Tonto Basin 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) 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. The population was 1,424 at the 2010 United States Census, up from 840 in

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

. Within Tonto Basin is located in the

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

of Punkin Center.

History

The Pleasant Valley War (also sometimes called the Tonto Basin War or Feud) was an 1886 Arizona range war between two feuding families, the cattle-herding Grahams and the sheep-herding Tewksburys.

Geography

Tonto Basin is located in western Gila County at (33.839953, -111.284734), in the valley of Tonto Creek, a south-flowing tributary of the Salt River.

Arizona State Route 188 State Route 188 is a state highway located primarily in Gila County in the U.S. state of Arizona. Route description The route, also known as Apache Trail at its southern end, starts at U.S. Route 60 in Globe, just north of Claypool, and ...

passes through the community, leading southeast to

Globe A globe is a spherical Earth, spherical Model#Physical model, model of Earth, of some other astronomical object, celestial body, or of the celestial sphere. Globes serve purposes similar to maps, but, unlike maps, they do not distort the surface ...

, the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

, and north to Payson. 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 Tonto Basin CDP has a total area of , all land.

Demographics

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 840 people, 439 households, and 262 families residing in the CDP. The population density was . There were 726 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the CDP was 96.1%

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 ...

, 1.4% Native American, 0.9% from other races, and 1.6% from two or more races. 2.0% 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 439 households, out of which 9.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.0% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 7.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.3% were non-families. 33.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.91 and the average family size was 2.38. In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 10.4% under the age of 18, 3.6% from 18 to 24, 13.5% from 25 to 44, 39.9% from 45 to 64, and 32.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 58 years. For every 100 females, there were 107.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 103.0 males. The median income for a household in the CDP was $23,398, and the median income for a family was $29,091. Males had a median income of $30,125 versus $17,500 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 $15,157. About 15.9% of families and 18.3% 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 16.9% of those under age 18 and 12.3% of those age 65 or over.

Notable person

Frederick Russell Burnham Major (rank), Major Frederick Russell Burnham Distinguished Service Order, DSO (May 11, 1861 – September 1, 1947) was an American scout and world-traveling adventurer. He is known for his service to the British South Africa Company and to t ...

participated on the losing side in the Tonto Basin Feud of 1886 and narrowly escaped alive. After the feud, he went home to California and left for

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

only a few years later.

In popular culture

* ''Tonto Basin'' is a 1921 Western novel by Zane Grey about a feud between two families. * ''Tonto Basin Outlaws'' is a 1941 film based very loosely on the Tonto Basin Feud. Cowboys are out to stop a cattle-rustling scandal soon after they enlist with

Teddy Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. (October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), also known as Teddy or T.R., was the 26th president of the United States, serving from 1901 to 1909. Roosevelt previously was involved in New York politics, including serving as ...

's Rough Riders. In the real-life feud, one man did go on to join the Rough Riders. * '' To the Last Man (film)'' is a 1933

Henry Hathaway Henry Hathaway (March 13, 1898 – February 11, 1985) was an American film director and producer. He is best known as a director of Western (genre), Westerns, especially starring Randolph Scott and John Wayne. He directed Gary Cooper in seven f ...

film based on the Zane Grey novel starring Randolph Scott,

Esther Ralston Esther Ralston (born Esther Louise Worth, September 17, 1902 – January 14, 1994) was an American silent films, silent film star. Her most prominent sound picture was ''To the Last Man (1933 film), To the Last Man'' in 1933. Early life and c ...

, Buster Crabbe, Barton MacLane, Noah Beery,

Shirley Temple Shirley Temple Black (born Shirley Jane Temple; April 23, 1928 – February 10, 2014) was an American actress, singer, dancer, and diplomat, who was Hollywood's number-one box-office draw as a child actress from 1934 to 1938. Later, she was na ...

, and

Eugenie Besserer Eugenie Besserer ( – May 29, 1934) was a French-American actress who starred in silent films and features of the early sound motion-picture era, beginning in 1910. Her most prominent role is that of the title character's mother in the first ...

. * According to an NPR story on the Lone Ranger, Tonto Basin is the inspiration for

Tonto Tonto is a fictional character; he is the Native Americans in the United States, Native American (either Tonto Apache, Comanche, or Potawatomi) Friendship, companion of the Lone Ranger, a popular American Western (genre), Western character crea ...

, the Native American companion to the Lone Ranger.

References