429:, and constitutes the Swansea Town Site Special Management Area. Due to vandalism and exposure to the weather, the remains of Swansea are in decline. However, you can still see a number of adobe structures, the remains of the railroad depot, two cemeteries, and several mine shafts. Remains of numerous cars can be seen scattered throughout the site. The Bureau of Land Management has restored roofs to rows of single-miner's quarters, established an interpretive trail for visitors to Swansea, and is engaged in efforts to shore up other structures. In addition, there are many stone foundations where buildings once stood.
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of mining, hauling, and processing ore. As a result, the high cost of improvements coupled with the high cost of production meant that the mines could not turn a profit as the per-pound cost of copper production exceeded its price by three cents. The company collapsed in 1912, closing down the mines.
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The town was short-lived. By 1911, the Clara
Consolidated Gold and Copper Mining Company was in financial trouble. The company's promoter in Swansea, George Mitchell, spent considerable sums of money on improvements aimed at attracting investors at the expense of practical improvements to the process
384:
to the United
Kingdom. Once a smelter was constructed in 1909, Signal took its new name from the previous location of the smelter they had used in Wales. As such, the destination of the ore sent for smelting remained the same. When the post office was established on March 25, 1909, it was under the
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data placed the population of the town at 400 in 1910 shortly after it was founded, and 337 in 1920, shortly before it was abandoned. By some accounts, the town's population peaked at about 750 residents, though the rapid rise and fall of the town coupled with the timing of the collection of
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when copper prices dropped, and the town went into a steep decline. Swansea's post office was discontinued on June 28, 1924, and the population dispersed. By 1937, the mines shut down, and
Swansea was already a ghost town.
345:). By 1908, the claims in the area had been consolidated by the Clara Gold and Copper Mining Company, which set up its headquarters in the mining camp that would become Swansea. That same year, what was to become the
337:, and local miners Newton Evans and Thomas Jefferson Carrigan saw an opportunity to develop the area. Within a few years, the two miners had built a 350-ton furnace, a water pipeline to the
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bought the properties in 1914. The new owners restarted mining operations and once again built up the town. Swansea lived on until just after
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1862, but the remote location and lack of transportation kept activity to a minimum. By 1904, the railroad was coming to nearby
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396:, theaters, restaurants, barbershops, an insurance agent, a physician, and of course the local mining and smelting facilities.
341:, and hoists for five mine shafts. They called the new town Signal (not to be confused with the other Arizona ghost town of
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facilities meant that the copper ore had to be sent away for smelting. The destination for most of the ore was
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After a false start later that year under a new owner, the mines and the town remained quiet until the
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549:(34.1700198, -113.8460490). The site is remote, and is only accessible via rough, gravel roads.
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Swansea is located approximately 25 miles (40 km) northeast of both Bouse and the town of
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Varney, Philip (April 2005). "Ghosts of the Rivers". In Stieve, Robert (ed.).
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711:(10th ed.). Phoenix, Arizona: Arizona Highways Books. pp. 48–51.
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Heatwole, Thelma (1991) . "Swansea: Its Ore Was
Smelted in Wales".
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U.S. Geological Survey
Geographic Names Information System: Swansea
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Arizona Ghost Towns and Mining Camps: A Travel Guide to
History
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Population
History of Western U.S. Cities and Towns, 1850–1990
787:. Tucson, Arizona: University of Arizona Press. p. 386.
757:(First ed.). University of Oklahoma Press. p. 149.
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company, an auto dealer, a lumber company, two cemeteries, a
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population data make that figure difficult to substantiate.
840:. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press, Inc. pp. 9–17.
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Sherman, James E.; Barbara H. Sherman (1969). "Swasea".
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812:. Phoenix: American Traveler Press. pp. 33–34.
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329:Prospecting and mining in the area first began
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885:– Ghost Town of the Month at azghosttowns.com
677:. Bureau of Land Management. January 30, 2009
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425:Today Swansea is under the protection of the
810:Ghost Towns and Historical Haunts in Arizona
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578:, Swansea is the location of Luke's hideout.
1274:Bureau of Land Management areas in Arizona
1259:Populated places in La Paz County, Arizona
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372:and it was sent by way of railroad to the
1269:Protected areas of La Paz County, Arizona
1289:1908 establishments in Arizona Territory
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1284:Populated places established in 1908
21:Ghost town in Arizona, United States
18:Ghost town in La Paz County, Arizona
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919:Municipalities and communities of
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388:At its peak, Swansea boasted an
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321:taken from the nearby mines.
120:Show map of the United States
594:included a song on her 2004
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347:Arizona and Swansea Railroad
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867:– Bureau of Land Management
675:"Swansea Historic Townsite"
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117:Swansea (the United States)
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865:Swansea Historic Townsite
783:Granger, Byrd H. (1970).
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81:Location in the state of
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621:Copper mining in Arizona
1264:Ghost towns in Arizona
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922:La Paz County, Arizona
836:Moffat, Riley (1996).
755:Ghost Towns of Arizona
537:34.17000°N 113.84611°W
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149:34.17000°N 113.84611°W
1279:Cemeteries in Arizona
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879:at Ghost Town Gallery
587:were shot in Swansea.
584:The Day of the Wolves
438:Historical population
282:
1203:United States portal
597:The Milk-Eyed Mender
542:34.17000; -113.84611
349:connected Signal to
283:Swansea, circa 1920.
154:34.17000; -113.84611
49:Remnants of Swansea.
1096:Indian reservations
785:Arizona Place Names
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339:Bill Williams River
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87:Show map of Arizona
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626:History of Arizona
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378:Gulf of California
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270:Post Office closed
262:Post Office opened
233: • Total
212: • Mayor
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873:at Ghosttowns.com
611:American frontier
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385:name of Swansea.
312:Arizona Territory
306:. It was settled
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1182:Williamsport
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1147:Mineral City
1127:Drift Desert
1081:Desert Wells
1036:Parker Strip
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679:. Retrieved
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590:Folk singer
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553:Demographics
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1132:Empire Flat
1114:Ghost towns
937:County seat
540: /
528:113°50′46″W
414:World War I
152: /
140:113°50′46″W
1253:Categories
1157:Olive City
996:Alamo Lake
967:Quartzsite
681:August 26,
632:References
572:Chris Ryan
525:34°10′12″N
300:U.S. state
292:ghost town
228:Population
207:Government
137:34°10′12″N
36:Ghost town
1071:Populated
1056:Vicksburg
1026:Ehrenberg
1001:Bluewater
558:US Census
433:Geography
382:Cape Horn
242:Time zone
220:Elevation
616:Boomtown
605:See also
576:Blackout
421:Remnants
364:, South
358:smelting
1231:Arizona
1217:Portals
1177:Swansea
1167:Plomosa
1046:Sunwest
883:Swansea
877:Swansea
871:Swansea
574:novel,
570:In the
508:Source:
503:−100.0%
400:Decline
380:around
362:Swansea
325:History
304:Arizona
298:in the
288:Swansea
199:Founded
181:Arizona
166:Country
111:Swansea
83:Arizona
75:Swansea
1243:Cities
1172:Poston
1162:Planet
1142:La Paz
1137:Eureka
1073:places
1061:Wenden
1051:Utting
1041:Salome
1016:Cibola
1011:Brenda
962:Parker
944:Parker
844:
816:
791:
761:
715:
600:titled
516:Parker
488:−15.7%
443:Census
394:saloon
343:Signal
335:Parker
316:copper
193:La Paz
188:County
1006:Bouse
954:Towns
366:Wales
351:Bouse
331:circa
308:circa
290:is a
247:UTC-7
176:State
1122:Clip
1086:Hope
988:CDPs
842:ISBN
814:ISBN
789:ISBN
759:ISBN
713:ISBN
683:2009
494:1930
479:1920
464:1910
452:Note
447:Pop.
253:(no
202:1908
518:at
483:337
468:400
319:ore
302:of
294:in
255:DST
251:MST
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457:%±
368:,
257:))
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912:e
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898:v
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797:.
767:.
721:.
685:.
498:0
473:—
249:(
236:0
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
