Congress, Arizona

{{Short description|CDP in Yavapai County, Arizona}} {{Use American English|date=June 2025}} {{Use mdy dates|date=April 2024}} {{Infobox settlement |official_name = Congress, Arizona |settlement_type = CDP |image_skyline = Congress_Arizona_Circa_1914.jpg |imagesize = 270px |image_caption = View of Congress and the mine, {{circa}}1914. |image_map = Yavapai_County_incorporated_areas_Congress_highlighted.svg |mapsize = 250px |map_caption = Location in Yavapai County and the state of Arizona |pushpin_map = USA |pushpin_map_caption = Location in the United States  |subdivision_type = Country |subdivision_type1 = State |subdivision_type2 = County |subdivision_name = United States |subdivision_name1 = Arizona |subdivision_name2 = Yavapai  |government_footnotes = |government_type = |established_date =  |unit_pref = Imperial |area_footnotes = <ref name="CenPopGazetteer2020">{{cite web|title=2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files|url=https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/2020_Gazetteer/2020_gaz_place_04.txt|publisher=United States Census Bureau|accessdate=October 29, 2021}}</ref> |area_total_km2 = 97.83 |area_total_sq_mi = 37.77 |area_land_km2 = 97.74 |area_land_sq_mi = 37.74 |area_water_km2 = 0.09 |area_water_sq_mi = 0.04  |population_as_of = 2020 |population_footnotes = |population_total = 1811 |population_density_km2 = 18.53 |population_density_sq_mi = 47.99  |timezone = MST |utc_offset = -7 |elevation_ft = 3002 |elevation_footnotes = <ref name=gnis/> |coordinates = {{coord|34|09|10|N|112|53|05|W|region:US_type:city|display=inline,title}}  |postal_code_type = ZIP code |postal_code = 85332 |area_code = 928 |blank_name = FIPS code |blank_info = 04-15220 |blank1_name = GNIS feature ID |blank1_info = 2407653<ref name=gnis>{{GNIS|2407653}}</ref> |footnotes = }} '''Congress''' (aka '''Old Congress''') is a census-designated place (CDP) in Yavapai County, Arizona, United States. Once a gold-mining center for the Congress Mine and then a ghost town, Congress now serves as a retirement and bedroom community for nearby Wickenburg. The population was 1,811 at the 2020 census.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |year=2020 |title=Congress CDP, Arizona |url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/profile?g=1600000US0415220 |access-date=June 15, 2022 |website=United States Census Bureau}}</ref>

==History== Gold was discovered at the Congress Mine in 1884. By 1893, the Santa Fe, Prescott and Phoenix Railway passed within three miles of the mine, at Congress Junction. Congress boomed, and remained prosperous until the mid-1930s, when the mines closed. Total gold production at the Congress Mine exceeded $8 million, at the then-current price of $20.67 per ounce – or about $400 million, at the 2007 price.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.sharlot.org/archives/history/dayspast/text/2000_01_30.shtml |title=Sharlot Hall Museum archives |access-date=May 8, 2008 |archive-date=October 13, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111013173549/http://www.sharlot.org/archives/history/dayspast/text/2000_01_30.shtml |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The post office moved to Congress Junction in 1938, where it remains. The community now known as Congress is the old Congress Junction. Little remains at the original mining-camp townsite. The old Congress Cemetery is nearby.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Varney |first1=Philip |title=Arizona's Best Ghost Towns |date=1980 |publisher=Northland Press |location=Flagstaff |isbn=0873582179 |pages=26–27 |chapter=Two: The Wickenburg Area |lccn=79-91724}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Heatwole |first=Thelma |title=Ghost Towns and Historical Haunts in Arizona |chapter=Congress: Gold in the Hills |year=1991 |orig-year=1951|publisher=American Traveler Press |location=Phoenix |isbn=978-0914846109 |pages=47–48}}</ref>

==Geography==

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of {{convert|37.7|sqmi|km2}}, of which {{convert|37.6|sqmi|km2}} is land and {{convert|0.04|sqmi|km2}} (0.08%) is water.

===Climate=== According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Congress has a semi-arid climate, abbreviated "BSk" on climate maps.<ref>[http://www.weatherbase.com/weather/weather-summary.php3?s=481820&cityname=Congress%2C+Arizona%2C+United+States+of+America&units= Climate Summary for Congress, Arizona]</ref>

==Demographics== {{US Census population |2020= 1811 |footnote=U.S. Decennial Census<ref name="DecennialCensus">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html|title=Census of Population and Housing|publisher=Census.gov|access-date=June 4, 2016}}</ref> | align = right | align-fn = center }}

===2020 census=== As of the 2020 census, Congress had a population of 1,811. The population density was 47.9 per square mile. There were 1,166 housing units at an average density of 30.9 per square mile.<ref name=":0" /><ref name="Census2020PL">{{cite web|title=2020 Decennial Census Redistricting Data (Public Law 94-171)|url=https://api.census.gov/data/2020/dec/pl?get=NAME,P1_001N,P1_003N,P1_004N,P1_005N,P1_006N,P1_007N,P1_008N,P1_009N,P2_001N,P2_002N,H1_001N,H1_002N&for=place%3A15220&in=state%3A04|website=United States Census Bureau|year=2021|access-date=April 30, 2026|df=mdy}}</ref>

The median age was 66.2 years. 8.7% of residents were under the age of 18 and 53.5% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 103.3 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 106.6 males age 18 and over.<ref name="Census2020DP">{{cite web|title=2020 Decennial Census Demographic Profile (DP1)|url=https://api.census.gov/data/2020/dec/dp?get=NAME,DP1_0021P,DP1_0024P,DP1_0025C,DP1_0049C,DP1_0045C,DP1_0069C,DP1_0073C,DP1_0125P,DP1_0126P,DP1_0129P,DP1_0133P,DP1_0137P,DP1_0138P,DP1_0139P,DP1_0141P,DP1_0142P,DP1_0143P,DP1_0145P,DP1_0146P,DP1_0147C,DP1_0148C,DP1_0149C,DP1_0156C,DP1_0157C,DP1_0158C,DP1_0159P,DP1_0160P&for=place%3A15220&in=state%3A04|website=United States Census Bureau|year=2021|access-date=April 30, 2026|df=mdy}}</ref><ref name="Census2020PL"/>

0.0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 100.0% lived in rural areas.<ref name="Census2020DHC">{{cite web|title=2020 Decennial Census Demographic and Housing Characteristics (DHC)|url=https://api.census.gov/data/2020/dec/dhc?get=NAME,P2_002N,P2_003N&for=place%3A15220&in=state%3A04|website=United States Census Bureau|year=2023|access-date=April 30, 2026|df=mdy}}</ref>

There were 908 households in Congress, of which 7.5% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 56.6% were married-couple households, 15.7% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 21.7% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 30.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 19.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.09 and the average family size was 2.57.<ref name="Census2020DP"/><ref name=":0" />

Of all housing units, 22.1% were vacant. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.6% and the rental vacancy rate was 9.3%.<ref name="Census2020DP"/>

{| class="wikitable" |+ Racial composition as of the 2020 census<ref name="Census2020PL"/> ! Race !! Number !! Percent |- | White || 1,571 || 86.7% |- | Black or African American || 11 || 0.6% |- | American Indian and Alaska Native || 26 || 1.4% |- | Asian || 13 || 0.7% |- | Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander || 1 || 0.1% |- | Some other race || 69 || 3.8% |- | Two or more races || 120 || 6.6% |- | ''Hispanic or Latino (of any race)'' || 170 || 9.4% |}

===Income and poverty=== The median household income was $48,080 and the median family income was $57,675. About 9.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 19.4% of those under age 18 and 6.4% of those age 65 or over. The employment rate was 24.4%, and 12.7% of residents had a bachelor's degree or higher.<ref name=":0" /> ==Education== Congress Elementary School District operates a local K-8 school. The district sends high school students to Wickenburg High School of the Wickenburg Unified School District.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://congress.sharpschool.net/district|title=District|publisher=Congress Elementary School District|accessdate=January 28, 2022}}</ref> Students attended Wickenburg USD for all grade levels prior to 2001, when the Congress K-8 facility opened.<ref name=Gassen>{{cite news|last=Gassen|first=Sarah Garrecht|title=School volunteer pledges catch on|newspaper=Arizona Daily Star|place=Tucson, Arizona|date=September 2, 2001|pages=B1, B4, B5}} – [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/93902140/ Clipping of first], [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/93902195/ of second page], and [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/93902285/ of third page] at Newspapers.com.</ref>

==Government and infrastructure== The Congress Post Office, of the United States Postal Service, opened in 2001.<ref name=Gassen/>

==Gallery== <gallery widths="180px" class="center"> File:CongressLoco.jpg|Porter locomotive #873, in service near Congress in the early 1900s. File:CongressExcursion.jpg|Congress residents on an excursion to Phoenix, {{circa|1905}}. </gallery>

==See also== {{Portal|Arizona}} * Date Creek Mountains * Stanton, Arizona * Little Miss Nobody case – Sharon Lee Gallegos (1955–1960) whose murdered body was found in Congress

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== * {{commons-inline}} * [http://www.ghosttowns.com/states/az/congress.html Congress ghost town], includes photo gallery

Category:Census-designated places in Yavapai County, Arizona Category:Census-designated places in Arizona Category:Ghost towns in Arizona Category:Gold mines in the United States Category:Mining communities in Arizona