Kingman is a city in Mohave County, Arizona, United States. The population was 20,069 at the 2000 census. The
city is the county seat of Mohave
County6. According to 2005 Census
Bureau estimates, the population of the city is 25,547.[1] The nearby communities of Golden Valley and
Butler bring Kingman's total population to around 40,000.
History
Lt. Edward Fitzgerald Beale, a Naval officer in the service of the U.S. Army
Topographical Corps, was ordered by the War Department to build a government-funded wagon road across the 35th Parallel. His
secondary orders were to test the feasibility of the use of camels as pack animals in the southwestern desert. Beale traveled
through the present day Kingman in 1857 surveying the road and in 1859 to build the road. The road became part of
U.S. Route 66.
Kingman, Arizona, was founded in 1882. Situated in the scenic Hualapai Valley between the Cerbat
and Hualapai mountain ranges, it is known for its very modest beginnings as a simple railroad siding near Beale’s Springs in the
Middleton Section along the newly-constructed route of the Atlantic and Pacific
Railroad. The city of Kingman was named after Lewis Kingman who surveyed along the
Atlantic and Pacific right of way between Needles and Albuquerque. Lewis Kingman supervised the building of the railroad from Winslow to Beale's Springs, which is near the
present location of the city of Kingman.
On July 5, 1973, Kingman was the site of a catastrophic
BLEVE (Boiling Liquid Expanding Vapor Explosion) which killed 11 firefighters. The explosion occurred following a fire that broke out as propane was being transferred from a railroad car to a storage tank. This explosion has become a classic
incident studied in fire department training programs worldwide. A detailed account, including some spectacular photographs, of
the explosion and its aftermath can be found in the History of Kingman Regional Medical Center (scroll down to July 5, 1973).
Transportation
Kingman is a transportation center along the I-40 corridor, as well as for
U.S. Highway 93, Route 66, and the rail line of the BNSF
Railway. It serves as the southeastern gateway to the resorts of Laughlin,
Nevada and Las Vegas, Nevada. Amtrak, the
national passenger rail system, provides daily service to Kingman, operating
its Southwest Chief between Chicago and Los Angeles.
Famous residents
Actor Andy Devine was raised in Kingman, where he moved from Flagstaff, Arizona at the age of one when his father opened the Beale Hotel there. One of the major
streets of Kingman is named Andy Devine Avenue and the city holds annual Andy Devine Days. The street is part of Route 66.
Boston Red Sox catcher Doug Mirabelli is also
from Kingman.
In popular culture
Kingman has been featured as a filming location for the movies Roadhouse 66,
scenes from Universal Soldier (Crazy Fred's
Truckstop and a destroyed gas station on Route 66) and Two-Lane Blacktop. In
addition the first contact scene in the movie Mars Attacks! was filmed at nearby Red Lake.
According to the Arizona Department of Public Safety, Jean Claude Van Damme received a speeding ticket on I-40 during the
filming of Universal Soldier.
In "Otis", an episode of the television series Prison Break, LJ Burrows is sent to an adult facility in
Kingman, Arizona. In a subsequent episode "Buried", LJ is released from
the aforementioned facility.
The town is mentioned in the lyrics to the song "Route 66".
The Wendy's scene in the movie Zoom
was also filmed in Kingman.
Pamela Anderson also did one of her 1992 Playboy photo shoots at the corner of 4th Street and
Andy Devine Avenue (Route 66), and was brought in to the Kingman Police Department for
indecent exposure. She was not charged but asked to write a letter of apology.
Geography
Kingman is located at 35°12′30″N, 114°1′33″W (35.208449,
-114.025730)1, at 3,333 feet in
elevation.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area
of 77.6 km² (30.0 mi²), all land.
Demographics
As of the census2 of 2000, there were 20,069 people in all with 7,854 households, and 5,427
families residing in the city. The population density was 258.5/km² (669.7/mi²).
There were 8,604 housing units at an average density of 110.8/km² (287.1/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 89.94%
White, 0.55% Black or African American, 1.98% Native American, 1.44% Asian, 0.14% Pacific Islander, 3.41% from other races, and 2.53% from two or more races. 9.25% of the population
were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 7,854 households out of which 30.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.6% were married couples living together, 10.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.9% were
non-families. 25.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or
older. The average household size was 2.47 and the average family size was 2.94.
In the city the population was spread out with 25.0% under the age of 18, 7.4% from 18 to 24, 25.6% from 25 to 44, 24.2% from
45 to 64, and 17.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 97.5 males.
For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.4 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $34,086, and the median income for a family was $41,327. Males had a median
income of $32,036 versus $21,134 for females. The per capita income for the city was
$17,181. About 8.2% of families and 11.6% of the population were below the poverty
line, including 15.3% of those under age 18 and 7.9% of those age 65 or over.
Education
Kingman is served by the Kingman Unified School District
and the Kingman Academy of Learning.
Mohave Community College is located in Kingman.
Points of interest
References
External links
Coordinates:
35.208449° N 114.02573°
W
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