Christmas, Arizona facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Christmas, Arizona
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 Christmas, Arizona
Location in Arizona
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| Country | United States |
| State | Arizona |
| County | Gila |
| Area | |
| • Water | 0.0 sq mi (0.0 km2) |
| Population
(2010)
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| • Ghost town | 0 |
| • Density | 0/sq mi (0/km2) |
| • Metro | 0 |
| Time zone | UTC-7 (MST) |
Christmas is a ghost town located in Gila County, Arizona, United States. It used to be a busy mining community. The town got its name because the mine that started it all was claimed on Christmas Day in 1902.
For about 30 years, Christmas had a post office. It became very popular during the holidays. People from all over the United States would send their mail there. They wanted their letters and packages to have a special "Christmas" postmark. This made the town famous for its unique name.
Christmas, Arizona, is often mentioned on lists of places with unusual names. It is also where three rare minerals were first found: apachite, junitoite, and ruizite.
Contents
Discovering Christmas: A Mining Town's Story
Early Claims and Boundary Changes
The story of Christmas began with two mining claims. The first claim was made in 1878 by Bill Tweed and Dennis O'Brien. A few years later, in 1882, Dr. James Douglas made another claim. However, these claims were later found to be inside the San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation. This meant the claims were not valid.
Years later, a prospector named George B. Chittenden worked hard to change the reservation's borders. He asked the U.S. Congress to make these changes. Finally, on December 22, 1902, President Teddy Roosevelt signed an order. This order set new boundaries for the reservation. It also removed the old mining claims from the reservation land.
How Christmas Got Its Name
George Chittenden was ready to act quickly. He set up a system of relay riders. These riders carried messages between a telegraph office in Casa Grande and his camp. News of the boundary change arrived late on Christmas Eve 1902.
Chittenden and his partner, N. H. Mellor, immediately went to the old claim sites. They staked their new claim very early on Christmas morning. They later said, "We filled our stockings and named the place Christmas in honor of the day." This is how the town got its festive name.
Mining Success and Town Growth
The Christmas mine was very productive between 1905 and 1943. It produced about 55 million pounds of copper. This copper was worth over $10 million. The mine also produced smaller amounts of silver and gold.
At first, the Saddle Mountain Mining Company ran the mine. After a financial crisis in 1907, the Gila Copper Sulphide Company took over. During this time, the town of Christmas began to grow around the mine. By 1919, the town had many businesses. These included a meat market, a general store, and a billiards hall.
Ups and Downs of the Mining Town
The mine closed in 1921 but reopened four years later. The Miner Products Company started a new operation. They could process 500 tons of copper ore every day. The town continued to grow, reaching its largest population of about 1,000 people in the early 1930s.
More services were added to the town. There was a barbershop, a dairy, a hat shop, a grocery store, a school, and a church. Unlike many mining towns, Christmas did not have gambling halls or saloons. The residents preferred a quiet and law-abiding life. However, a drop in copper prices caused the population to shrink. By the end of 1931, only about 100 people remained.
The Famous Christmas Post Office
The Christmas post office first opened on June 17, 1905. Over the next 30 years, it opened and closed several times. Its operation depended on how well the mine was doing. It was also hard to keep a postmaster. Their pay mostly came from stamp sales.
The post office became very busy during the holidays. People from all over the United States sent Christmas cards and packages there. They wanted their mail to have the special "Christmas" postmark. This made the town famous. The post office closed for good on March 30, 1935. Even after it closed, holiday mail kept arriving for 20 more years. This mail was then sent to the nearby post office in Winkelman, Arizona.
The Mine's Final Years
The Christmas Copper company went bankrupt in 1932. The mine was sold to different owners over the years. In 1955, the Inspiration Consolidated Copper Company bought it. The United States Bureau of Mines and United States Geological Survey explored the mine in the 1940s.
In 1956, the Inspiration Consolidated Copper Company planned a new, deep mine shaft. In the 1960s, the mine changed to an open pit. Many of the town's buildings were moved or removed to make space for the expanding mine. Besides mining, this site was also where new minerals like apachite, junitoite, and ruizite were discovered.
A drop in copper prices in the early 1980s led to the mine's final closure. Today, the mine is owned by Freeport Mcmoran and is closed to the public.
