Colorado City, Arizona
Encyclopedia
Colorado City is a town in Mohave County
, Arizona
, United States
, and is located in a region known as the Arizona Strip
. According to 2006 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the town was 4,607. At least three Mormon fundamentalist sects are said to have been based there.
), was founded in 1913 by members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
, a breakaway sect of the Salt Lake City-based The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The FLDS membership desired a remote location where they could practice plural marriage
, which had been publicly abandoned
by the LDS Church in 1890. On July 26, 1953, Arizona Governor John Howard Pyle
sent troops into the settlement to stop polygamy in what became known as the Short Creek raid
. The two-year legal battle that followed became a public relations disaster that damaged Pyle's political career and set a hands-off tone toward the town in Arizona for the next fifty years.
In January 2004, the local Mormon fundamentalist leader, Warren Jeffs
, expelled a group of twenty men, including the mayor, and gave their wives and children to other men. Jeffs, a convicted sexual predator, stated he was acting on the orders of God, while the men expelled claimed they were penalized for disagreeing with Jeffs. Observers stated that this was the most severe split to date within the community other than the split between Colorado City and Centennial Park.
According to the Utah
attorney general's office, this was not the first time Jeffs was accused of expelling men from the community; as many as four hundred young men
are estimated to have been expelled by Jeffs from 2001–2006. Most were removed for failing to follow Jeffs' rules, or for dating women without his permission. These expelled men and boys, many very naïve and sheltered, often wound up homeless and using drugs in nearby towns such as Hurricane, Utah
.
Most of the property in the town is owned by the United Effort Plan, the financial arm of the FLDS
.
The Colorado City/Hildale
, Utah
area has the world's highest incidence of fumarase deficiency
, an extremely rare genetic condition which causes severe mental retardation
. Geneticists attribute this to the prevalence of cousin marriage
between descendants of two of the town's founders, Joseph Smith Jessop
and John Y. Barlow; at least half the double community's roughly 8,000 inhabitants are descended from one or both.
In 2007 the state authorities dismantled church ownership of Colorado City lands.
According to the United States Census Bureau
, the town has a total area of 10.5 square miles (27.2 km²), of which, 10.5 square miles (27.2 km²) of it is land and 0.100% is water.
of 2000, there were 3,334 people, 444 households, and 417 families residing in the town. The population density
was 317.3 people per square mile (122.5/km²). There were 457 housing units at an average density of 43.5 per square mile (16.8/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 96.85% White
, 0.18% Black
or African American
, 0.09% Asian
, 0.21% Pacific Islander
, 1.77% from other races
, and 0.90% from two or more races. Hispanic
or Latino
of any race were 2.91% of the population.
There were 444 households out of which 83.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 85.8% were married couples
living together, 3.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 5.9% were non-families. 4.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 1.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 7.51 and the average family size was 7.58.
In the town the population was spread out with 60.4% under the age of 18, 11.4% from 18 to 24, 20.2% from 25 to 44, 6.3% from 45 to 64, and 1.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 14 years. For every 100 females there were 102.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.3 males.
Since most of the male residents of Colorado City have several wives, and dozens of children, they live in huge, gated compounds. Senior figures can have up to 30 women in their harem, sometimes owning entire blocks.
The median income for a household in the town was $32,826, and the median income for a family was $32,344. Males had a median income of $24,429 versus $22,969 for females. The per capita income
for the town was $5,293. About 29.0% of families and 31.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 34.5% of those under age 18 and 6.3% of those age 65 or over.
operates the Colorado City, AZ/Hildale, UT Post Office in Colorado City.
The Arizona state government attempted to take over the district in 2005 due to mismanagement.
In addition to the district public school, there is a charter school, Masada Charter School, serving students in grades K-9. The charter school is outside of the Colorado City town limits in the community of Centennial Park.
The Mohave Community College
North Mohave Campus is in Colorado City.
, just over the Arizona–Utah border.
Mohave County, Arizona
Mohave County is located in the northwestern corner of the U.S. state of Arizona. As of the 2010 census, its population was 200,186, an increase of 45,154 people since the 2000 census count of 155,032. The county seat is Kingman...
, 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...
, and is located in a region known as the Arizona Strip
Arizona Strip
The Arizona Strip is the part of the U.S. state of Arizona lying north of the Colorado River. The difficulty of crossing the Grand Canyon causes this region to have more natural connections with southern Utah and Nevada than with the rest of Arizona....
. According to 2006 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the town was 4,607. At least three Mormon fundamentalist sects are said to have been based there.
History
Colorado City, formerly known as Short Creek (or the Short Creek CommunityShort Creek Community
The Short Creek Community originally began in 1935 following the death of Joseph Leslie Broadbent, under the leadership of John Y. Barlow and Joseph W. Musser. Formerly located in Short Creek, Arizona , the group was notorious for the practice of polygamy due to media coverage during the "Short...
), was founded in 1913 by members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
The Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is one of the largest Mormon fundamentalist denominations and one of the largest organizations in the United States whose members practice polygamy. The FLDS Church emerged in the early twentieth century when its founding members left...
, a breakaway sect of the Salt Lake City-based The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The FLDS membership desired a remote location where they could practice plural marriage
Plural marriage
Polygamy was taught by leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for more than half of the 19th century, and practiced publicly from 1852 to 1890.The Church's practice of polygamy has been highly controversial, both within...
, which had been publicly abandoned
1890 Manifesto
The "1890 Manifesto", sometimes simply called "The Manifesto", is a statement which officially disavowed the continuing practice of plural marriage in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints...
by the LDS Church in 1890. On July 26, 1953, Arizona Governor John Howard Pyle
John Howard Pyle
John Howard Pyle was the ninth Governor of the U.S. state of Arizona, serving from 1951 to 1955. He was a Republican...
sent troops into the settlement to stop polygamy in what became known as the Short Creek raid
Short Creek raid
The Short Creek raid is the name given to Arizona state police and Arizona National Guard action against Mormon fundamentalists that took place on the morning of July 26, 1953, at Short Creek, Arizona. The Short Creek raid was the largest mass arrest of polygamists in American history...
. The two-year legal battle that followed became a public relations disaster that damaged Pyle's political career and set a hands-off tone toward the town in Arizona for the next fifty years.
In January 2004, the local Mormon fundamentalist leader, Warren Jeffs
Warren Jeffs
Warren Steed Jeffs was the president of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints . In 2011, Jeffs was convicted of two felony counts of child sexual assault....
, expelled a group of twenty men, including the mayor, and gave their wives and children to other men. Jeffs, a convicted sexual predator, stated he was acting on the orders of God, while the men expelled claimed they were penalized for disagreeing with Jeffs. Observers stated that this was the most severe split to date within the community other than the split between Colorado City and Centennial Park.
According to the Utah
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
attorney general's office, this was not the first time Jeffs was accused of expelling men from the community; as many as four hundred young men
Lost Boys of Polygamy
"Lost boys" are young men who have been excommunicated or pressured to leave polygynous groups such as the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints . They are allegedly pressured to leave by adult men to reduce competition for wives within such sects, usually when they are...
are estimated to have been expelled by Jeffs from 2001–2006. Most were removed for failing to follow Jeffs' rules, or for dating women without his permission. These expelled men and boys, many very naïve and sheltered, often wound up homeless and using drugs in nearby towns such as Hurricane, Utah
Hurricane, Utah
Hurricane is a city in Washington County, Utah. Its population was 13,748 at the 2010 U.S. Census. Along with several other areas of southwestern Utah, the Hurricane area has seen a large population growth since the 1970s, and it has blended in with neighboring city of St...
.
Most of the property in the town is owned by the United Effort Plan, the financial arm of the FLDS
Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
The Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is one of the largest Mormon fundamentalist denominations and one of the largest organizations in the United States whose members practice polygamy. The FLDS Church emerged in the early twentieth century when its founding members left...
.
The Colorado City/Hildale
Hildale, Utah
Hildale is a city in Washington County, Utah, United States. The population was 2,726 at the 2010 census.Hildale is a twin city to the more well-known Colorado City, Arizona, both of which straddle the border between Utah and Arizona. Hildale is the headquarters of the Fundamentalist Church of...
, Utah
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
area has the world's highest incidence of fumarase deficiency
Fumarase deficiency
Fumarase deficiency , also known as "Polygamist Down's", is an autosomal recessive metabolic disorder characterized by a deficiency of the enzyme fumarate hydratase, which is indicated by a build up of fumaric acid in the urine....
, an extremely rare genetic condition which causes severe mental retardation
Mental retardation
Mental retardation is a generalized disorder appearing before adulthood, characterized by significantly impaired cognitive functioning and deficits in two or more adaptive behaviors...
. Geneticists attribute this to the prevalence of cousin marriage
Inbreeding
Inbreeding is the reproduction from the mating of two genetically related parents. Inbreeding results in increased homozygosity, which can increase the chances of offspring being affected by recessive or deleterious traits. This generally leads to a decreased fitness of a population, which is...
between descendants of two of the town's founders, Joseph Smith Jessop
Joseph Smith Jessop
Co-founder of Hildale, Utah along with John Yeates Barlow. Described as the Polygamist patriarch in Life article "The Lonely Men Of Short Creek" from Sep 14, 1953 issue.-Spouses:...
and John Y. Barlow; at least half the double community's roughly 8,000 inhabitants are descended from one or both.
In 2007 the state authorities dismantled church ownership of Colorado City lands.
April 2010 raid
On April 6, 2010, law enforcement officials in Mohave County, Arizona, and Washington County, Utah, served five search warrants seeking records from town officers. The warrants were served on government officials and departments, including the Town Manager, David Darger, as well as Colorado City's fire chief. As a result of the initial warrants, the Hildale-Colorado City Department of Public Safety was shut down, and emergency responders were prohibited from responding to calls without the approval of county officials. Firefighter Glen Jeffs indicated that the warrants referenced "misuse of funds."Geography
Colorado City is located at 36°59′22"N 112°58′41"W (36.989580, -112.978044).According to the United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, the town has a total area of 10.5 square miles (27.2 km²), of which, 10.5 square miles (27.2 km²) of it is land and 0.100% is water.
Demographics
As of the censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2000, there were 3,334 people, 444 households, and 417 families residing in the town. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 317.3 people per square mile (122.5/km²). There were 457 housing units at an average density of 43.5 per square mile (16.8/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 96.85% White
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, 0.18% Black
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
or African American
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, 0.09% Asian
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, 0.21% Pacific Islander
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, 1.77% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 0.90% from two or more races. Hispanic
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
or Latino
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
of any race were 2.91% of the population.
There were 444 households out of which 83.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 85.8% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 3.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 5.9% were non-families. 4.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 1.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 7.51 and the average family size was 7.58.
In the town the population was spread out with 60.4% under the age of 18, 11.4% from 18 to 24, 20.2% from 25 to 44, 6.3% from 45 to 64, and 1.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 14 years. For every 100 females there were 102.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.3 males.
Since most of the male residents of Colorado City have several wives, and dozens of children, they live in huge, gated compounds. Senior figures can have up to 30 women in their harem, sometimes owning entire blocks.
The median income for a household in the town was $32,826, and the median income for a family was $32,344. Males had a median income of $24,429 versus $22,969 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the town was $5,293. About 29.0% of families and 31.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 34.5% of those under age 18 and 6.3% of those age 65 or over.
Government and infrastructure
The United States Postal ServiceUnited States Postal Service
The United States Postal Service is an independent agency of the United States government responsible for providing postal service in the United States...
operates the Colorado City, AZ/Hildale, UT Post Office in Colorado City.
Education
Colorado City is a part of the Colorado City Unified School District. There is only one school, the El Capitan School (formerly the Colorado City K–12 Public School), in Colorado City. Many FLDS-affiliated board members resigned due to the political takeover of the district.The Arizona state government attempted to take over the district in 2005 due to mismanagement.
In addition to the district public school, there is a charter school, Masada Charter School, serving students in grades K-9. The charter school is outside of the Colorado City town limits in the community of Centennial Park.
The Mohave Community College
Mohave Community College
Mohave Community College is a two-year, public community college with campuses in Kingman, Lake Havasu City, Bullhead City, and Colorado City, serving Mohave County, Arizona and the surrounding communities. MCC is accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, which is...
North Mohave Campus is in Colorado City.
Twin City
Colorado City is a twin city with Hildale, UtahHildale, Utah
Hildale is a city in Washington County, Utah, United States. The population was 2,726 at the 2010 census.Hildale is a twin city to the more well-known Colorado City, Arizona, both of which straddle the border between Utah and Arizona. Hildale is the headquarters of the Fundamentalist Church of...
, just over the Arizona–Utah border.