Humboldt Arizona
Humboldt is located in Yavapai County, Arizona. It is more commonly known as Dewey-Humboldt since it is often associated with the nearby town, Dewey. Dewey and Humboldt are located adjacent to one another in the Agua Fria River Valley. On December 20, 2004, both Dewey and Humboldt were incorporated into one town and it is now called Dewey-Humboldt.
King Woosley who named the Agua Fria River and founded the Agua Fria ranch settled in Dewey in the early 1860’s. The post-office for Agua Fria was discontinued in 1895 and reestablished in 1898 with the name Dewey. There was a question as to whether the name was taken from Rear Admiral Dewey or a pioneer settler in the vicinity. And for more than a century, farming continued in the area until the last working farm was sold to land developers in the year 2006. The Dewey area is now a low density residential area. Ruins of Woosley’s farm ranch can still be seen halfway from the old Black Canyon Highway and the Agua Fria River which is about 1 mile north of Humboldt.
The town of Humboldt was originally named Val Verde after the company that owned the local smelting corporation. It was also settled around 1860’s. In 1905, the town was renamed Humboldt and within two years the towns population grew to about 1,000. The city decided to host the Labor Day celebration after becoming a boomtown. From then on until today, yearly celebrations with a parade are still held on the Main Street.
Today, Dewey-Humboldt at an elevation of 4,556 feet has an estimated population of 6,295 as of U.S. Census 2000. It is also Arizona’s newest incorporated community.
