UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations 1-1-1999 Town and hinterland: Kingman and Mohave County, Arizona, 1860--1940 Diana Roock Dever University of Nevada, Las Vegas Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalscholarship.unlv.edu/rtds Repository Citation Dever, Diana Roock, "Town and hinterland: Kingman and Mohave County, Arizona, 1860--1940" (1999). UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations. 3102. http://dx.doi.org/10.25669/o3id-xiya This Dissertation is protected by copyright and/or related rights. It has been brought to you by Digital Scholarship@UNLV with permission from the rights-holder(s). You are free to use this Dissertation in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s) directly, unless additional rights are indicated by a Creative Commons license in the record and/or on the work itself. 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TOWN AND HINTERLAND: KINOIAN AND MOHAVE COUNTY, ARIZONA 1860-1940 by Diana Roock Dever Bachelor of Arts Monteith College Wayne state university, Detroit 1965 Master of Liberal Studies University of Michigan, Ann Arbor 1981 A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy Degree Departs&ent of History College of Liberal Arts Graduate College University of Nevada, Las Vegas August 2000 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. UMI Number. 9989903 UMI UMI Microform9989903 Copyright 2001 by Bell & Howell Information and Leaming Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. Bell & Howell Information and Leaming Company 300 North Zeeb Road P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Dissertation Approval UNTV The Graduate College University of Nevada, Las Vegas ■Tilly 6 ^20 00 The Dissertation prepared by Diana Roock Dever Entitled Town and Hinterland: Kingman and Mohave County. Arizona 1860-1960 is approved in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy_______________________________________ Examination Committee Chair Dean of the Graduate College Examination Committee Member % Exar n Commitfee Member G/dduate College epresentative PR/10I7-52/I-00 u Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ABSTRACT Town and Hinterland: Kingman and Mohave County, 1860-1940 Diana R. Dever Dr. Eugene Moehring, Examination Committee Chair Professor of History University of Nevada, Las Vegas This work examines the complex socioeconomic relationship between a northwestern Arizona town and its hinterlemd from 1860-1940. During this time, Mohave County, Arizona experiences the inqpact of three industries: mining, ranching, and railroading. After 1882, mining boomtowns in the hinterland stimulate the growth of the Kingman rails iding, making it the only viable transshipment point in the county. The town's development relies on economic activities within its hinterland, national trends, and the character of its hardworking inhabitants, including its diverse racial and ethnic groups. Separate demographic profiles from 1900-1940 of Kingman and Mohave County's con^sition demonstrate changes that occur. Following the Crash of 1929, New Deal programs further energize the town's economy. The relation­ ship between Kingman êuid its hinterland throughout the town's evolution from a nineteenth century rail transshipment point to a twentieth century service center for trucking and tourism is a critical factor in the urbanization of northwestern Arizona. iii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT........................................ iii LIST OF FIGURES................................... iv CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION............................. 1 CHAPTER 2 THE FRONTIER: 1860-1880................... 9 CHAPTER 3 THE DEVELOPMENT OF KINGMAN AND ITS MINING HINTERLAND: 1880s.............................. 53 CHAPTER 4 KINGMAN AND MOHAVE COUNTY IN THE 1890s....... 79 CHAPTER 5 URBANIZATION OF KINGMAN AND MOHAVE COUNTY: 1900-1930.................................... 120 CHAPTER 6 QUALITY OF LIFE: Kingman and Mohave County, A Demographic Profile, 1900-1930.................. 184 CHAPTER 7 KINOiAN AND MOHAVE COUNTY: 1930s........... 230 CHAPTER 8 CONCLUSION............................. 275 BIBLIOGRAPHY..................................... 289 VITA............................................ 303 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1 Population of Mohave County 1860-1880........ 35 Figure 2 Males and FemêLIes in Mohave County 1860-1880.. .36 Figure 3 Place of Birth-Mohave County 1860-1880....... 36 Figure 4 Average Age of Population of Mohave County 1860-1880................................. 39 Figure 5 Age Ranges for Mohave County 1860-1880....... 39 Figure 6 1889-1903 Cattle and Horses in Mohave County..104 Figure 7 Additional Livestock.......................105 Figure 8 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map Population....... 194 Figure 9 Kingman Sanborn Fire Insurance Map Data of Dwellings and Businesses 1898-1923.......... 195 Figure 10 Census of the United States: Mohave County and Kingman, Arizona.......................... 196 Figure 11 Males and Females in Mohave County 1900-1930..196 Figure 12 Males and Females in Kingman 1900-1930...... 199 Figure 13 Males :Females Age Range Kingman 1900-1920.... 199 Figure 14 Males : Females Age Range Mohave County 1900-1920................................ 200 Figure 15 Average Age of Females 1900-1920............ 201 Figure 16 Average Age of Males 1900-1920..............201 Figure 17 Kingman Children Under Fourteen Years 1900-1910................................ 202 Figure 18 Mohave County Hinterlemd Children Under Fourteen 1900-1910........................ 204 Figure 19 Marital Status in Kingman 1900-1920......... 205 Figure 20 Hinterland-Mcirital Status 1900-1920......... 206 Figure 21 Marital Relations-Hinterland 1900, 1920..... 207 Figure 22 Marital Relations-Kingman 1900, 1920........ 207 Figure 23 Mohave County: Lodgers, Boarders, and Roomers 1900-1920................................ 212 Figure 24 Ego's Place of Birth-Kingman 1900-1920...... 213 Figure 25 Ego's Place of Birth-Hinterland 1900-1920.... 214 Figure 25A Hispanic Population 1900-1920.............. 218 Figure 25B Asian Population 1900-1920................. 220 Figure 26 Mohave County's Male and Female Population 1930-1940................................ 262 Figure 27 Racial & Ethnic Conpostion of Mohave County's Population 1930-1940.......................263 Figure 28 Mohave County's Employment Status of Whites Over 14 Years Old 1930-1940................ 263 Figure 29 Marital Status of Mohave County 1930........ 266 IV Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION It is the last summer of the twentieth century in northwestern Arizona, and temperatures soar above 120 degrees. People along the Lower Colorado River seek relief in its cool waters or frequent the nearby casinos. Thirty- five miles east of the river in Kingman a local radio personalty pledges to walk naked down Beal Street if a fund­ raiser for the Special Olyn^ics is a success. Meanwhile, citizens and tourists of the neighboring ghost town of Oatman prepare for the annual July Fourth egg-fry on Route 66's pavement. At the same time in Lake Havasu City, now home of the old London Bridge, a civic