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. According to the 2010 census, the population of the town was 662.
History
Hayden was founded in 1909 and owned by the Kennecott Copper Corp. In 1912, the company built a smelter named the "Hayden Smelter". It was the tallest smelter chimney in Arizona.Hayden Arizona all American mining town /ref> The mine is now owned by the American Smelting and Refining Company. The town is now in the process of becoming a ghost town.
One of the main reasons the people are abandoning the town is that the crime rate is much higher in Hayden than the Arizona average crime rate. It is also much higher than the national average crime rate in the rest of the United States.
Pollution is another factor which has contributed to the abandonment of the town by its residents. The illegal amounts of lead, arsenic and eight other dangerous compounds released by the smelter were so huge that in 2011, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) took action against the smelter.
Hayden's economy began to decline as the mine veins became depleted. The crime rate rose and residents began to move out. There were also political scandals. Businesses closed, and churches, schools and houses were abandoned or burned. The Valley National Bank abandoned its building, and it now occupied by the Hayden Police Department. According to the mayor, Bob Smith, Hayden has more police cars than police officers.
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 town has a total area of , all land.
Demographics
At the 2000 census there were 892 people, 288 households, and 222 families living in the town. The population density was . There were 334 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 57.0% White, 0.5% Black or African American, 1.7% Native American, 0.6% Pacific Islander, 35.1% from other races, and 5.3% from two or more races. 84.5% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
Of the 288 households, 31.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.5% were married couples living together, 13.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 22.9% were non-families. 21.5% of households were one person and 9.0% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 3.10 and the average family size was 3.56.
The age distribution was 33.2% under the age of 18, 9.0% from 18 to 24, 20.5% from 25 to 44, 23.2% from 45 to 64, and 14.1% 65 or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.6 males.
The median household income was $24,293 and the median family income was $26,964. Males had a median income of $35,521 versus $22,500 for females. The per capita income for the town was $9,797. About 20.1% of families and 27.3% 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 35.2% of those under age 18 and 14.9% of those age 65 or over.
Economy
The economic base of Hayden's economy is the Asarco Hayden Smelter.
Notable people
* Dick Tuck (1924–2018), politician consultant, was born in Hayden.'Dick Tuck, Democratic prankster who targeted Nixon, dies at 94,' The Washington Post, Tom Hamburger, May 29, 2018