population of the 86343 ZCTA was 133. The site of a former
gold mining Gold mining is the extraction of gold by mining. Historically, mining gold from Alluvium, alluvial deposits used manual separation processes, such as gold panning. The expansion of gold mining to ores that are not on the surface has led to mor ...
town, Crown King is 28 miles west of
Interstate 17 Interstate 17 (I-17) is a north–south Interstate Highway located entirely within the US state of Arizona. I-17's southern terminus lies in Phoenix, at I-10/US 60 and its northern terminus is in Flagstaff, at I-40. Most of I-17 is kn ...
on Senator Highway, high in the
Bradshaw Mountains The Bradshaw Mountains are a mountain range in central Arizona, United States, named for brothers Isaac and William D. Bradshaw after their deaths, having been formerly known in English as the Silver Mountain Range. History The first known set ...
. The community is named after the Crowned King mine, but the name was shortened to Crown King in 1888. Horsethief Basin Lake is located 6.5 miles southeast of Crown King on Crown King Rd/Forest 259 Rd.


History

An estimated
US$ The United States dollar (Currency symbol, symbol: Dollar sign, $; ISO 4217, currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and International use of the U.S. dollar, several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introdu ...
2,000,000 in gold was taken from the Crowned King Mine alone; the mines have been closed since the 1950s and for the past half-century tourism has been the only reliable source of income in the area, despite the fact that the unpaved, mountainous access roads are rocky, rough and slow to drive. The first recorded gold claim in Crown King was "Buckeye" and was filed by Rod McKinnon on July 1, 1875. Over the next 40 years, more than 15 mines or claims were made in the area. At its height, the town had 500 buildings, including several company stores and boarding houses, two Chinese restaurants and a post office. The town was electrified by 1897 and had one telephone at that time. While an active mining town, Crown King was served by the Bradshaw Mountain Railroad. Rail service to the area began in 1904 upon completion of "
Murphy's Impossible Railroad {{Use American English, date=February 2025 Completed in 1904, the Crown King Branch of the Bradshaw Mountain Railroad, also known as Murphy's Impossible Railroad, linked the town of Crown King, Arizona, Crown King with the end of the Prescott and E ...
" – a series of switchbacks and trestles that ascended the mountain terrain between Cleator and Crown King. The railroad began in Mayer, Arizona, connecting with Murphy's Prescott and Eastern Railroad and extended for 28 miles amid the rocky terrain. Crown King was the terminus (1904–1926) of the railroad, built by Frank M. Murphy to serve the mines of the southern
Bradshaw Mountains The Bradshaw Mountains are a mountain range in central Arizona, United States, named for brothers Isaac and William D. Bradshaw after their deaths, having been formerly known in English as the Silver Mountain Range. History The first known set ...
. However, these mines were never very productive, and the BMRR was a financial failure. The line was abandoned in 1926. Much of the road to Crown King uses the old railroad bed. Of the buildings still standing and in use in Crown King, the Crown King Saloon has maintained its place as the center of activity in town. The Saloon was originally constructed and operated in the nearby mining town of Oro Belle (now also a ghost town). In 1910, it was disassembled and brought to Crown King piece by piece after the mine at Oro Belle had played out. The building was home to a brothel and bar in both towns and now serves the public as a hotel, cafe, and bar. The town has a cemetery nearby. The red one-room schoolhouse was built in 1917 and still serves a small number of K–8 students. High school students typically leave town to attend class 14 miles away in Mayer. The post office was established on July 29, 1888, and was discontinued on May 15, 1954. It has since reopened inside the Crown King General Store.


Climate

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, Crown King has a
Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate ( ), also called a dry summer climate, described by Köppen and Trewartha as ''Cs'', is a temperate climate type that occurs in the lower mid-latitudes (normally 30 to 44 north and south latitude). Such climates typic ...
, classified as ''Csb'' on climate maps. It is atypical of this type because its dry season only covers the first half of summer and is followed by heavy monsoonal thunderstorms in July and August. An exposed location relative to moist southerly airflows from the Gulf of California gives Crown King among the highest precipitation in Arizona – in fact it holds the official state record for the most precipitation in one calendar month with in August 1951, and the station has thrice approached this record with in December 1967 (including of snow), in February 1980 and in January 1993.
Western Regional Climate Center The Western Regional Climate Center (WRCC) is a climate research center based in Reno, Nevada serving the Western United States (except Colorado and Wyoming). The WRCC is one of six regional centers administered by the National Oceanic and Atmosph ...

Crown King, AZ; Period of Record General Climate Summary: Precipitation
/ref> The wettest days have been April 17, 1917, with and December 31, 1948, with . The wettest calendar year has been 1978 with and the driest 1960 with . Snowfall can be heavy, with falling in January 1949, although in general snow cover is minimal due to relatively warm days in winter.


Education

The Crown King Elementary School District has one school, Crown King Elementary School, a
K-8 school K8 or K-8 may refer to: * K-8 (Kansas highway), two highways in Kansas, one in northern Kansas, one in southern Kansas * K-8 school, a type of school that includes kindergarten and grades one through eight * K8 telephone box, designed by Bruce M ...
. The facility is in a
one room schoolhouse One-room schoolhouses, or One-room schools, have been commonplace throughout rural portions of various countries, including Prussia, Norway, Sweden, the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Portugal, and Spa ...
. The school began operations in 1906, and a permanent school facility opened in 1916. Circa 2019 enrollment varied between one and around twelve students at a time. The community does not have a high school, and the Crown King district area is not within a high school district. Scott Craven of ''
The Arizona Republic ''The Arizona Republic'' is an American daily newspaper published in Phoenix. Circulated throughout Arizona, it is the state's largest newspaper. Since 2000, it has been owned by the Gannett newspaper chain. History Early years The newspap ...
'' stated that the condition of roads and distances make traveling to a high school from Crown King difficult, and that the distance to the closest high school was one hour travel time. Lily Altavena of ''
The Arizona Republic ''The Arizona Republic'' is an American daily newspaper published in Phoenix. Circulated throughout Arizona, it is the state's largest newspaper. Since 2000, it has been owned by the Gannett newspaper chain. History Early years The newspap ...
'' stated in 2019 that several area students went to a private institution, Orme School in the
Mayer, Arizona Mayer is a census-designated place (CDP) in Yavapai County, Arizona, United States. The population was 1,408 at the 2000 census. Mayer includes three sites listed on the National Register of Historic Places: the Mayer Apartments, the Mayer Busi ...
area. According to Craven, as of 2005 some other families have the mother rent an apartment in Chino Valley or Prescott so the student could attend high school in those communities. Craven stated that some other families choose to have the high school-aged children live with other family members. Yavapai County Free Library District operates the Crown King Public Library, in the back of the school building.


References


Further reading

* Bruce M. Wilson, ''Crown King and the Southern Bradshaws: A Complete History'', Mesa, Crown King Press, 1990, 104 pages. *


External links


Crown King
– ghosttowns.com *
Crown King Fire District

Crown King Elementary School District

Crown King Chamber of Commerce

Crown King Historical Society
{{authority control Unincorporated communities in Yavapai County, Arizona Populated places established in 1875 1875 establishments in Arizona Territory Unincorporated communities in Arizona Ghost towns in Arizona