Paradise, Arizona

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Paradise, Arizona
—  Ghost town  —
Paradise, Arizona is located in Arizona
Paradise, Arizona
Location in the state of Arizona
Coordinates: 31°56′5″N 109°13′8″W / 31.93472°N 109.21889°W / 31.93472; -109.21889Coordinates: 31°56′5″N 109°13′8″W / 31.93472°N 109.21889°W / 31.93472; -109.21889
Country United States
State Arizona
County Cochise
Founded 1901
Abandoned 1943
Elevation[1] 5,482 ft (1,671 m)
Population (2011)
 • Total 5
Time zone MST (no DST) (UTC-7)
Post Office opened October 23, 1901
Post Office closed September 30, 1943

Paradise is a ghost town in Cochise County in the U.S. state of Arizona. The town was settled in 1901 in what was then the Arizona Territory.

Contents

[edit] History

Old Paradise photo.

In 1901 the Chiricahua Development Company located a vein of ore here. A post office was established on October 23, 1901, and at its peak, the town had saloons, general stores, a jail and a hotel. The town was essentially abandoned when the local mines failed, and the post office closed on September 30, 1943.[2][3] However, a few residents remained. In June 2011, there were five permanent residents and 29 standing structures[4] when the Horseshoe 2 Fire swept through the area.[5]

[edit] Geography

Paradise is located 5.7 miles west (up-mountain) from Portal, Arizona at 31°56′5″N 109°13′8″W / 31.93472°N 109.21889°W / 31.93472; -109.21889 (31.9348131,-109.2189503), and is surrounded by Coronado National Forest land.[1]

[edit] In popular culture

A fictional town named Paradise in Arizona is the main setting of the video game Postal 2. The town is destroyed by a nuclear explosion at the end of the game.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Paradise
  2. ^ Sherman, James E.; Barbara H. Sherman (1969). "Paradise". Ghost Towns of Arizona (First ed.). University of Oklahoma Press. pp. 114–115. ISBN 0806108436. 
  3. ^ Granger, Byrd H. (1970) Arizona Place Names, Tucson: University of Arizona Press
  4. ^ Southwest Incident Management Team (21 May 2011) "Emergency Bulletin: Horseshoe Two Fire Update; Precautionary Evacuation Remains in Effect" Arizona Emergency Information Network (AzEIN)
  5. ^ Rocky Basin Type-2 Incident Management Team (10 June 2011) "Emergency Bulletin: Horseshoe Two Fire 40 Percent Contained; Winds Expected from Southwest" Arizona Emergency Information Network (AzEIN)

[edit] Further reading

  • Alden Hayes, A Portal to Paradise, University of Arizona Press (1999), ISBN 0816521441


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