Empire Flat was a

steamboat A steamboat is a boat that is marine propulsion, propelled primarily by marine steam engine, steam power, typically driving propellers or Paddle steamer, paddlewheels. The term ''steamboat'' is used to refer to small steam-powered vessels worki ...

landing at Empire Flat on the east shore of 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 ...

, within

Parker Strip, Arizona Parker Strip is a census-designated place (CDP) in La Paz County, Arizona, United States. The population was 662 at the 2010 census. Geography Parker Strip is located in the northwest corner of La Paz County. It lies along the Colorado River a ...

, in

La Paz County, Arizona La Paz County () is the 15th County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Arizona, located in the western part of the state. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, its population was 16,557, making it the List of counties ...

History

Empire Flat was the steamboat landing, 10 miles above Parker's Landing on the Colorado River. This landing was for the Empire Flat Mines of the Bill Williams Mining District and its mining camp, in the

Buckskin Mountains The Buckskin Mountains is a mountain range in La Paz County, Arizona, United States. The range lies just east of the north–south Colorado River, and borders south of the east–west, west-flowing Bill Williams River. Description The range i ...

above the landing, in what was then Yuma County, Arizona Territory. The landing, mining camp and mines are shown in an 1866 map made by Edward Fairman, of the Martin & Company properties at Empire Flat and its mines, Aubrey City, along the

Bill Williams River The Bill Williams River is a river in west-central Arizona where it, along with one of its tributaries, the Santa Maria River, form the boundary between Mohave County to the north and La Paz County to the south.''Arizona Atlas & Gazetteer,'' ...

and at the Mineral Hill Mines. The map shows the Empire Flat Mines where 9.2 miles by land south of Aubrey City, 10 miles to Empire Flat landing by the river. The 1866 map shows Empire Flat landing had a camp, a corral and an Ore House, and Mexican packers camp in its 160-acre bounds. Besides the camp, the mine had ore furnaces, blacksmith and engine house. Later in the 1870s the landing had a five-stamp mill, to crush the gold-bearing copper ore, in a two-story open structure, a mess hall and a few huts for the mill hands. Richard E. Lingenfelter, Steamboats on the Colorado River, 1852-1916, University of Arizona Press, Tucson, 1978
The mines in this district were worked from the early 1860s into recent times.
from mindat.org accessed June 27, 2015 But the last steamboats called at the landing in 1905 after the Arizona and California Railway arrived and bridged the Colorado River at nearby Parker, Arizona.

The site today

The site of the Empire Flat landing is within Parker Strip under the modern resorts there.

References

External links

Official Map Of The Territory Of Arizona, With All The Recent Explorations. Compiled by Richard Gird C.E. Commissioner. Approved By John N. Goodwin, Governor. In Accordance With An Act Of The Legislature, Approved Oct. 23d. 1864. We hereby certify that this is the Official Map of the Territory of Arizona, and approve the same. Prescott October 12th 1865. (with signed seal dated 1863). Published By A. Gensoul, Pacific Map Depot. No. 511 Montgomery St. San Francisco. Lith. Britton & Co. San Francisco. Accessed from www.davidrumsey.com, December 1, 2014.
Shows location of Aubrey City, the Williams Fork District and other landings, settlements and the mining districts along the Colorado River and the interior of the territory in 1865. {{La Paz County, Arizona Ghost towns in Arizona Former populated places in La Paz County, Arizona Port cities and towns in Arizona