Patagonia, Arizona

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Patagonia is a town in Santa Cruz County, Arizona, United States. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 913.<ref name ="wwwcensusgov">Template:Cite web</ref> It developed in the mid-19th century as a trading and supply center for nearby mines and ranches. In the 21st century, it is a tourist destination, retirement community, and arts and crafts center.

Geography

The town is located in the valley of Sonoita Creek between the Santa Rita Mountains to the north and the Patagonia Mountains to the south. State Route 82 passes through the town. Nogales lies to the southwest and Sonoita to the northeast.

The former mining camps (now ghost towns) of Harshaw, Duquesne and Lochiel lie to the southeast along the eastern margin of the Patagonia Mountains. The high San Rafael Valley also lies to the southeast. Patagonia Lake State Park, around Patagonia Lake, lies about six miles southwest of the town.<ref>Arizona Atlas & Gazetteer, DeLorme, 4th ed., 2001 Template:ISBN</ref>

Most of the soils are calcareous silty clay loams (Pima series), with calcareous sandy loam of the Comoro series and noncalcareous sandy loam of the Caralampi series also present.<ref>https://casoilresource.lawr.ucdavis.edu/gmap/SoilWeb Template:Dead link</ref>

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of Template:Convert, all land.

History

The area where Patagonia is located provided Native-American communities, with plentiful hunting and fishing opportunities. Archaeologists have identified the remains of Native American settlements, resource processing sites, and petroglyphs in the area surrounding Patagonia. The area was known as a Tohono O'odham ranchería, or seasonal village, called Sonoitac.<ref name="H">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="TOP">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="WMH">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="AH">Template:Cite web</ref>

In 1539, Spanish explorer Fray Marcos de Niza entered the area near Lochiel on the Mexican border.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He continued on his journey to Zuni Pueblo, New Mexico also known as the Seven Cities of Cibola. Marcos de Niza is credited with being the first European in what is now the State of Arizona.<ref>Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Marcos de Niza". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.</ref> The main Native American tribes in the area at that time were the Sobaipuri and Papago (Tohono O'odham).<ref name="H"/><ref name="TOP"/><ref name="WMH"/><ref name="AH"/>

In 1692, Father Eusebio Francisco Kino came to the area as a missionary. His main objective was to convert the natives to Catholicism. The area became part of his Mission Los Santos Ángeles de Guevavi. By 1698, Father Kino encouraged his group to make their way up to Sonoita Creek. When they arrived in Sonoita Creek they encountered groups of indigenous people living along the area in which the creek was located. In the future that area would become known as Patagonia.<ref name="H"/><ref name="TOP"/><ref name="WMH"/><ref name="AH"/>

According to Gilbert Quiroga, president of the Patagonia Museum, Welsh miners came to this region from Patagonia, a region encompassing the vast southernmost tip of South America, shared by Argentina and Chile, divided by the Andes mountains. The mountains in this area of Arizona, which the Native Americans called Chihuahuillas, reminded the miners of the Andes, and they began calling them the Patagonia Mountains.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="H"/><ref name="TOP"/><ref name="WMH"/><ref name="AH"/>

The mission period was ended in 1768 by a decree of Charles III of Spain.<ref name="BH">Template:Cite web</ref> In 1821, the Mexican War of Independence between Mexico and Spain came to an end and the territory of New Spain, which included Arizona, was ceded to Mexico.<ref name="TN">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="DUSA">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="BHB">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="H"/><ref name="TOP"/><ref name="WMH"/><ref name="AH"/>

By the mid-1850s prospectors were mining the silver-rich mountains east of Sonoita. By the 1860s vast amounts of silver and lead were retrieved from the Patagonia Mountains each year. In 1854, the United States purchased the region from Mexico in what is known as the Gadsden Purchase. Americans of European descent from the East Coast of the United States began to arrive in the area. They were protected from the constant attacks of the Apaches by the United States Military. However, The majority of the troops were withdrawn from the area upon the outbreak of the American Civil War. Fort Buchanan, a small garrison established in 1856 near Sonoita, was overrun by the Apaches.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite web</ref> Thus, the miners, ranchers and farmers in the region were without protection from the Apaches and many of them moved to other areas.<ref name="H"/><ref name="TOP"/><ref name="WMH"/><ref name="AH"/>

The Civil War between the North (the Union) and the South (the Confederacy) ended in 1865. In 1867, the United States Army established a military post called Camp Crittenden close to Sonoita. The camp, which later was renamed Fort Crittenden, was involved in a campaign against the Apache with the intention of protecting the American pioneers in the area.<ref name=":0" /> The miners, ranchers and farmers returned to the area once more.<ref name="H"/><ref name="TOP"/><ref name="WMH"/><ref name="AH"/>

Rollin Rice Richardson, a veteran of the Civil War, made a fortune in mining. In 1896, Rollin hired J.C. Green, a surveyor from Tucson, to plot the settlement. As a result, he founded the town that same year and in 1899, he applied to open a post office. Richardson wanted the town to be named "Rollin" in his honor, however the residents of the area opposed. They petitioned the United States Post Master General to name the town Patagonia after the nearby mountain. Patagonia was recognized as the official name of the town in 1900 by the United States Postal Office Department in Washington, D.C.<ref name="H"/><ref name="TOP"/><ref name="WMH"/><ref name="AH"/>

That same year, a two-story railroad depot was built and Patagonia became the commercial center of the mining district in the Santa Cruz County. The ranching and cattle industry also played an important role in the economy of Patagonia. The arrival of the New Mexico and Arizona Railroad to Patagonia gave the ranchers and miners a new outlet for their products and access to manufactured goods.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name="H"/><ref name="TOP"/><ref name="WMH"/><ref name="AH"/>

By 1917, Patagonia had running water, an Opera House, three hotels, a schoolhouse, two parks and several stores and saloons. Richardson practically ruled the town until his death in 1923. Patagonia was formally incorporated in 1948.<ref name="H"/><ref name="TOP"/><ref name="WMH"/><ref name="AH"/> The railroad was abandoned in 1962.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Template:Clear

Demographics

File:Patagonia Hotel.jpg

Patagonia's Commercial Hotel in 1937.

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Historic railroad depot built in 1900.

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At the 2000 census there were 881 people, 404 households, and 239 families in the town. The population density was Template:Convert. There were 498 housing units at an average density of Template:Convert. The racial makeup of the town was 86% White, 1% Native American, <1% Asian, 11% from other races, and 2% from two or more races. 39.5% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.<ref name="GR2">Template:Cite web</ref> Of the 404 households 23% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47% were married couples living together, 9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41% were non-families. 35% of households were one person and 15% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.2 and the average family size was 2.8.

The age distribution was 21% under the age of 18, 5% from 18 to 24, 20% from 25 to 44, 32% from 45 to 64, and 21% 65 or older. The median age was 47 years. For every 100 females there were 87.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.9 males.

The median household income was $25,795 and the median family income was $31,000. Males had a median income of $25,625 versus $24,844 for females. The per capita income for the town was $15,325. About 18% of families and 25% of the population were below the poverty line, including 36% of those under age 18 and 17% of those age 65 or over.

As of 2010 Patagonia had a population of 913. The racial and ethnic composition of the population was 56% non-Hispanic white, less than 1% African American, less than 2% Native American, less than 1% non-Hispanics reporting some other race, 1% reporting two or more races and 42% Hispanic or Latino.<ref>2010 population chart for Patagonia</ref>