Colorado City, Arizona Explained

Official Name:Colorado City, Arizona
Settlement Type:Town
Mapsize:250px
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Name:United States
Subdivision Type1:State
Subdivision Name1:Arizona
Subdivision Type2:County
Subdivision Name2:Mohave
Government Type:Council–manager[1]
Leader Title:Mayor
Leader Name:Howard Ream
Established Title:Founded
Established Date:1913
Established Title1:Incorporated
Established Date1:September 1985
Unit Pref:Imperial
Area Footnotes:[2]
Area Total Km2:23.113
Area Land Km2:23.092
Area Water Km2:0.021
Area Total Sq Mi:8.924
Area Land Sq Mi:8.916
Area Water Sq Mi:0.008
Population As Of:2020
Population Est:2550
Pop Est As Of:2022
Population Total:2478
Population Density Km2:107.02
Population Density Sq Mi:269.41
Timezone:Mountain (MST)
Utc Offset:–7
Elevation M:1517
Elevation Ft:4977
Coordinates:36.9903°N -112.9758°W
Postal Code Type:ZIP Code
Postal Code:86021
Area Code:928
Blank Name:FIPS code
Blank Info:04-14870
Blank1 Name:GNIS feature ID
Blank1 Info:0003123
Blank2 Name:Sales tax
Blank2 Info:8.6%[3]

Colorado City is a town in Mohave County, Arizona, United States, and is located in a region known as the Arizona Strip. The population was 2,478 at the 2020 census.[4] At least three Mormon fundamentalist sects are said to have been based there.[5] A majority of residents and many local officials belong to the most prominent of these sects, the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, whose corporation also owned much of the land within and around the town until state intervention in the 2000s.

History

Colorado City, formerly known as "Short Creek" (or the Short Creek Community), was founded in 1913 by members of the Council of Friends, a breakaway group from the Salt Lake City–based Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). The Council of Friends membership desired a remote location where they could practice plural marriage, which had been publicly abandoned by the LDS Church in 1890. On July 26, 1953, Arizona Governor John Howard Pyle sent troops into the settlement to stop polygamy in what became known as the Short Creek raid.[6] The two-year legal battle that followed became a public relations disaster that damaged Pyle's political career and set a hands-off tone toward the town in Arizona for the next 50 years.

After the death of Joseph W. Musser, the community split into two groups: the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints stayed in Short Creek, while the Apostolic United Brethren relocated to Bluffdale, Utah. The FLDS changed the name of the community to Colorado City (on the Arizona side of the border) and Hildale (on the Utah side) to eliminate any ties to the Short Creek raids.

In January 2004, local FLDS fundamentalist leader Warren Jeffs expelled a group of 20 men, including the mayor, and gave their wives and children to other men.[7] Jeffs, now a convicted sexual predator, stated he was acting on the orders of God, while the men expelled claimed they were penalized for disagreeing with Jeffs. Observers stated that this was the most severe split to date within the community other than the split between Colorado City and Centennial Park. According to the Utah attorney general's office, this was not the first time Jeffs was accused of expelling men from the community; as many as 400 young men are estimated to have been expelled by Jeffs from 2001 to 2006. Most were removed for failing to follow Jeffs' rules, or for dating women without his permission. Many of these expelled men and boys were very naïve and sheltered and often wound up homeless in nearby towns such as Hurricane and St. George, Utah. Jeffs was placed on the FBI Ten Most Wanted list and eventually arrested on August 28, 2006.[8]

Most of the property in the town was owned by the United Effort Plan, a real estate trust of the FLDS.[9] In 2007, the state authorities began dismantling church ownership of Colorado City lands. The FLDS church retaliated and indoctrinated their followers against the state, believing they were being targeted because of their beliefs. The FLDS followers became further secluded as a result. Remaining FLDS members refuse to believe the charges against Jeffs.[10]

On April 6, 2010, law enforcement officials in Mohave County, Arizona, and Washington County, Utah, served five search warrants seeking records from town officers. The warrants were served on government officials and departments, including the Town Manager, David Darger, as well as Colorado City's fire chief Jacob Barlow. As a result of the initial warrants, the Hildale Department of Public Safety was shut down, and emergency responders were prohibited from responding to calls without the approval of county officials. Firefighter Glen Jeffs indicated that the warrants referenced "misuse of funds".[11] [12]

In response to a civil rights lawsuit by the United States Justice Department alleging that the Colorado City government, including law enforcement, was taking orders from the FLDS Church, Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne announced in July 2012 that he was allocating funding to allow the Mohave County Sheriff's Department to provide daily patrols in the town.[13]

On March 20, 2014, a jury hearing the case of Cooke et al v. Colorado City, Town of et al[14] ruled that the towns of Colorado City and Hildale had discriminated against Ronald and Jinjer Cooke because they were not members of the FLDS Church.[15] The Cookes were awarded $5.2 million for "religious discrimination". The Cooke family had moved to the Short Creek area in 2008 but were refused access to utilities by the towns of Colorado City and Hildale.[16] As a result of the ruling, Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne issued a press release stating that he "wants to eradicate discrimination in two polygamous towns" and believes that the court ruling will give him the tools to do it.[17]

Geography and climate

Colorado City is located in northeastern Mohave County at 36.9903°N -112.9758°W (36.99026, −112.97577) Its northern border is the Arizona–Utah state line, with the town of Hildale, Utah, to the north. Arizona State Route 389 passes through the center of town, leading east to Fredonia. To the north, Route 389 becomes Utah State Route 59, which leads northwest to Hurricane.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of, of which 0.008sqmi, or 0.07%, are water.

Colorado City has the typical cool semi-arid climate (Köppen BSk) of the interior Mountain West, with very warm to hot summers and cool to cold winters, typified by very large diurnal temperature ranges throughout most of the year. The hottest day on record was July 15, 2005, with 110F. Rainfall is lowest from April to June, but is never particularly high on average, though during strong extratropical low pressure systems, as much as 5inches may occasionally fall during a month.[18] The wettest year has been 1998 with 27.48inches, whilst the driest year has been 1956 with 4.76inches. Snowfall is relatively light; the most in a month was in January 1982 with 29inches and that winter had the most for a year with 46.5inches. The highest daily snow depth was however on February 2, 1979, with 13inches.

Demographics

2000 census

As of the 2000 census, there were 3,334 people, 444 households, and 417 families residing in the town. The population density was 317.3sp=usNaNsp=us. There were 457 housing units at an average density of 43.5sp=usNaNsp=us. The racial makeup of the town was 96.9% white, 0.2% black or African American, 0.1% Asian, 0.2% Pacific Islander, 1.8% from other races, and 0.9% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.9% of the population.

Of the 444 households, 83.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 85.8% were married couples living together, 3.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 5.9% were non-families. 4.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 1.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 7.51 and the average family size was 7.58. Colorado City had the fourth-highest household size in the nation, based on the 2012 5-Year American Community Survey count of an average household size of 8.04 people by zip code tabulation area.[19]

In the town, the population was spread out, with 60.4% under the age of 18, 11.4% from 18 to 24, 20.2% from 25 to 44, 6.3% from 45 to 64, and 1.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 14 years. For every 100 females, there were 102.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.3 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $32,826, and the median income for a family was $32,344. Males had a median income of $24,429 versus $22,969 for females. The per capita income for the town was $5,293. About 29.0% of families and 31.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 34.5% of those under age 18 and 6.3% of those age 65 or over.

The Colorado City/Hildale, Utah area has the world's highest incidence of fumarase deficiency, an extremely rare genetic condition which causes severe intellectual disability. Geneticists attribute this to the prevalence of cousin marriage between descendants of two of the town's founders, Joseph Smith Jessop and John Y. Barlow; at least half the area's roughly 8,000 inhabitants are descended from one or both.[20]

Government and infrastructure

The United States Postal Service operates the Colorado City, AZ/Hildale, UT Post Office in Colorado City.[21]

The town is policed by the Colorado City/Hilldale Police Department.[22]

The former Leroy S. Johnson Meetinghouse is now used as a local community center.[23]

Education

Colorado City is a part of the Colorado City Unified School District. There is only one school, the El Capitan School (formerly the Colorado City K–12 Public School), in Colorado City. Many FLDS-affiliated board members resigned due to the political takeover of the district.

The Arizona state government attempted to take over the district in 2005 due to mismanagement.[24] [25]

In addition to the district public school, there is a charter school, Masada Charter School, serving students in grades K–9. The charter school is outside of the Colorado City town limits in the community of Centennial Park.

The Mohave Community College North Mohave Campus is in Colorado City.[26]

Notable people

Twin city

Notes and References

  1. Web site: General Administration . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20200229044636/http://www.tocc.us/Administration/ . February 29, 2020 . December 26, 2019 . tocc.us.
  2. Web site: 2023 U.S. Gazetteer Files . July 24, 2022 . United States Census Bureau.
  3. Web site: Colorado City (AZ) sales tax rate . February 10, 2024.
  4. Web site: Explore Census Data . February 10, 2024 . United States Census Bureau.
  5. Krakauer, Jon. Under the Banner of Heaven", 2003. New York: Random House, p.10
  6. Web site: Kelly . David . January 27, 2004 . The Eyes of Outsiders Are Cast on a Polygamous Community . June 18, 2022 . Los Angeles Times . en-US.
  7. Web site: Duara . Nigel . March 10, 2016 . Polygamous sect's control of Utah and Arizona towns seems certain to end after jury's verdict . June 18, 2022 . Los Angeles Times . en-US.
  8. http://www.salon.com/mwt/feature/2006/07/06/lost_boys/index.html "The lost boys of Colorado City"
  9. Web site: Montero . David . July 5, 2018 . Once zealously controlled by a religious sect, a small town tries to rehab its image – with beer . June 18, 2022 . Los Angeles Times . en-US.
  10. News: Kenigsberg . Ben . November 24, 2021 . 'Keep Sweet' Review: A Legacy of Polygamy in a Religious Sect . June 18, 2022 . The New York Times . en-US . 0362-4331.
  11. News: Demasters, Tiffany . April 6, 2010 . Officials shut down Hildale public safety department . subscription . dead . https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20141022003314/http://www.thespectrum.com/article/20100406/NEWS05/100406029/BREAKING%2DNEWS%2D%2DOfficials%2Dshut%2Ddown%2DHildale%2Dpublic%2Dsafety%2Ddepartment . October 22, 2014 . April 6, 2010 . The Spectrum & Daily News.
  12. News: Erin Taylor . August 18, 2011 . Colorado City chief indicted . Daily Miner.
  13. News: Newcomb, Alyssa . July 7, 2012 . Outside Police to Patrol Polygamist Community . August 12, 2012 . ABC.
  14. Web site: Cooke et al v. Colorado City, Town of et al . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20140325173212/http://archive.recapthelaw.org/azd/532849/ . March 25, 2014 . March 24, 2014 . Arizona District Court (azd) Docket Number: 3:10-cv-08105.
  15. News: Dalrymple . Jim II . March 20, 2014 . Family wins lawsuit against polygamous towns, gets millions . March 24, 2014 . Salt Lake Tribune.
  16. News: Dobner . Jennifer . January 29, 2014 . Arizona couple living near polygamous sect sues for discrimination . March 24, 2014 . Reuters.
  17. News: Dalrymple . Jim II . March 21, 2014 . Arizona AG plans to 'eradicate' discrimination in polygamous towns . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20140325111847/http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/blogspolygblog/57714103-185/discrimination-horne-release-towns.html.csp . March 25, 2014 . March 24, 2014 . Salt Lake Tribune.
  18. Web site: Colorado City, Arizona – Climate Summary . www.wrcc.dri.edu.
  19. Average Household Size of Occupied Housing Units by Tenure. 2008–2012 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Geographies: Zip Code Tabulation Areas. Web site: U.S. Census website . January 21, 2016 . United States Census Bureau.
  20. http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/2005-12-29/news/forbidden-fruit/ "Forbidden Fruit"
  21. "Post Office™ Location – Colorado City ." United States Post Office. Retrieved on March 20, 2011.
  22. Web site: Police Department . December 13, 2023 . TOWN OF COLORADO CITY . en-US.
  23. Web site: Heber Valley Radio . December 14, 2023 . Heber Valley Radio . en-US.
  24. Web site: August 11, 2005 . State officials prepare to seize control of Colorado City school district . www.azstarnet.com . September 2, 2006 . September 29, 2007 . https://web.archive.org/web/20070929143425/http://www.azstarnet.com/sn/hourlyupdate/88285.php . dead .
  25. http://www.ade.az.gov/administration/superintendent/articles/Colorado%20City%20Response%20to%204-19-04%20editorial.pdf Colorado City Response to 4-19-04 editorial
  26. "North Mohave Campus ." Mohave Community College. Retrieved on March 20, 2011. "Street Address: 480 South Central, Colorado City, AZ 86021"