Editing Yuma County, Arizona (section)

==History==
Long settled by [[Native Americans in the United States|Native Americans]] of [[Indigenous peoples|indigenous cultures]] for thousands of years, this area was controlled by the [[Spanish Empire]] in the colonial era. In the 19th century, it was part of independent [[Mexico]] before the [[Mexican–American War]] and [[Gadsden Purchase]].

Yuma County was one of four original Arizona counties created by the [[1st Arizona Territorial Legislature]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Yuma County Sheriff's Office: History|url=https://www.yumacountysheriff.org/about-history.html|access-date=October 30, 2021|website=www.yumacountysheriff.org}}</ref> The county territory was defined as being west of longitude 113° 20' and south of the [[Bill Williams River]].<ref>{{cite book | last = Wagoner | first = Jay J. | title = Arizona Territory 1863–1912: A Political history | publisher = University of Arizona Press | location = Tucson | year = 1970 | isbn = 0816501769 | pages = [https://archive.org/details/arizonaterritory00wago/page/58 58] | url-access = registration | url = https://archive.org/details/arizonaterritory00wago/page/58 }}</ref> Its original boundaries remained the same until 1982, when [[La Paz County, Arizona|La Paz County]] was created from its northern half.

The original county seat was the city of La Paz; in 1871 it was moved to Arizona City, later renamed as Yuma in 1873.<ref>Walker, Henry (1986). ''Historical Atlas of Arizona,'' p. 32. University of Oklahoma Press, Norman. {{ISBN|978-0806120249}}</ref>{{dead link|date=July 2024}}