Ehrenberg, also historically spelled "Ehrenburg", 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 ...

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 La Paz County,

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. The population was 1,470 at the 2010 census. Ehrenberg is named for its founder, Herman Ehrenberg. Ehrenberg is located on the

Colorado River The Colorado River () is one of the principal rivers (along with the Rio Grande) in the Southwestern United States and in northern Mexico. The river, the List of longest rivers of the United States (by main stem), 5th longest in the United St ...

, which forms the border with Riverside County,

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, near the city of Blythe. It is situated close to

Interstate 10 Interstate 10 (I-10) is the southernmost transcontinental highway in the Interstate Highway System of the United States. It is the fourth-longest Interstate in the country at , following I-90, I-80, and I-40. It was part of the origina ...

, at the southern end of the Parker Valley and next to the Palo Verde Valley.

History

La Paz, Arizona. The town, named Mineral City, began to grow in 1866, after a new landing was established there, supported by the steamboat captains of the George A. Johnson Company. Mineral City attracted miners and many businessmen away from La Paz and by September 20, 1869, had grown large enough to win a post office.Hinckley and James, p. 44. The same year it was renamed "Ehrenberg".John and Lillian Theobald, ''Arizona Territory Post Offices & Postmasters'', The Arizona Historical Foundation, Phoenix, 1961. Over the next several years the town continued to grow, surpassing La Paz. By 1875 there were 500 residents. The population of La Paz dwindled, and many storekeepers relocated to Ehrenberg. Around the start of the 20th century, railroads began to bypass the river as the major means of transporting goods. The town's population declined, and it lost its post office on December 31, 1913.Hinckley and James, p. 46. Many of the surviving older buildings in town were torn down in the 1950s to make way for a trailer park.

Geography

Ehrenberg is located in western La Paz County and is located on the Colorado River, which forms the border between Arizona and California. The community is along

, which leads east to Phoenix and west to

Indio, California Indio (Spanish language, Spanish for "Indian") is a city in Riverside County, California, United States, in the Coachella Valley of Southern California's Colorado Desert region. Indio is approximately east of Los Angeles, east of Palm Springs, ...

. 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 Ehrenberg CDP has a total area of , of which are land and, or 1.78%, are water.

Climate

This area has a large amount of sunshine year round due to its stable descending air and high pressure. 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, Ehrenberg has a

desert climate The desert climate or arid climate (in the Köppen climate classification ''BWh'' and ''BWk'') is a dry climate sub-type in which there is a severe excess of evaporation over precipitation. The typically bald, rocky, or sandy surfaces in desert ...

, abbreviated "Bwh" on climate maps.

Demographics

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 2000, there were 1,357 people, 545 households, and 348 families residing in the CDP. The population density was . There were 824 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the CDP was 82.8%

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 ...

, 1.1%

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 ...

, 1.6% Native American, 0.1% 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 ...

, 10.5% from other races, and 3.8% from two or more races.

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 were 30.1% of the population. There were 545 households, out of which 31.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.7% 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, 8.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.1% were non-families. 27.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.5 and the average family size was 3.1. In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 28.0% under the age of 18, 8.0% from 18 to 24, 27.3% from 25 to 44, 23.9% from 45 to 64, and 12.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 110.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 110.6 males. The median income for a household in the CDP was $27,000, and the median income for a family was $28,000. Males had a median income of $35,956 versus $18,100 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 $14,372. About 17.0% of families and 22.7% 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 25.7% of those under age 18 and 17.9% of those age 65 or over.

Infrastructure

The Ehrenberg Improvement District provides drinking water to the community.https://ehrenbergwater.com/

Image gallery

Pictured are some of the remaining structures in Ehrenberg: * Ehrenberg General Store – 1896, now with an Arizona Oasis RV Resort sign on its side wall. * Old Meat Market – This building once housed the "Mercado de Amigos Meat Market" * The Blythe-Ehrenberg-Pipeline suspension bridge – over the Colorado River, built in 1916 * The Ehrenberg-Blythe Colorado River Bridge * The Ehrenberg Pioneer Cemetery – established in 1869

References

Sources

External links

Ehrenberg
– ghosttowns.com {{authority control Census-designated places in La Paz County, Arizona Census-designated places in Arizona Unincorporated communities in La Paz County, Arizona Communities in the Lower Colorado River Valley Populated places in the Sonoran Desert Populated places established in 1863 1863 establishments in Arizona Territory Unincorporated communities in Arizona Port cities and towns in Arizona Bradshaw Trail La Paz–Wikenburg Road Arizona populated places on the Colorado River Ghost towns in Arizona Cemeteries in Arizona