Naco is a

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) located in Cochise 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. Naco had a recorded population of 1,046 at the 2010 United States Census. Located directly across the

United States–Mexico border United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two f ...

from its sister city of

Naco, Sonora Naco is a Mexican town in Naco Municipality located in the northeast part of Sonora state on the border with the United States. It is directly across from the unincorporated town of Naco, Arizona. The name Naco comes from the Opata language an ...

, Naco is best known for an accidental 1929 air raid and is the first and only municipality in the Continental United States to have been aerially bombed by foreigners.

History

The present-day unincorporated town of Naco, Arizona, was established in the early 20th century. The area was originally settled by the Nahua and Opata Indians. ''Naco'' means " nopal cactus" in the Opata language. The U.S. Congress officially established Naco as a

Port of Entry In general, a port of entry (POE) is a place where one may lawfully enter a country. It typically has border control, border security staff and facilities to check passports and visas and to inspect luggage to assure that contraband is not impo ...

on June 28, 1902. Today, the Naco port of entry is open 24 hours per day. Occasionally the people on both sides of the border use the border fence as the net in a

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

game.

1929 air raid

The accidental 1929 Bombing of Naco by Irish-American mercenary Patrick Murphy is notable for being the first and only instance where a town in the Continental United States was bombed by aircraft working for a foreign power. The 1942 Lookout Air Raids, when a Japanese

floatplane A floatplane is a type of seaplane with one or more slender floats mounted under the fuselage to provide buoyancy. By contrast, a flying boat uses its fuselage for buoyancy. Either type of seaplane may also have landing gear suitable for land, ...

pilot made two unsuccessful attempts to start forest fires in rural

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

, and the 1944-45 unmanned Fu-Go Fire balloon attacks, also by the Japanese, are the only other cases of the Continental United States enduring aerial bombing by a foreign power. Such events are exceptionally rare in American history because during 20th century conflicts, most notably

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the continental United States escaped the large-scale aerial bombings that devastated many Asian and European cities. The background to the bombing of Naco started in early 1929, when José Gonzalo Escobar led a

rebellion Rebellion is an uprising that resists and is organized against one's government. A rebel is a person who engages in a rebellion. A rebel group is a consciously coordinated group that seeks to gain political control over an entire state or a ...

against the government of

Emilio Portes Gil Emilio Cándido Portes Gil (; 3 October 1890 – 10 December 1978) was a Mexican politician, lawyer and diplomat who served as the 48th President of Mexico from 1928 to 1930, one of three to serve out the six-year term of President-elect Gener ...

. Mexican federal troops dug in around Naco, Patrick Murphy was an aviator who owned his own bi-winged airplane and performed tricks with it. Murphy decided to help the rebels by offering to build homemade bombs and drop them on federal positions. His offer was accepted by the rebels, who promised a reward. Three of his bombs inadvertently landed on the Arizona side of the border, hitting various buildings in Naco.

Geography

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 CDP has a total area of , all land.

Attractions

Naco was home to the Turquoise Valley Golf Course, the oldest continuously operated golf course in Arizona—the first to reach 100 continuous years of age. It was purchased from long time owner Pete Lawson by HGM Golf Enterprises in May 2015. The ownership changed hands three more times when Joseph Lewis, a real estate developer from Phoenix, in June 2018. The course was permanently closed in June 2019.

Demographics

As of the U.S. 2010 census, there were 1046 people, 334 households, and 284 families residing in the CDP. The population density was . The racial makeup of the CDP was 62.8%

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 ...

, 0.67% Native American, 33.7% from other races, and 2.88% from two or more races. 83.9% 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 334 households, out of which 146 had children under the age of 18 living with them. In the CDP, the age distribution of the population shows 40.5% under the age of 18, 5.9% from 18 to 24, 11% from 25 to 34, 15.8% from 35 to 49, 15% from 50 to 64, and 11.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The population of Naco, by 2010 census estimates, is 48.7% male, 51.3% female. According to the 2000 census, the median income for a household in the CDP was $22,045, and the median income for a family was $25,227. Males had a median income of $21,923 versus $15,882 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 $9,169. About 33.0% of families and 34.2% 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 46.1% of those under age 18 and 25.4% of those age 65 or over.

Prehistoric Naco

The Naco-Mammoth Kill Site is located near Naco. Excavations from this archeological site in the 1950s revealed mammoth bones with embedded Clovis points, providing evidence of the hunting activities of

Paleo-Indians Paleo-Indians were the first peoples who entered and subsequently inhabited the Americas towards the end of the Late Pleistocene period. The prefix ''paleo-'' comes from . The term ''Paleo-Indians'' applies specifically to the lithic period in ...

some 13,000 years ago.

Fort Naco

Fort Naco Fort Naco, Camp Naco, or Fort Newell began as a camp in the Southwest United States, on the outskirts of Naco, Arizona as part of the Mexican Border Project. Over time adobe and wooden buildings were constructed to house the garrison along wi ...

is a former military post on the outskirts of Naco. Subsequent to

Pancho Villa Francisco "Pancho" Villa ( , , ; born José Doroteo Arango Arámbula; 5 June 1878 – 20 July 1923) was a Mexican revolutionary and prominent figure in the Mexican Revolution. He was a key figure in the revolutionary movement that forced ...

raid RAID (; redundant array of inexpensive disks or redundant array of independent disks) is a data storage virtualization technology that combines multiple physical Computer data storage, data storage components into one or more logical units for th ...

Columbus, New Mexico Columbus is an incorporated village in Luna County, New Mexico, United States, about north of the Mexican border. It is considered a place of historical interest, as the scene of a 1916 attack by Mexican general Francisco "Pancho" Villa that ...

, in 1916, Fort Naco was a staging area for American troops protecting the border. It was the headquarters of the 1st Infantry Regiment of the Arizona National Guard.

Transportation

The Bisbee Bus provides transportation from Naco to Bisbee.

References

External links

Naco history and prehistory
by

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an List of federal agencies in the United States, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, within the US Department of the Interior. The service manages all List ...

(English & Spanish) {{authority control Census-designated places in Cochise County, Arizona Census-designated places in Arizona Mexico–United States border crossings 1902 establishments in Arizona Territory