Arivaca, Arizona
Encyclopedia
Arivaca is an unincorporated community
in Pima County
, Arizona
, United States
. It is located 11 miles (17.7 km) north of the Mexican
border and 35 miles (56.3 km) northwest of the port of entry at Nogales
. The European-American history of the area dates back at least to 1695, although the community was not founded until 1878. Arivaca has the ZIP code
85601. The 85601 ZIP Code Tabulation Area
had a population of 909 at the 2000 census. The Arivaca community lies on the northeast foothills of a small, low elevation mountain range, the San Luis Mountains
.
or Tohono O'odham
village, abandoned after the Pima Indian Revolt
of 1751. Spanish settlers developed small mines.
, were then erected at Arivaca. The Court of Private Land Claims eventually disallowed the Arivaca Land Grant. The US Post Office was established April 10, 1878, with Noah W. Bernard as the first Postmaster; still in operation at ZIP code 85601.
: Troop B of the Connecticut National Guard (1916), the Utah Cavalry (1917) and the 10th Cavalry (1917-20).
and drug smuggler traffic, Arivaca is at one end of Project 28, the test of SBInet
. SBInet is the effort by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Boeing Corporation to secure US land borders using technology. It involves 98 feet (29.9 m) high towers with radar
and cameras that send information to bases in Tucson
and Sells
, where directions are sent out to specially equipped Border Patrol vehicles about targets for apprehension. Project 28 is the effort to test this strategy on a 28 miles (45.1 km) stretch flanking the border on either side of Sasabe
. There will be two towers on the Tohono O'Odham
nation west of the Baboquivari Mountains and 7 towers in the Altar Valley
and southwest of Arivaca.
On May 30, 2009, Raul Flores and his 9-year-old daughter, Brisenia, were killed in a home-invasion
in Arivaca by a group of anti-immigration activists. The murderer was sentenced to death in early 2011.
Unincorporated area
In law, an unincorporated area is a region of land that is not a part of any municipality.To "incorporate" in this context means to form a municipal corporation, a city, town, or village with its own government. An unincorporated community is usually not subject to or taxed by a municipal government...
in Pima County
Pima County, Arizona
-2010:Whereas according to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau:*74.3% White*3.5% Black*3.3% Native American*2.6% Asian*0.2% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander*3.7% Two or more races*12.4% Other races*34.6% Hispanic or Latino -2000:...
, Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It is located 11 miles (17.7 km) north of the Mexican
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
border and 35 miles (56.3 km) northwest of the port of entry at Nogales
Nogales, Arizona
Nogales is a city in Santa Cruz County, Arizona, United States. The population was 21,017 at the 2010 census. According to 2005 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city is 20,833. The city is the county seat of Santa Cruz County....
. The European-American history of the area dates back at least to 1695, although the community was not founded until 1878. Arivaca has the ZIP code
ZIP Code
ZIP codes are a system of postal codes used by the United States Postal Service since 1963. The term ZIP, an acronym for Zone Improvement Plan, is properly written in capital letters and was chosen to suggest that the mail travels more efficiently, and therefore more quickly, when senders use the...
85601. The 85601 ZIP Code Tabulation Area
ZIP Code Tabulation Area
ZIP Code Tabulation Areas are statistical entities developed by the United States Census Bureau for tabulating summary statistics from Census 2000. This new entity was developed to overcome the difficulties in precisely defining the land area covered by each ZIP code...
had a population of 909 at the 2000 census. The Arivaca community lies on the northeast foothills of a small, low elevation mountain range, the San Luis Mountains
San Luis Mountains
The San Luis Mountains are a small, lower elevation mountain range of central-southern Pima County Arizona adjacent the U.S.-Mexico border, northeast of Sasabe, Arizona–Sasabe, Sonora....
.
Eighteenth century
The early history of Arivaca is obscure. It was probably a PimaPima
The Pima are a group of American Indians living in an area consisting of what is now central and southern Arizona. The long name, "Akimel O'odham", means "river people". They are closely related to the Tohono O'odham and the Hia C-ed O'odham...
or Tohono O'odham
Tohono O'odham
The Tohono O'odham are a group of Native American people who reside primarily in the Sonoran Desert of the southeastern Arizona and northwest Mexico...
village, abandoned after the Pima Indian Revolt
Pima Indian Revolt
The Pima Revolt, or the O'odh am Uprising and the Pima Outbreak, was a revolt of Pima native Americans in 1751 against colonial forces in Spanish Arizona and one of the major northern frontier conflicts in early New Spain.- Background :...
of 1751. Spanish settlers developed small mines.
Nineteenth century
In 1833 a Mexican land grant of 8677 acres (35.1 km²) was approved, which became La Aribac ranch, a Pima word for "small springs". Charles Poston bought the ranch in 1856, and the reduction works for the Heintzelman Mine, at Cerro ColoradoCerro Colorado, Arizona
Cerro Colorado is a ghost town in southern Pima County, Arizona. It is located off Arivaca Road, near Arivaca, Arizona. The town is best known for the massacre of mining employees by Mexican outlaws and buried treasure.-History:...
, were then erected at Arivaca. The Court of Private Land Claims eventually disallowed the Arivaca Land Grant. The US Post Office was established April 10, 1878, with Noah W. Bernard as the first Postmaster; still in operation at ZIP code 85601.
Twentieth century
Arivaca was a camp for at least three United States Cavalry units during the 1910-20 Mexican RevolutionMexican Revolution
The Mexican Revolution was a major armed struggle that started in 1910, with an uprising led by Francisco I. Madero against longtime autocrat Porfirio Díaz. The Revolution was characterized by several socialist, liberal, anarchist, populist, and agrarianist movements. Over time the Revolution...
: Troop B of the Connecticut National Guard (1916), the Utah Cavalry (1917) and the 10th Cavalry (1917-20).
Immigration problems
In May 2007, Arivaca became a flash point for US immigration policy. Part of a travel corridor for a large volume of illegal migrantIllegal immigration to the United States
An illegal immigrant in the United States is an alien who has entered the United States without government permission or stayed beyond the termination date of a visa....
and drug smuggler traffic, Arivaca is at one end of Project 28, the test of SBInet
SBInet
SBInet was a program initiated in 2006 for a new integrated system of personnel, infrastructure, technology, and rapid response to secure the northern and southern land borders of the United States...
. SBInet is the effort by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Boeing Corporation to secure US land borders using technology. It involves 98 feet (29.9 m) high towers with radar
Radar
Radar is an object-detection system which uses radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The radar dish or antenna transmits pulses of radio...
and cameras that send information to bases in Tucson
Tucson, Arizona
Tucson is a city in and the county seat of Pima County, Arizona, United States. The city is located 118 miles southeast of Phoenix and 60 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border. The 2010 United States Census puts the city's population at 520,116 with a metropolitan area population at 1,020,200...
and Sells
Sells, Arizona
Sells is a census-designated place in Pima County, Arizona, United States. The population was 2,799 at the 2000 census. It is the capital of the Tohono O'odham Nation and the home of several of their tribal businesses, such as Tohono O'Odham Ki:Ki Association...
, where directions are sent out to specially equipped Border Patrol vehicles about targets for apprehension. Project 28 is the effort to test this strategy on a 28 miles (45.1 km) stretch flanking the border on either side of Sasabe
Sasabe, Arizona
Sasabe is a small unincorporated border community in the Altar Valley of southern Pima County, Arizona, United States. It hosts a little-used United States–Mexico border crossing...
. There will be two towers on the Tohono O'Odham
Tohono O'odham
The Tohono O'odham are a group of Native American people who reside primarily in the Sonoran Desert of the southeastern Arizona and northwest Mexico...
nation west of the Baboquivari Mountains and 7 towers in the Altar Valley
Altar Valley
The Altar Valley is a 45-mile long north-south valley, trending slightly northeast from Sasabe, Arizona on the Mexico border to the Avra Valley, Arizona west of the Tucson Mountains...
and southwest of Arivaca.
On May 30, 2009, Raul Flores and his 9-year-old daughter, Brisenia, were killed in a home-invasion
Murders of Raul and Brisenia Flores
On May 30, 2009, Raul "Junior" Flores, 29, and his daughter, Brisenia, 9, of Arivaca, Arizona, were murdered during a home-invasion by Shawna Forde and accomplices. Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik said the attackers hoped to rob the Flores-Gonzales family....
in Arivaca by a group of anti-immigration activists. The murderer was sentenced to death in early 2011.
Further reading
- Mary Noon Kasulaitis, 2002, "The Village of Arivaca: a Short History." Smoke Signal No. 75, Tucson Corral of the Westerners.
External links
- Community website
- Arivaca community profile at Arizona Department of Commerce
- Connection, monthly Arivaca newspaper
- Arivaca Ghost Town