St. David 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, su ...

(CDP) in

Cochise County Cochise County () is a county in the southeastern corner of the U.S. state of Arizona. It is named after the Native American chief Cochise. The population was 125,447 at the 2020 census. The county seat is Bisbee and the most populous city is ...

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States. It is the list of U.S. states and territories by area, 6th largest and the list of U.S. states and territories by population, 14 ...

, United States. The population was 1,699 at the 2010 census.

History

St. David was established as a result of the

Mormon Battalion The Mormon Battalion was the only religious unit in United States military history in federal service, recruited solely from one religious body and having a religious title as the unit designation. The volunteers served from July 1846 to July ...

having earlier passed through the San Pedro River valley in 1846. One of the founders of St. David, Philemon C. Merrill, was a member of the battalion. The Mormon settlers of 1877 were part of a group that originally was to settle

Lehi, Arizona __NOTOC__ Lehi is a community within Mesa, Arizona. Lehi existed prior to the founding of Mesa, and was annexed by its much larger former neighbor in 1970. It is now the northern limit of central Mesa. Lehi is adjacent to the Salt River on the n ...

. The town was named after

David Patten Kimball David Patten Kimball (August 23, 1839 – November 21, 1883) was an early Mormon leader, one of the three young men of the Sweetwater handcart rescue. Kimball was born on August 23, 1839, in Nauvoo, Illinois the son of Heber C. Kimball and his ...

. The early St. David settlers played an important role in establishing the subsequent surrounding settlements, such as

Fort Huachuca Fort Huachuca is a United States Army installation, established on 3 March 1877 as Camp Huachuca. The garrison is now under the command of the United States Army Installation Management Command. It is in Cochise County in southeast Arizona, a ...

and Tombstone, as they did much of the logging in the

Huachuca Mountains The Huachuca Mountains are part of the Sierra Vista Ranger District of the Coronado National Forest in Cochise County in southeastern Arizona, approximately south-southeast of Tucson and southwest of the city of Sierra Vista. Included in this ar ...

to provide lumber for the construction of those locations. As a tight-knit

Mormon Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's death in 1844, the movement split into seve ...

community, St. David managed better than other small towns in Cochise County during the Great Depression. An influx of non-Mormons, principally from Oklahoma and

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

, took place when St. David became the site for

Civilian Conservation Corps The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a voluntary government work relief program that ran from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men ages 18–25 and eventually expanded to ages 17–28. The CCC was a major part o ...

Camp

SCS ScS (Sofa Carpet Specialist), is a home furnishings retailer in the United Kingdom, specialising in sofas, carpets and flooring, dining and occasional furniture. History ScS was established in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear in 1894, as a family own ...

-19-A from 1935 to 1940. Works included soil erosion and flood control projects. The first

natural gas Natural gas (also called fossil gas or simply gas) is a naturally occurring mixture of gaseous hydrocarbons consisting primarily of methane in addition to various smaller amounts of other higher alkanes. Low levels of trace gases like carbon ...

lines brought into Cochise County were brought into St. David.

Geography

St. David is located at (31.898039, -110.218034). According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy An economy is an area of th ...

, the CDP has a total area of , all land. The portion of

Arizona State Route 80 State Route 80 (SR 80) is a roughly arc-shaped highway lying in southeastern Arizona that, with New Mexico's State Road 80, is a relic of the old U.S. Route 80, now truncated from San Diego to Dallas. This segment of old US 80 was not closely p ...

that runs east-west through town uses the earlier Patten Street alignment, with the center of town located at the intersection of Patten and Miller Lane. The main crossings of the San Pedro River in St. David are at

Dragoon Wash Dragoon Wash, a stream tributary to the San Pedro River, in Cochise County, Arizona. It has its source just southwest of the town of Dragoon. It runs southwesterly to meet the San Pedro River. History Dragoon Wash originally appeared on an 185 ...

to the north west and Escalante Crossing to the south. The latter was known as upper crossing and was the site of a stagecoach station.

Climate

St. David has a

semi-arid 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- ...

climate (

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

: ''BSk'') with cool winters, hot summers, and large

diurnal temperature variation In meteorology, diurnal temperature variation is the variation between a high air temperature and a low temperature that occurs during the same day. Temperature lag Temperature lag is an important factor in diurnal temperature variation: peak ...

throughout the year.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 1,744 people, 666 households, and 462 families residing in the CDP. The population density was . There were 892 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the CDP was 93.0%

White White is the lightness, lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully diffuse reflection, reflect and scattering, scatter all the ...

, 0.4%

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ha ...

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

, 0.3%

Native American Native Americans or Native American may refer to: Ethnic groups * Indigenous peoples of the Americas, the pre-Columbian peoples of North and South America and their descendants * Native Americans in the United States * Indigenous peoples in Cana ...

, 0.5%

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, 0.2%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of Ocea ...

, 3.0% from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 2.6% from two or more races. 9.8% of the population were

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties for ...

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

of any race. There were 666 households, out of which 28.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.3% were married couples living together, 8.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.5% were non-families. 26.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 17.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.60 and the average family size was 3.16. In the CDP, the age distribution of the population shows 28.3% under the age of 18, 5.4% from 18 to 24, 18.2% from 25 to 44, 23.3% from 45 to 64, and 24.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.6 males. The median income for a household in the CDP was $30,840, and the median income for a family was $32,292. Males had a median income of $31,641 versus $21,339 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the CDP was $12,872. About 8.7% of families and 12.1% 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 13.6% of those under age 18 and 3.8% of those age 65 or over.

Education

In 1878 a

one-room school One-room schools, or schoolhouses, were commonplace throughout rural portions of various countries, including Prussia, Norway, Sweden, the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Spain. In most rural and s ...

house was built from stone, but it was destroyed in the

1887 Sonora earthquake The 1887 Sonora earthquake occurred at 22:13 UCT on 3 May in the Teras mountain range of northwestern Mexico. It was widely felt, with some damage being recorded up to from the epicenter in both Mexico and the United States. The earthquake had ...

. The 500-pound bell from that schoolhouse is now on display at the current school. In 1938 a brick school house was built, it still stands today and is on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artist ...

. It is one of the oldest standing structures in the area. The St. David School District is also the oldest in the San Pedro Valley. The annual San Pedro Valley Fair has been held at the St. David High School since 1934. In 2008 St. David held a celebration its 130 anniversary during the 75th San Pedro Valley Fair with a Town Reunion at the St. David School. Another popular cultural event held at the school is the annual 1880s Historic Costume Ball, which is patterned after a typical postbellum

Indian War Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

-era military ball.

Transportation

Benson Area Transit provides transportation to Benson two days a week.

Notable people

References

External links

St. David Unified School District
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint David, Arizona Census-designated places in Cochise County, Arizona Civilian Conservation Corps in Arizona Populated places in the San Pedro Valley (Arizona) 1877 establishments in Arizona Territory Populated places established in 1877