Miami ( Western Apache: Goshtłʼish Tú) is a town in Gila 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. Miami is a classic Western copper boom-town. Miami's old downtown has been partly renovated, and the Bullion Plaza Museum features the cultural, mining and ranching history of the Miami area. According to the 2010 Census, the population of the town was 1,837.

Geography

Miami is located at 33°23.8'N 110°52.3'W (33.396, -110.872). 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 town has a total area of , all land. Miami is adjacent to

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, and near the San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation. Miami, Globe, and the unincorporated areas nearby (including Inspiration, Claypool and Central Heights-Midland City) are commonly called Globe-Miami. The town is located on the northeastern slope of the Pinal Mountains, and is surrounded (except to the east) by the Tonto National Forest. It is located on U.S. Route 60 and is served by the Arizona Eastern Railway.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 1,936 people, 754 households, and 493 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 930 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 74.7%

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, 1.0%

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 ...

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, 1.5% Native American, 0.1% Asian, 20.4% from other races, and 2.3% from two or more races. 54.4% of the population were

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. There were 754 households, out of which 31.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.7% were married couples living together, 16.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.5% were non-families. 31.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.57 and the average family size was 3.21. In the town, the age distribution of the population was 29.7% under the age of 18, 8.3% from 18 to 24, 24.0% from 25 to 44, 20.9% from 45 to 64, and 17.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.6 males. Copper mining accounts for the largest number of jobs in Miami. According to the 2002 annual report of the Arizona State Mine Inspector, Freeport-McMoRan employed nearly 600 at its Miami operations, including 330 at the smelter and 187 at the mine. The median income for a household in the town was $27,196, and the median income for a family was $30,625. Males had a median income of $28,250 versus $18,026 for females. The per capita income for the town was $13,674. About 20.5% of families and 23.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 28.7% of those under age 18 and 19.7% of those age 65 or over.

Mining

The Miami mine is owned and operated by Freeport-McMoRan. Mining began in 1911 as the Inspiration mine, and the nation's first froth flotation copper concentrator to process sulfide minerals was built and began production in 1915. Inspiration was among the first to employ vat leaching in 1926 and precipitation plants to recover oxide minerals. Copper was mined underground until after World War II, when the first open-pit mining began. The plant's

smelter Smelting is a process of applying heat and a chemical reducing agent to an ore to extract a desired base metal product. It is a form of extractive metallurgy that is used to obtain many metals such as iron, copper, silver, tin, lead and zin ...

was modernized in 1974 to meet Clean Air Act standards and further modernized and expanded in 1992. The success of a solvent extraction and electrowinning plant commissioned in 1979 ended vat leaching by the mid-1980s, and the concentrator closed in 1986 as well. The copper rod mill was commissioned in 1966.Miami mine
at Freeport-McMoRan. Accessed June 23, 2018. Copper mining was suspended in September 2015. Leaching/SX-EW operations will continue but are expected to decline over time. The Miami smelter and rod plant continue to operate. In 2016, copper production at Miami amounted to 25 million pounds of copper. In 2017, copper production was 19 million pounds, and more than 740 people were employed there. The Pinto Valley mine is also located near Miami.

Transportation

The Town of Miami operates the Cobre Valley Community Transit, which provides local bus service in Miami and

. Greyhound Lines serves Miami on its Phoenix- El Paso via Globe route. The Miami stop serves Globe.

Notable people

* John E. Bacon, state senator in 2nd Arizona State Legislature * Romana Acosta Bañuelos – Treasurer of the United States under

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 until Resignation of Richard Nixon, his resignation in 1974. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...

* Joe Castro – jazz pianist * Jack Elam – actor, partly known for having lazy-eye, who was inducted into the Hall of Great Western Performers * Brady Ellison – American archery Olympian, winner of individual bronze medal at the 2016 Olympic Games, multiple World Cup Gold medalist * Matt Pagnozzi –

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player for the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. Since , the team ...

* Rueben Martinez – activist and MacArthur Fellow * Felix L. Sparks – American military commander who led the first Allied force to enter Dachau concentration camp and liberate its prisoners, chronicled in the Netflix series '' The Liberator'' * Esteban Edward Torres – ambassador and politician * Richard F. Pedersen – United States Ambassador to Hungary, President of the

American University of Cairo The American University in Cairo (AUC; ) is a private research university in New Cairo, Egypt. The university offers American-style learning programs at undergraduate, graduate, and professional levels, along with a continuing education program. ...

* Manuel V. Mendoza – World War II

Medal Of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, military decoration and is awarded to recognize American United States Army, soldiers, United States Navy, sailors, Un ...

Recipient, U.S. Army * Alfredo Gutierrez – politician and Arizona State Senate majority leader * Nancy Gonzales - first woman of color to be appointed Provost and Executive Vice President of

Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public university, public research university in Tempe, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 as Territorial Normal School by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, the university is o ...

Climate

Miami has a

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 se ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

: ''BSh'').

Gallery

File:Quartz-Chrysocolla-120812.jpg, Chrysocolla and quartz specimen from the Live Oak mine above Miami. Live Oak is famous among mineral collectors for this mineral combination. File:Sullivan Street Glass & Antiqueables (Miami, AZ).jpg, One of many antique shops located in downtown Miami File:Inspiration Ave Bloody Tanks bridge from N 1.JPG, One of five Luten arch bridges spanning Bloody Tanks Wash in downtown Miami

References

External links

The Globe & Miami Gazette

Bullion Plaza Cultural Center & Museum

Miami photos and information at Western Mining History

{{authority control Towns in Gila County, Arizona