Fort Thomas ( apw, Gowąh Golgai Gohoshé) is a

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a 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 counterparts of incorporated places, such ...

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. Its population was 319 as of the 2020 census. The community has an elementary school and a high school. It is part of the Safford Micropolitan Statistical Area. Fort Thomas has a ZIP code of 85536.

Geography

Fort Thomas is at , at an elevation of 2822 feet above sea level.

Climate

Fort Thomas has a borderline

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 semi-ar ...

(Köppen ''BSh''/''BSk'') bordering upon an

arid 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 ...

(''BWh''/''BWk'') characterised by very hot summers and winters with mild days and cold nights. Although

frost Frost is a thin layer of ice on a solid surface, which forms from water vapor in an above-freezing atmosphere coming in contact with a solid surface whose temperature is below freezing, and resulting in a phase change from water vapor (a gas) ...

s are frequent during the winter, occurring on an average of 60.2 nights during December, January and February, snow is exceptionally rare with a median of zero and a mean of . Daily temperatures are comfortable during winter – only 5.6 days do not top – but heat up rapidly as summer approaches, with half of all days by May topping and 35.5 days topping during an average entire year. Rainfall is rare, with

monsoonal A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annual latitudinal oscill ...

storms much less frequent than higher up or further south. Easily the wettest month since records began in 1966 has been January 1993 when fell – the only other totals above over a single month being in October 1983 and in October 2000. The wettest calendar year has been 1978 with and the driest 1989 with .

Demographics

History

The earliest military presence in the area was former

Camp Goodwin Camp Goodwin, and Fort Goodwin, a historical locale, at an elevation of 2648 feet, located in Graham County, Arizona. History Camp Goodwin, then Fort Goodwin, was constructed in June 1864 by the California Volunteers, of the Union Army in Ariz ...

, constructed in 1864 and named for Arizona's first territorial governor,

John N. Goodwin John Noble Goodwin (October 18, 1824 – April 29, 1887) was a United States attorney and politician who served as the first Governor of Arizona Territory. He was also a Congressman from Maine and served as Arizona Territory's delegate to the Un ...

. The camp was abandoned after a short time due to failed buildings and malaria from a nearby spring. In 1876, the current site of the community was chosen as a "new post on the Gila," selected to replace Camp Goodwin during the

Apache Wars The Apache Wars were a series of armed conflicts between the United States Army and various Apache tribal confederations fought in the southwest between 1849 and 1886, though minor hostilities continued until as late as 1924. After the Mexic ...

. Initially, the site was named Camp Thomas in honor of

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

George Henry Thomas George Henry Thomas (July 31, 1816March 28, 1870) was an American general in the Union Army during the American Civil War and one of the principal commanders in the Western Theater. Thomas served in the Mexican–American War and later chose ...

. Until 1882 the area would be known by several names including Clantonville, Camp Thomas, Maxey and finally Fort Thomas. At its peak, the fort consisted of 27 buildings, all constructed by the occupants of the fort and made of adobe.

Malaria Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects humans and other animals. Malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, tiredness, vomiting, and headaches. In severe cases, it can cause jaundice, seizures, coma, or death. S ...

remained a problem throughout the occupation of the area, and led to Fort Thomas being called the "worst fort in the

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

." The fort also had no government funding until the year 1884. After the capture of

Geronimo Geronimo ( apm, Goyaałé, , ; June 16, 1829 – February 17, 1909) was a prominent leader and medicine man from the Bedonkohe band of the Ndendahe Apache people. From 1850 to 1886, Geronimo joined with members of three other Central Apache ba ...

in 1886, the Army gradually removed the troops stationed there until the fort was handed over to the

Department of the Interior The United States Department of the Interior (DOI) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government headquartered at the Main Interior Building, located at 1849 C Street NW in Washington, D.C. It is responsible for the mana ...

in 1891. The early town had a poor reputation, and was home to several houses of

prostitution Prostitution is the business or practice of engaging in Sex work, sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, n ...

and

saloons Saloon may refer to: Buildings and businesses * One of the bars in a traditional British pub * An alternative name for a bar (establishment) * Western saloon, a historical style of American bar * The Saloon, a bar and music venue in San Francisc ...

. Camp Thomas was to be the destination of the pay wagons involved in the

Wham Paymaster robbery The Wham Paymaster robbery ( ) was an armed robbery of a United States Army paymaster and his escort on May 11, 1889, in the Arizona Territory. Major Joseph W. Wham was transporting a payroll consisting of more than US$28,000 in gold and silver ...

of 1889. In 1895, the community grew significantly when the

Southern Pacific The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials- SP) was an American Class I railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was operated by various companies under the ...

railroad's construction in the area was halted due to native

Apache The Apache () are a group of culturally related Native American tribes in the Southwestern United States, which include the Chiricahua, Jicarilla, Lipan, Mescalero, Mimbreño, Ndendahe (Bedonkohe or Mogollon and Nednhi or Carrizaleño an ...

people refusing to let the railroad continue construction through their reservation. During this time, Fort Thomas also hosted a

Wells Fargo Wells Fargo & Company is an American multinational financial services company with corporate headquarters in San Francisco, California; operational headquarters in Manhattan; and managerial offices throughout the United States and intern ...

station.

Education

Fort Thomas-Southern Pacific Railroad Depot ruins-1864

Fort Thomas has its own unified school district, the

Fort Thomas Unified School District A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

that serves the community of Fort Thomas, as well as students from nearby

Bylas Bylas ( apw, Hago'teełe) is an Unincorporated area, unincorporated community and census-designated place in Graham County, Arizona, Graham County, Arizona, United States, located within the San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation. As of the 2010 Uni ...

. The school district operates the Fort Thomas Elementary School and the

Fort Thomas High School Fort Thomas High School is a high school serving grades 7–12 in Fort Thomas, Arizona. It is operated by the Fort Thomas Unified School District, which also operates an elementary school. Combined, the two schools have some 600 students; 93% of ...

Notable person

* Melvin Jones – Founder of

Lions Clubs International The International Association of Lions Clubs, more commonly known as Lions Clubs International, is an international non-political service organization established originally in 1916 in Chicago, Illinois, by Melvin Jones. It is now headquartere ...

Official history
from Fortthomas.org, retrieved 21 November 2008

References

{{authority control Unincorporated communities in Graham County, Arizona Safford, Arizona micropolitan area Populated places established in 1876

Thomas Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the Ap ...

Unincorporated communities in Arizona Census-designated places in Graham County, Arizona 1876 establishments in Arizona Territory