Polaris is an American

ghost town A ghost town, deserted city, extinct town, or abandoned city is an abandoned settlement, usually one that contains substantial visible remaining buildings and infrastructure such as roads. A town often becomes a ghost town because the economi ...

in the northern part of

Yuma County, Arizona Yuma County is a County (United States), county in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Arizona, one of 15 List of counties in Arizona, counties in the state. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, its population was 203,881. ...

, in the

Kofa Mountains The Kofa Mountains (Yavapai: Wi:kasayeo) of Yuma and La Paz counties in Arizona is the central mountain range of the Kofa National Wildlife Refuge. The range lies about 60 miles northeast of Yuma in the southwestern part of the state. Kofa W ...

. Polaris was a settlement at the North Star Mine, in the Kofa District at the foot of the Polaris Mountain, in

Arizona Territory The Territory of Arizona, commonly known as the Arizona Territory, was a territory of the United States that existed from February 24, 1863, until February 14, 1912, when the remaining extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the ...

in 1909, the same year the gold and silver mine was discovered. Polaris was named for the

North Star Polaris is a star in the northern circumpolar constellation of Ursa Minor. It is designated α Ursae Minoris ( Latinized to ''Alpha Ursae Minoris'') and is commonly called the North Star or Pole Star. With an apparent magnitude t ...

and had a population of 150 residents in 1910. The post office was established there June 17, 1909. The mine was worked from 1907 until it played out in 1911 and the post office was discontinued July 31, 1914 as the town died.John and Lillian Theobald, Arizona Territory Post Offices & Postmasters, Arizona Historical Foundation, Phoenix, 1961, p.120

References

External links

Polaris from Ghosttowns.com accessed 12/24/2015

– Ghost Town of the Month at azghosttowns.com {{Yuma County, Arizona Ghost towns in Arizona Former populated places in Yuma County, Arizona