Many Farms, Arizona Explained

Official Name:Many Farms, Arizona
Settlement Type:Census-designated place
Mapsize:250px
Pushpin Map:USA
Pushpin Map Caption:Location in the United States
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Type1:State
Subdivision Type2:County
Subdivision Name:United States
Subdivision Name1:Arizona
Subdivision Name2:Apache
Area Total Km2:21.18
Area Total Sq Mi:8.18
Area Land Km2:21.12
Area Land Sq Mi:8.15
Area Water Km2:0.06
Area Water Sq Mi:0.03
Elevation Ft:5319
Population As Of:2020
Population Total:1243
Population Density Km2:58.86
Population Density Sq Mi:152.46
Timezone:MST
Utc Offset:-7
Coordinates:36.36°N -109.6281°W
Postal Code Type:ZIP code
Postal Code:86538
Area Code:928
Area Code Type:Area code
Blank Name:FIPS code
Blank Info:04-44200
Blank1 Name:GNIS feature ID
Blank1 Info:2408169
Unit Pref:Imperial
Area Footnotes:[1]
Native Name:Dáʼákʼeh Halání

Many Farms (Navajo; Navaho: {{spell-nv|Dáʼákʼeh Halání) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Apache County, Arizona, United States. The population was 1,348 at the 2010 census.[2]

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 21.2km2, of which 21.1sqkm is land and 0.1sqkm, or 0.3%, is water.[2]

Climate

According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Many Farms has a semi-arid climate, abbreviated "BSk" on climate maps.[3]

History

Many Farms is an English translation of the Navajo name of the area and is descriptive. The farms became fully irrigated in 1937.[4]

From 1952 to 1962, the Many Farms community was the location of two major medical experiments led by Walsh McDermott. The goal of the first experiment was to test the efficacy of the drug isoniazid as a treatment for tuberculosis (TB), which was then widespread and largely fatal among the Navajo despite the availability of TB medication elsewhere in the country. McDermott chose the reservation because he needed a population that had not been previously exposed to streptomycin, then the most advanced treatment for TB. While McDermott's initial TB experiment was a success, his second experiment, in which he attempted a more broad-based healthcare intervention, failed to meaningfully reduce disease morbidity and mortality among the Navajo due to conflicts with the Indian Health Service, as well as the experiment's inability to address poverty, which was the underlying cause of most disease.[5]

Demographics

As of the census[6] of 2000, there were 1,548 people, 433 households, and 313 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 188.2sp=usNaNsp=us. There were 606 housing units at an average density of 73.7sp=usNaNsp=us. The racial makeup of the CDP was 88.4% Native American, 7.8% White, 0.3% Black or African American, 0.1% Asian, 0.3% from other races, and 3.0% from two or more races. 2.1% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 433 households, out of which 48.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.6% were married couples living together, 23.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.7% were non-families. 24.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 2.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.58 and the average family size was 4.39.

In the CDP, the age distribution of the population shows 42.4% under the age of 18, 9.6% from 18 to 24, 26.7% from 25 to 44, 18.2% from 45 to 64, and 3.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 23 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.8 males.

The median income for a household in the CDP was $30,089, and the median income for a family was $31,316. Males had a median income of $32,566 versus $25,945 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $9,995. About 28.2% of families and 31.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 37.9% of those under age 18 and 53.6% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Many Farms is a part of the Chinle Unified School District.[7]

Many Farms Public School (K–8), is in the area considered to be Many Farms. The district also operates Chinle High School.

In addition, the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE), formerly the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs's Office of Education Programs, operates the Many Farms High School (MFHS) in Many Farms.[8]

Many Farms Community School (MFCS), a tribally-controlled K-8 boarding school affiliated with the BIE, is in Many Farms.[9] It was previously known as the Chinle Boarding School and was in Chinle until 1976, although its name did not immediately change.[10] By 2012 the name changed to its current one.[11]

There was a Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) school called Many Farms Boarding School. From circa 1975 to 1979 the school had 11 principals. In 1979 it had 500 students.[12] The school had two classroom buildings, and the school spent $3 million in 1985 to have them renovated. By 1986 there were structural problems with these classroom buildings and administrators feared they would be unable to be repaired. That year there were 600 students.[13]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files. United States Census Bureau. October 29, 2021.
  2. Web site: Geographic Identifiers: 2010 Demographic Profile Data (G001): Many Farms CDP, Arizona. https://archive.today/20200212175712/http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/DEC/10_DP/G001/1600000US0444200. dead. February 12, 2020. U.S. Census Bureau, American Factfinder. April 19, 2013.
  3. http://www.weatherbase.com/weather/weather-summary.php3?s=402520&cityname=Many+Farms%2C+Arizona%2C+United+States+of+America&units= Climate Summary for Many Farms, Arizona
  4. Book: Byrd H. Granger. Arizona Place Names. December 5, 2011. 1960. University of Arizona Press. 15.
  5. Jones. David. The Health Care Experiments at Many Farms: The Navajo, Tuberculosis, and the Limits of Modern Medicine, 1952–1962. Bulletin of the History of Medicine. 2002. 76. 4. 749–790. 10.1353/bhm.2002.0186. 12446978.
  6. Web site: U.S. Census website. United States Census Bureau. January 31, 2008.
  7. Web site: School Districts Reference Map (2010 Census): Apache County, AZ. 2010 U.S. Census. U.S. Census Bureau. April 8, 2020. – Chinle USD is depicted on pages 1 and 2.
  8. "National Directory June 2015" (Archive). Bureau of Indian Education. p. 16/44. Retrieved on June 16, 2015.
  9. Web site: Many Farms Community School. Bureau of Indian Education. July 15, 2021.
  10. News: Chinle School in New Home. The Gallup Independent. Gallup, New Mexico. July 30, 1976. 3. - Clipping from Newspapers.com.
  11. Web site: Silversmith. Shondioin. Historian hopes to find artists from Chinle Boarding School. Navajo Times. December 13, 2012. July 15, 2021. [...]which has since been renamed to Many Farms Community School[...].
  12. News: Ivins. Molly. Molly Ivins. Management nightmare of BIA shows in problems with boarding schools. New York Times News Service. Rapid City Journal. Rapid City, South Dakota. February 4, 1979. 14. - Clipping from Newspapers.com.
  13. News: Donovan. Bill. Chinle school gets $10 million. Arizona Republic. Phoenix, Arizona. June 26, 1986. B2. - Clipping from Newspapers.com.