American Flag, Arizona

American Flag is a ghost town in Pinal County, Arizona, five miles (8.1 km) southeast of Oracle. The town was established in the late 1870s, but shortly after 1890, the town had become abandoned.

American Flag, Arizona
American Flag post office
American Flag post office
American Flag is located in Arizona
American Flag
American Flag
Location in the state of Arizona
American Flag is located in the United States
American Flag
American Flag
American Flag (the United States)
Coordinates: 32°34′48″N 110°43′13″W / 32.58000°N 110.72028°W / 32.58000; -110.72028
CountryUnited States
StateArizona
CountyPinal
Founded:circa 1870
Abandoned:circa 1890
Founded byIsaac Lorraine
Named forThe American flag
Elevation4,423 ft (1,348 m)
Population
 • Total0
Time zoneUTC-7 (MST (no DST))
Post Office Opened:December 28, 1880
Post Office Closed:July 16, 1890

History

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American Flag was founded by prospector Isaac Lorraine as the American Flag mine and mining camp in the late 1870s. In 1881, the town was sold to the Richardson Mining Company of New York. The town was small and had a population of about forty, on average. Little is known about the mining camp at this time. Eventually Isaac Lorraine would turn his attention to cattle, where he later built the American Flag Ranch. By 1884, the population was only fifteen, so the post office closed a few years later and the town was left unoccupied.[2]

The post office was moved to the American Flag Ranch headquarters in 1880. The building still stands, and is the oldest surviving territorial post office building in Arizona.[3] The building is now on the National Register of Historic Places, and is preserved by the Oracle Historical Society.[4]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: American Flag Ranch
  2. ^ Sherman, James E; Barbara H. Sherman (1969). Ghost Towns of Arizona. University of Oklahoma Press. ISBN 0-8061-0843-6.
  3. ^ Oracle history
  4. ^ American Flag Ranch[permanent dead link], Oracle Historical Society
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