Cochise County, Arizona facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Cochise County
County
The art deco county courthouse in Bisbee
Flag Seal
Location within the U.S. state of Arizona
Arizona's location within the U.S.
Country	United States
State	Arizona
Founded	February 1, 1881
Named for	Cochise
Seat	Bisbee
Largest city	Sierra Vista
Area
• Total	6,219 sq mi (16,110 km2)
• Land	6,166 sq mi (15,970 km2)
• Water	53 sq mi (140 km2)  0.9%%
Population  (2020)
• Total	125,447
• Estimate  (2023)	124,640
• Density	20.1716/sq mi (7.7883/km2)
Time zone	UTC−7 (Mountain)
Congressional districts	6th, 7th

Cochise County (/koʊˈtʃiːs/ KOH-cheess) is a county in the southeastern corner of the U.S. state of Arizona. It is named after Cochise, a Chiricahua Apache who was a key war leader during the Apache Wars.

The population was 125,447 at the 2020 census. The county seat is Bisbee and the most populous city is Sierra Vista.

Cochise County includes the Sierra Vista-Douglas, Arizona Metropolitan Statistical Area. The county borders southwestern New Mexico and the northwestern Mexican state of Sonora.

History

In 1528, Spanish explorers Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca, Estevanico, and Fray Marcos de Niza survived a shipwreck off the Texas coast. Captured by Native Americans, they spent eight years finding their way back to Mexico City, via the San Pedro Valley. Their journals, maps, and stories led to the Cibola, seven cities of gold myth. The Expedition of Francisco Vásquez de Coronado in 1539 using it as his route north through what they called the Guachuca Mountains of Pima (Tohono O'odham) lands and later part of the mission routes north, but was actually occupied by the Sobaipuri descendants of the Hohokam. They found a large Pueblo (described as a small city) between modern Benson and Whetstone, and several smaller satellite villages and smaller pueblos including ones on Fort Huachuca, Huachuca City and North Eastern Fry. About 1657 Father Kino visited the Sobaipuris just before the Apache forced most from the valley, as they were struggling to survive due to increasing Chiricahua Apache attacks as they moved into the area of Texas Canyon of the Dragoon Mountains. In 1775, Presidio Santa Cruz de Terrenate was founded on the west bank of the San Pedro River to protect the natives as well as the Spanish settlers who supplied the mission stations. The presidio was chronically short on provisions due to raids, however, and lacked personnel to adequately patrol the eastern route due to wars with France and England, so the main route north shifted west to the Santa Cruz valley, farther from the range of the Chiricahua Apache who almost exclusively controlled the area by 1821.

Cochise County in 1881

Cochise County was created on February 1, 1881, out of the eastern portion of Pima County. It took its name from the Chiricahua Apache war chief Cochise. The county seat was Tombstone until 1929 when it moved to Bisbee. Notable men who once held the position of County Sheriff were Johnny Behan, who served as the first sheriff of the new county, and who was one of the main characters during the events leading to and following the gunfight at the O.K. Corral. Later, in 1886, Texas John Slaughter became sheriff. Lawman Jeff Milton and lawman/outlaw Burt Alvord both served as deputies under Slaughter.

A syndicated television series which aired from 1956 to 1958, The Sheriff of Cochise starring John Bromfield, was filmed on location in Cochise County. The Jimmy Stewart movie Broken Arrow and subsequent television show of the same name starring John Lupton, which also aired from 1956 to 1958, were set in Cochise County but filmed at other locations.

J.A. Jance's Joanna Brady mystery series takes place in Cochise County, where Brady is sheriff.

Beginning in the late 1950s, the small community of Miracle Valley was the site of a series of bible colleges and similar religious organizations, founded by television evangelist A. A. Allen. In 1982, Miracle Valley and neighboring Palominas were the site of a series of escalating conflicts between a newly arrived black religious community and the county sheriff and deputies that culminated in the Miracle Valley shootout.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 6,219 square miles (16,110 km²), of which 6,166 square miles (15,970 km²) is land and 53 square miles (140 km²) (0.9%) is water. Cochise County is close to the size of the states of Rhode Island and Connecticut combined.

Adjacent counties and municipios

Protected areas

The Big Room in Kartchner Caverns

Fort Bowie site near Apache Pass.

• Chiricahua National Monument
• Coronado National Forest (part)
• Coronado National Memorial
• Fort Bowie National Historic Site
• Kartchner Caverns State Park
• Leslie Canyon National Wildlife Refuge
• San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area

Demographics

2010 census

As of the census of 2010, there were 131,346 people, 50,865 households, and 33,653 families residing in the county. The population density was 21.3 inhabitants per square mile (8.2 inhabitants/km²). There were 59,041 housing units at an average density of 9.6 units per square mile (3.7 units/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 78.5% white, 4.2% black or African American, 1.9% Asian, 1.2% American Indian, 0.3% Pacific islander, 9.9% from other races, and 4.0% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 32.4% of the population. The largest ancestry groups were:

Of the 50,865 households, 30.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.0% were married couples living together, 11.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 33.8% were non-families, and 28.2% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.46 and the average family size was 3.02. The median age was 39.7 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $44,876 and the median income for a family was $53,077. Males had a median income of $42,164 versus $31,019 for females. The per capita income for the county was $23,010. About 11.8% of families and 15.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 23.2% of those under age 18 and 10.7% of those age 65 or over.

Transportation

Major highways

State Route 80 seen towards north in Tombstone

• Interstate 10
• Historic U.S. Route 80
• U.S. Route 191
• State Route 80
• State Route 82
• State Route 83
• State Route 90
• State Route 92
• State Route 186

Airports

Bisbee Municipal Airport is owned by the City of Bisbee and located five nautical miles (9 km) southeast of its central business district

Sierra Vista Municipal Airport (IATA: FHU, ICAO: KFHU, FAA LID: FHU), a joint-use civil-military airport which shares facilities with Libby Army Airfield, is located on the U.S. Army installation Fort Huachuca in the city of Sierra Vista. The airport has three runways and one helipad. It is mostly used for military aviation for the surrounding military base.

There are no commercial flights out of Cochise County; the nearest commercial airport is at Tucson, approximately 70 miles from Sierra Vista.

Communities

Map of incorporated areas and unincorporated areas in Cochise County with the largest city, Sierra Vista highlighted

Cities

• Benson
• Bisbee (county seat)
• Douglas
• Sierra Vista
• Tombstone
• Willcox

Towns

• Huachuca City

Census-designated places

Other places

Military sites

• Fort Huachuca
• Willcox Playa (proving ground)

Ghost towns

County population ranking

The population ranking of the following table is based on the 2010 census of Cochise County.

† county seat

Education

School districts include:

Unified:

Secondary:

• Valley Union High School District

Elementary:

The Rucker Elementary School district, in 2002, operated no schools and sent its elementary students to the Elfrida district. The Rucker district had a bus driver and an administrator as employees. The residents liked the arrangement as they could pay less tax.

See also

In Spanish: Condado de Cochise para niños