Aubrey Landing is a ghost town

Ghost town

A ghost town is an abandoned town or city. A town often becomes a ghost town because the economic activity that supported it has failed, or due to natural or human-caused disasters such as floods, government actions, uncontrolled lawlessness, war, or nuclear disasters...

 at the mouth of the Bill Williams River

Bill Williams River

The Bill Williams River is a river in western-central Arizona in Mohave County; the river proper is the northern border of La Paz County which it drains in the north, as well as areas of far western Yavapai County...

 in southern Mohave County, Arizona

Mohave County, Arizona

Mohave County is located in the northwestern corner of the U.S. state of Arizona. As of the 2010 census, its population was 200,186, an increase of 45,154 people since the 2000 census count of 155,032. The county seat is Kingman...

. The town was founded before 1865 and was abandoned sometime after 1886. Aubrey is located two miles northeast of Parker Dam

Parker Dam

Parker Dam is a concrete arch-gravity dam that crosses the Colorado River downstream of Hoover Dam. Built between 1934 and 1938 by the Bureau of Reclamation, it is high, of which are below the riverbed, making it "the deepest dam in the world". The dam's primary functions are to create a...

. Aubrey Landing was inundated when Lake Havasu

Lake Havasu

Lake Havasu is a large reservoir behind Parker Dam on the Colorado River, on the border between California and Arizona. Lake Havasu City sits on the lake's eastern shore. The lake has a capacity of . The concrete arch dam was built by the United States Bureau of Reclamation between 1934 and 1938...

 was formed.

History

The first construction for the town of Aubrey Landing began sometime before 1865 during the Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

 in Arizona. The unknown founder named the river settlement after Francois Xavier Aubrey, a famous American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 pioneer

American pioneer

American pioneers are any of the people in American history who migrated west to join in settling and developing new areas. The term especially refers to those who were going to settle any territory which had previously not been settled or developed by European or American society, although the...

 from a decade earlier. The town was ideally located but in 1865, a break in copper left the town almost deserted but enough people stayed, prompting a post office establishment in 1866. Little had changed though by 1878, the town never grew to the size anticipated by the owners. The town consisted of the usual mining camp structures, as well as a hotel, saloon and a general store. The town supported a small population for almost ten years more. In 1886 the post office closed and the town soon after.

External Links

• http://imgzoom.cdlib.org/Fullscreen.ics?ark=ark:/13030/tf6b69p3dz/z1&&brand=calisphere#Aubrey City, Williams Fork, Arizona Territory, by Edward Fairman, artist Date: 1866. Drawing on paper: pen and ink 48.4 x 64.6 cm. View across river looking towards one-story buildings surrounding plaza with US flag on flag pole; mining operation owned by Martin & Co. to left; several wagons pulled by oxen teams; paddlewheel steamship towing barge in river; high mountains in distance. Located at confluence of Williams Fork and Colorado River. Bancroft Library.]