thumb|The [[Large Binocular Telescope on the summit ridge of the Pinaleno Mountains, Graham County]]

Graham County is a county in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Arizona. As of the 2020 census, the population was 38,533, making it the third-least populous county in Arizona. The county seat is Safford.

Graham County composes the Safford, Arizona Micropolitan Statistical Area.

The county is home to several organizations including Eastern Arizona College and the Mount Graham International Observatory, which includes one of the world's largest and most powerful telescopes. Graham County is also home to the Arizona Salsa Trail and the annual Salsa Fest.

Graham County contains part of the San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation.

History

Joseph Knight Rogers, an early settler in the area, and a member of the Arizona Territorial Legislature, is known as the father of Graham County: he introduced the bill in the territorial legislature creating it. The new county was created from southern Apache County and eastern Pima County on March 10, 1881. Initially, the county seat was located in the city of Safford but was later moved to Solomonville in 1883. This change was undone in 1915, returning the county seat to Safford.

Graham County is named after the mountain of the same name which was, in turn, named after Lt. Col James Duncan Graham. The county was the first in Arizona to break the tradition of naming counties for Native Americans.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.4%) is water. The county has various mountain peaks including Mount Graham, which is the highest mountain in the Pinaleno Mountains.

Adjacent counties

  • Cochise County — south
  • Pima County — southwest
  • Pinal County — west
  • Gila County — northwest
  • Navajo County — north
  • Apache County — north
  • Greenlee County — east

National protected areas

  • Coronado National Forest (part)
  • Gila Box Riparian National Conservation Area (part)

Major highways

  • 20px U.S. Route 70
  • 25px U.S. Route 191
  • 25px State Route 266
  • 25px State Route 366

Demographics

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Communities

thumb|right|300px|Locations of [[municipal corporation|incorporated and unincorporated areas as well as Indian reservations in Graham County]]

City

  • Safford (county seat)

Towns

  • Pima
  • Thatcher

Census-designated places

  • Bryce
  • Bylas
  • Cactus Flats
  • Central
  • Fort Thomas
  • Peridot (partially in Gila County)
  • San Jose
  • Solomon
  • Swift Trail Junction

Unincorporated communities

thumb|upright|[[Linarite specimen from the old Grand Reef mine near Klondyke]]

  • Bonita
  • Eden
  • Fort Grant

Ghost towns

  • Aravaipa
  • Camp Goodwin
  • Geronimo
  • Klondyke
  • Spenazuma

Indian communities

  • San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation

County population ranking

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

† county seat

{| class="wikitable sortable"

|-

!Rank

!City/Town/etc.

!Population (2010 Census)

!Municipal type

!Incorporated

|- style="background:#ffff54;"

| 1

| † Safford

| 9,566

| City

|

|- style="background:#bfb;"

| 2

| Thatcher

| 4,865

| Town

|

|- style="background:#dbe9f4;"

| 3

| Swift Trail Junction

| 2,935

| CDP

|

|- style="background:#bfb;"

| 4

| Pima

| 2,387

| Town

|

|- style="background:#dbe9f4;"

| 5

| Bylas

| 1,962

| CDP

|

|- style="background:#dbe9f4;"

| 6

| Cactus Flats

| 1,518

| CDP

|

|- style="background:#dbe9f4;"

| 7

| Peridot (Partially in Gila County)

| 1,350

| CDP

|

|- style="background:#dbe9f4;"

| 8

| Central

| 645

| CDP

|

|- style="background:#dbe9f4;"

| 9

| San Jose

| 506

| CDP

|

|- style="background:#dbe9f4;"

| 10

| Solomon

| 426

| CDP

|

|- style="background:#dbe9f4;"

| 11

| Fort Thomas

| 374

| CDP

|

|- style="background:#dbe9f4;"

| 12

| Bryce

| 175

| CDP

|

|}

Notable people

  • Charles Stevens, Apache/Mexican actor
  • Lynda Carter, actress/singer
  • Charles Dudley (né Heaslip) born Fort Grant, film actor and make-up artist
  • Sarah Yeiser Mason, Academy Award-winning screenwriter
  • Spencer W. Kimball, former President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, was raised in Thatcher, and lived and operated a business in Safford between 1927 and 1943.

See also

  • Frye Mesa Reservoir
  • National Register of Historic Places listings in Graham County, Arizona
  • USS Graham County (LST-1176)
  • Graham County Sheriff's Office

References

  • Graham County official website
  • Graham County visitor information
  • Graham County Chamber of Commerce