Chloride, Arizona

Chloride is a onetime silver mining camp in Mohave County, Arizona, United States, and is considered the oldest continuously inhabited mining town in the state.[4] The town is a census-designated place (CDP), with a population at the 2020 census of 229.[3] Chloride has a ZIP Code of 86431.

Chloride, Arizona
Census-designated place
Chloride town center
Chloride town center
Location in Mohave County, Arizona
Location in Mohave County, Arizona
Chloride is located in Arizona
Chloride
Chloride
Chloride is located in the United States
Chloride
Chloride
Coordinates: 35°24′52″N 114°11′58″W
CountryUnited States
StateArizona
CountyMohave
Founded1863
Area
[1]
 • Total1.51 sq mi (3.90 km2)
 • Land1.51 sq mi (3.90 km2)
 • Water0.00 sq mi (0.00 km2)
Elevation
[2]
4,022 ft (1,226 m)
Population
 (2020)[3]
 • Total229
 • Density151.96/sq mi (58.67/km2)
Time zoneUTC-7 (MST (no DST))
ZIP code
86431
FIPS code04-12910

The town is located on the southwest flank of the Cerbat Mountains, 23 miles (37 km) northwest of Kingman, the Mohave county seat. Grasshopper Junction is 4 miles (6 km) to the west on U.S. Route 93.[5]

History
  • Arizona Central Bank building
    Arizona Central Bank building
  • Rail route in 1930
    Rail route in 1930

Prospectors first located mineral resources in the area in the 1840s, including silver, gold, lead, zinc, and turquoise. Chloride was founded about 1863, but mining was not widespread until the 1870s, after a treaty was signed with the Hualapai Indians. The Arizona and Utah Railway, running to the site from Kingman, was inaugurated on August 16, 1899 – the last silver spike was driven by Miss May Krider.[6] The town eventually grew to a peak of around 5,000 inhabitants, and at one time Chloride was the county seat. By 1917 the population had fallen to 2,000, and by 1944 it was nearly a ghost town. A small grave-yard remains just west of town.[7]

American author Louis L'Amour visited Chloride sometime between 1927 and 1929 after the Weepah, Nevada, goldrush, where he had bought, and then sold, a claim for $50. During his visit the town of Chloride caught fire. L'Amour assisted the town citizens in a bucket brigade that ultimately failed to stop most of the town from burning to the ground.[8]

Chloride's population was 135 in the 1960 census.[9]

Historical population
CensusPop.Note%±
1960135—
2020229—
U.S. Decennial Census[10]

Climate

According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Chloride has a cold desert climate, abbreviated "BWk" on climate maps.[11]

Panoramic view of Chloride

References
  1. "2021 U.S. Gazetteer Files: Arizona". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved May 19, 2022.
  2. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Chloride
  3. "Chloride CDP, Arizona: 2020 DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171)". U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved May 19, 2022.
  4. "Chloride History". Chloride Chamber of Commerce. Archived from the original on February 3, 2015. Retrieved September 3, 2007.
  5. Arizona Atlas & Gazetteer, DeLorme, 4th edition, 2001, p. 28 ISBN 0899333257
  6. Arizona: Weekly Republican, Aug 17, 1899; Mohave County Miner, Kingman, Aug 19, 1899.
  7. Varney, Philip (1980). "Mohave Ghosts". Arizona's Best Ghost Towns. Flagstaff: Northland Press. pp. 52–53. ISBN 0873582179. LCCN 79-91724.
  8. Education of a Wandering Man, Bantam Books 1990, ISBN 978-0553286526
  9. "Arizona". World Book Encyclopedia. Vol. A. Chicago: Field Enterprises Educational Corporation. 1960. p. 557.
  10. "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2016.
  11. "Chloride, Arizona Köppen Climate Classification (Weatherbase)". Weatherbase.

Further reading
  • Paher, Stanley W.; Purcell, Roy E.; Kinsey, Charles (1978). Chloride: Mines and Murals. Las Vegas: Nevada Publications. OCLC 4205391.
Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Chloride.
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