Tonopah /ˈtoʊnoʊˌpɑː/ is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in western Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, 52 miles (84 km) west of downtown Phoenix off Interstate 10. The community is near the Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station, the largest power producer in the country, nuclear or otherwise. As of the 2020 census, the population of Tonopah was 23,[2] down from 60 at the 2010 census.

Tonopah, Arizona
Census-designated place
Tonopah Post Office
Location in Maricopa County, Arizona
Tonopah Show map of Arizona Tonopah Show map of the United States
Coordinates: 33°29′37″N 112°56′14″W
Country	United States
State	Arizona
County	Maricopa
Established	1929
Area [1]
• Total	1.37 sq mi (3.54 km2)
• Land	1.37 sq mi (3.54 km2)
• Water	0.00 sq mi (0.00 km2)
Elevation	1,490 ft (450 m)
Population  (2020)[2]
• Total	23
• Density	16.84/sq mi (6.50/km2)
Time zone	UTC-7 (MST)
• Summer (DST)	N/A
ZIP code	85354
Area code(s)	623 and 928
FIPS code	04-74540

It is located on the Tonopah Desert. Many wells in Tonopah are warm, in the 70 °F (21 °C) to 95 °F (35 °C) range, and many are hot; 110 °F (43 °C) to 120 °F (49 °C) wells are common. Prior to being called Tonopah, the settlement was known as "Lone Peak".

The area is also known to have been inhabited by groups of people for resource gathering area of the Hohokam, Patayan, and Yavapai cultures.

Demographics

As of the census[4] of 2010, there were 60 people living in the CDP. The population density was 1.13 people per square mile. The racial makeup of the CDP was 87% White, 2% Native American, 3% Asian, and 8% from other races. Twenty-three percent of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

Schools

• Crossroads Academy
• Ruth Fisher Middle School
• Tonopah Valley High School
• Winters Well Elementary School

Incorporation efforts

In 2009, a political action committee named Tonopah United for Our Future (TUFF) filed paperwork with the county, proposing the incorporation of the area into a town.[5] The proposal ran into difficulties when the neighboring town of Buckeye voted to publicly oppose the measure. State law forbids the incorporation of a new city or town within a specified distance of existing municipalities without their approval,[6] and the proposed boundaries for Tonopah would abut the corporate boundaries of Buckeye, essentially giving Buckeye veto power over any incorporation efforts. In 2003, Buckeye had passed a measure approving of any future incorporation effort by Tonopah, but the current town council rescinded the measure, citing concerns that the proposal would extend the new town's boundaries east of the Hassayampa River and into area Buckeye intends to annex.[7] Council members did indicate that they were open to future incorporation efforts using the river as a boundary.

Residents also expressed concern that the proposal was too ambitious and that the new town would be incapable of managing the 100 square miles (260 km²) of land included in the proposal. Geographically it would be among the largest in the state, while estimates placed the population of the proposed town at approximately 6,000. Additionally, a number of residents opposed the plan because they believed large tax increases would be necessary to fund a new government.

Ultimately the measure was defeated on March 10, 2009, by a vote of 523 against incorporation versus 356 in support.[8]

Belmont

In November 2017, media outlets reported that a company associated with billionaire Bill Gates purchased 24,800 acres (100 km²) between Buckeye and Tonopah for $80 million. Gates's company plans to create a "smart city" called Belmont on the site.[9]

Climate

Part of a series of the
Cities, towns and CDPs in Arizona with lists and images of historic properties, forts, cemeteries or historic districts
Flag of Arizona
Lists of structures, etc. Adamsville Agua Caliente Ash Fork Avondale Benson Bisbee Black Canyon City Bouse Brigham City Buckeye Cameron Camp Verde Casa Grande Cave Creek Chandler Clarkdale Clifton Cottonwood Dateland Dewey–Humboldt Douglas Duncan Eagar Ehrenberg Fairbank Flagstaff Florence Gila Bend Gilbert Gillett Glendale Globe Gold King Mine Ghost Town Goldfield Grand Canyon Village Guadalupe Hackberry Hereford Holbrook Jerome Joseph City Kearny Kingman Litchfield Park Mayer Mesa Miami New River Nogales Oatman Oracle Paradise Valley Parker Patagonia Payson Pearce Peoria Phoenix Pine-Strawberry Prescott Prescott Valley Quartzsite Queen Creek Sacaton Safford Salome Scottsdale Sedona Seligman Snowflake Solomon Superior Tempe Tombstone Tonopah Tubac Tucson Tumacacori Twin Arrows Two Guns Vulture City Weedville Wickenburg Willcox Williams Winslow Wintersburg Yuma
Forts Fort Apache Fort Huachuca Fort_Lowell Fort McDowell Fort Tyson Fort Whipple
Cemeteries Adamsville A.O.U.W. Cemetery Ba Dah Mod Jo Cemetery Boothill Cemetery City of Mesa Cemetery Cooks Cedar Glade Cemetery Crosscut Cemetery Double Butte Cemetery Liberty Cemetery Glendale Memorial Park Cemetery Goodyear Farms Historic Cemetery Greenwood/Memory Lawn Mortuary & Cemetery Home Mission Cemetery Historic Pinal Cemetery Pioneer and Military Memorial Park Russian Spiritual Christians Cemetery St. Francis Catholic Cemetery Old Path Cemetery West Resthaven Park Cemetery
Historic districts Catlin Court Historic District Clarkdale Historic District Cottonwood Commercial Historic District Fort Huachuca National Historic District Globe Downtown Historic District Phoenix Historic Property Register Lynx Creek District in Prescott Valley Sunnyslope District in Phoenix
v t e

In popular culture

The chorus of the song "Willin'" by Lowell George of Little Feat on the albums Little Feat, Sailin' Shoes and Waiting for Columbus refers to either Tonopah, Arizona, or Tonopah, Nevada:

And I've been from Tucson to Tucumcari, Tehachapi to Tonopah.

I've driven every kind of rig that's ever been made;

driven the backroads so I wouldn't get weighed.

Image gallery

Pictured are the following images related to Tonopah:[11]

• The ruins of the house of John Beauchamp, a major landowner in the area and Tonopah's first postmaster. The Beauchamp homestead house was built in 1920. The ruins of the house are located near the corner of Indian School and 411th Avenue .
• The former Saguaro Sanitarium, now the Motel Saguaro Mineral Wells, whose groundbreaking ceremony was officially dedicated on June 17, 1934, and attended by George W.P. Hunt, the first elected governor of Arizona.
• The ruins related to the Tonopah-Belmont mine workers camp.

Tonopah

• 
  John Beauchamp House
• 
  Motel Saguaro Mineral Wells
• 
  Motel Saguaro Mineral Wells office
• 
  Tonopah Ranch and Land Office
• 
  Tonopah-Belmont mine ruins
• 
  Tonopah-Belmont mine ruins
• 
  Tonopah-Belmont mine ruins
• 
  Tonopah Ruins water tank
• 
  Tonopah-Belmont mine ruins
• 
  Tonopah water tower

References

Further reading

• Barnes, Will C., Byrd H. Granger, (ed.), Arizona's Names: X Marks the Place, (Falconer: 1983). ISBN 0-918080-18-5
• Clay Thompson, "Tonopah: It's Water Under The Bush", the Arizona Republic 1-12-03, p. B12.