Ajo, Arizona
N 32° 22.379 W 112° 51.752
12S E 324776 N 3583304
Ajo is a copper mining town in southern Arizona.
Waymark Code: WMZPM0
Location: Arizona, United States
Date Posted: 12/15/2018
Views: 1
Ajo, by most accounts, comes from a native American word for paint. The Tohono O'Odham used the copper containing minerals in the area for red and green paint. The Spanish arrived in 1754 and tried mining the copper but could only make use of the highest grade pieces at the surface. Americans arrived in 1854 and discovered the tools left by the Spanish a century earlier. Successful development of copper mining began in the early 20th century. Ajo is a town built by the mining company to house the miners with most of the houses in the center of town owned by the mine. Phelps Dodge began open pit operations but those ended with a labor strike in 1985. The center of town consists of a grand plaza designed and constructed in 1916. It remains the centerpiece of the town with the historic housing areas around it. With the mine closed and most of the jobs gone the population of the town, around 3000, consists of a few young families and an influx of retirees. The average age is town is now around 52.
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