Editing Congress, Arizona

{{Short description|CDP in Yavapai County, Arizona}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2024}}
{{Infobox settlement
|official_name            = Congress, Arizona
|settlement_type          = [[Census-designated place|CDP]]
|image_skyline            = Congress_Arizona_Circa_1914.jpg
|imagesize                = 270px
|image_caption            = View of Congress and the mine, {{circa}}1914.
|image_map                = Yavapai_County_incorporated_areas_Congress_highlighted.svg
|mapsize                  = 250px
|map_caption              = Location in [[Yavapai County]] and the state of [[Arizona]]
|pushpin_map              = USA
|pushpin_map_caption      = Location in the United States
<!-- Location -->
|subdivision_type         = [[List of sovereign states|Country]]
|subdivision_type1        = [[U.S. state|State]]
|subdivision_type2        = [[List of counties in Arizona|County]]
|subdivision_name         = United States
|subdivision_name1        = [[Arizona]]
|subdivision_name2        = [[Yavapai County, Arizona|Yavapai]]
<!-- Government -->
|government_footnotes     = 
|government_type          =
|established_date         =
<!-- Area -->
|unit_pref                = Imperial
|area_footnotes           = <ref name="CenPopGazetteer2020">{{cite web|title=2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files|url=https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/2020_Gazetteer/2020_gaz_place_04.txt|publisher=United States Census Bureau|accessdate=October 29, 2021}}</ref>
|area_total_km2           = 97.83
|area_total_sq_mi         = 37.77
|area_land_km2            = 97.74
|area_land_sq_mi          = 37.74
|area_water_km2           = 0.09
|area_water_sq_mi         = 0.04
<!-- Population -->
|population_as_of         = [[2020 United States census|2020]]
|population_footnotes     =
|population_total         = 1811
|population_density_km2   = 18.53
|population_density_sq_mi = 47.99
<!-- General information -->
|timezone                 = [[Mountain Standard Time Zone|MST]]
|utc_offset               = -7
|elevation_ft             = 3002
|elevation_footnotes      = <ref name=gnis/>
|coordinates              = {{coord|34|09|10|N|112|53|05|W|region:US_type:city|display=inline,title}}
<!-- Area/postal codes and others -->
|postal_code_type         = [[ZIP code]]
|postal_code              = 85332
|area_code                = [[Area code 928|928]]
|blank_name               = [[Federal Information Processing Standard|FIPS code]]
|blank_info               = 04-15220
|blank1_name              = [[Geographic Names Information System|GNIS]] feature ID
|blank1_info              = 2407653<ref name=gnis>{{GNIS|2407653}}</ref>
|footnotes                =
}}
'''Congress''' (aka '''Old Congress''') is a [[census-designated place]] (CDP) in [[Yavapai County, Arizona|Yavapai County]], [[Arizona]], United States. Once a gold-mining center for the [[Congress Mine]] and then a [[ghost town]], Congress now serves as a retirement and [[bedroom community]] for nearby [[Wickenburg]]. The population was 1,811 at the [[2020 United States census|2020 census]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |year=2020 |title=Congress CDP, Arizona |url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/profile?g=1600000US0415220 |access-date=June 15, 2022 |website=United States Census Bureau}}</ref>

==History==
Gold was discovered at the [[Congress Mine]] in 1884. By 1893, the [[Santa Fe, Prescott and Phoenix Railway]] passed within three miles of the mine, at Congress Junction. Congress boomed, and remained prosperous until the mid-1930s, when the mines closed. Total gold production at the [[Congress Mine]] exceeded $8 million, at the then-current price of $20.67 per ounce – or about $400 million, at the 2007 price.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.sharlot.org/archives/history/dayspast/text/2000_01_30.shtml |title=Sharlot Hall Museum archives |access-date=May 8, 2008 |archive-date=October 13, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111013173549/http://www.sharlot.org/archives/history/dayspast/text/2000_01_30.shtml |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The post office moved to Congress Junction in 1938, where it remains. The community now known as Congress is the old Congress Junction. Little remains at the original mining-camp townsite. The old Congress Cemetery is nearby.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Varney |first1=Philip |title=Arizona's Best Ghost Towns |date=1980 |publisher=Northland Press |location=Flagstaff |isbn=0873582179 |pages=26–27 |chapter=Two: The Wickenburg Area |lccn=79-91724}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Heatwole |first=Thelma |title=Ghost Towns and Historical Haunts in Arizona |chapter=Congress: Gold in the Hills |year=1991 |orig-year=1951|publisher=American Traveler Press |location=Phoenix |isbn=978-0914846109 |pages=47–48}}</ref>

==Geography==

According to the [[United States Census Bureau]], the CDP has a total area of {{convert|37.7|sqmi|km2}}, of which {{convert|37.6|sqmi|km2}} is land and {{convert|0.04|sqmi|km2}} (0.08%) is water.

===Climate===
According to the [[Köppen Climate Classification]] system, Congress has a [[semi-arid climate]], abbreviated "BSk" on climate maps.<ref>[http://www.weatherbase.com/weather/weather-summary.php3?s=481820&cityname=Congress%2C+Arizona%2C+United+States+of+America&units= Climate Summary for Congress, Arizona]</ref>

==Demographics==
{{US Census population
|2020= 1811
|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census<ref name="DecennialCensus">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html|title=Census of Population and Housing|publisher=Census.gov|access-date=June 4, 2016}}</ref>
}}
At the 2020 census, there were 1,811 people and 801 households residing in Congress. The [[population density]] was 47.9 per square mile. There were 1,166 housing units at an average density of 30.9 per square mile.<ref name=":0" />

The racial makeup of the CDP was 86.7% [[Race (United States Census)|White]], 1.4% [[Race (United States Census)|Native American]], 0.7% [[Race (United States Census)|Asian]], 0.6% Black or [[African Americans|African American]], 3.8% from [[Race (United States Census)|other races]], and 6.6% from two or more races.  9.4% of the population were [[Race (United States Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Race (United States Census)|Latino]] of any race.<ref name=":0" />

There were 801 households, of which 11.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 68.2% were [[Marriage|married couples]] living together, 17.9% had a male householder with no spouse present, 14.0% had a female householder with no spouse present. The average household size was 2.09 and the average family size was 2.57.<ref name=":0" />

13.3% of the population were under the age of 18, 3.6% from 18 to 24, 13.3% from 25 to 44, 32.1% from 45 to 64, and 37.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 68.3 years.<ref name=":0" />

The [[median household income]] was $48,080 and the median family income was $57,675. About 9.8% of the population were below the [[poverty line]], including 19.4% of those under age 18 and 6.4% of those age 65 or over. The employment rate was 24.4%, and 12.7% of residents had a [[bachelor's degree]] or higher.<ref name=":0" />

==Education==
[[Congress Elementary School District]] operates a local [[K-8 school]]. The district sends high school students to [[Wickenburg High School]] of the [[Wickenburg Unified School District]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://congress.sharpschool.net/district|title=District|publisher=[[Congress Elementary School District]]|accessdate=January 28, 2022}}</ref> Students attended Wickenburg USD for all grade levels prior to 2001, when the Congress K-8 facility opened.<ref name=Gassen>{{cite news|last=Gassen|first=Sarah Garrecht|title=School volunteer pledges catch on|newspaper=[[Arizona Daily Star]]|place=[[Tucson, Arizona]]|date=September 2, 2001|pages=B1, B4, B5}} – [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/93902140/ Clipping of first], [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/93902195/ of second page], and [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/93902285/ of third page] at [[Newspapers.com]].</ref>

==Government and infrastructure==
The Congress Post Office, of the [[United States Postal Service]], opened in 2001.<ref name=Gassen/>

==Gallery==
<gallery widths="180px" class="center">
File:CongressLoco.jpg|[[H. K. Porter, Inc|Porter]] locomotive #873, in service near Congress in the early 1900s.
File:CongressExcursion.jpg|Congress residents on an excursion to [[Phoenix, Arizona|Phoenix]], {{circa|1905}}.
</gallery>

==See also==
{{Portal|Arizona}}
* [[Date Creek Mountains]]
* [[Stanton, Arizona]]
* [[Little Miss Nobody case]] – Sharon Lee Gallegos (1955–1960) whose murdered body was found in Congress

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{commons-inline}}
* [http://www.ghosttowns.com/states/az/congress.html Congress ghost town], includes photo gallery

{{Yavapai County, Arizona}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Census-designated places in Yavapai County, Arizona]]
[[Category:Census-designated places in Arizona]]
[[Category:Ghost towns in Arizona]]
[[Category:Gold mines in the United States]]
[[Category:Mining communities in Arizona]]