Bumble Bee, Arizona
{{Short description|Ghost town in Yavapai County, Arizona}}
{{Use American English|date=June 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2023}}
{{Infobox settlement
|name = Bumble Bee, Arizona
|settlement_type = Ghost town
|image_skyline = File:Bumble Bee Arizona 2017.jpg
|imagesize = 270px
|image_caption = Bumble Bee townsite, 2017. Bumble Bee Creek is above the house.
|pushpin_map = USA Arizona#USA
|pushpin_label_position =
|pushpin_map_caption = Location within the state of Arizona
|pushpin_mapsize =
|map_caption = Location within Yavapai county
|subdivision_type = Country
|subdivision_name = United States
|subdivision_type1 = State
|subdivision_name1 = Arizona
|subdivision_type2 = County
|subdivision_name2 = Yavapai
|government_footnotes =
|government_type =
|established_title =
|established_date =
|unit_pref = Imperial
|area_footnotes =
|area_total_km2 =
|area_land_km2 =
|area_water_km2 =
|population_as_of = 2000
|population_footnotes =
|population_total =
|population_density_km2 = auto
|timezone = Mountain (MST)
|utc_offset = -7
|elevation_ft = 2579
|coordinates = {{coord|34|12|03|N|112|09|11|W|type:city_region:US-AZ|display=inline,title}}
|postal_code_type = ZIP codes
|postal_code =
|area_code =
|blank_name = FIPS code
|blank_info =
|blank1_name = GNIS feature ID
|blank1_info = 27000{{GNIS|27000}}
|footnotes =
}}
Bumble Bee is a ghost town in the Bradshaw Mountains of Yavapai County, Arizona, United States, named for nearby Bumble Bee Creek. The townsite area is commonly used by RV campers in winter.
History
File:Welcome to Bumble Bee, AZ road sign, 2017.jpg
Established in 1863, Bumble Bee served as a stagecoach stop and an outpost for the U.S. Cavalry, with a post office established in 1879. The creek, and by extension the town, were so named because early travelers in the area claimed that the indigenous people there were as "thick as bumblebees".{{cite web|title=Bumble Bee Just Never Made It|url=http://www.legendsofamerica.com/az-bumblebee.html|access-date=12 April 2011}}{{cite book|last1=Moyer|first1=Armond|last2=Moyer|first2=Winifred|title=The origins of unusual place-names|url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=wu.89058322223;view=1up;seq=22|year=1958|publisher=Keystone Pub. Associates|page=18}}
Bumble Bee's population was 25 in 1920,{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WqRRAQAAMAAJ |title=Premier Atlas of the World: Containing Maps of All Countries of the World, with the Most Recent Boundary Decisions, and Maps of All the States, Territories, and Possessions of the United States with Population Figures from the Latest Official Census Reports, Also Data of Interest Concerning International and Domestic Political Questions |date=1925 |publisher=Rand McNally & Company |pages=165–166 |language=en}} and 20 in 1940.{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZTcjAQAAMAAJ |title=The Attorneys List |publisher=United States Fidelity and Guaranty Company, Attorney List Department |year=1940 |page=85 |language=en}}
=Ghost town status=
With the demise of the stagecoach and the mining in the surrounding area, the site eventually faded away. An attempt by Jeff Martin to make the town a tourist attraction during the mid-1930s resulted in the construction of the current buildings. In 1960, Charles A. Penn, retired publisher of Railroad Model Craftsman magazine, purchased the site and tried once again to establish a tourist attraction and museum. Penn died before his plans came to fruition and the property reverted to private ownership. Many of the faux historic buildings have since been torn down and smaller homes have been built in their place.
Bumble Bee is located 55 miles north of Phoenix, just off I-17 at Exit #248.
Education
References
{{reflist}}
External links
{{Commons category}}
- [http://www.ghosttowns.com/states/az/bumblebee.html A traveler's account of Bumble Bee with photos]
- [http://www.cultimedia.ch/ghosttowns/htme/bumble.htm Photo gallery]
- [http://www.azghosttowns.com/towns/bumblebe.html Bumblebee] – Ghost Town of the Month at azghosttowns.com
{{Yavapai County, Arizona}}