Fort Mohave is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

and

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

Mohave County Mohave County occupies the northwestern corner of the U.S. state of Arizona, one of 15 counties in the state. As of the 2020 census, its population was 213,267. The county seat is Kingman, and the largest city is Lake Havasu City. It is th ...

, Arizona, United States. It is named for a nearby

fort A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from La ...

that was used during the

Mohave War The Mohave War was an armed conflict between the Mohave people and the United States from 1858 to 1859. With the California Gold Rush of 1849, thousands of American settlers headed west through Mohave country and into California. The influx of m ...

. As of the 2020 census, the population of Fort Mohave was 16,190, up from 14,364 in 2010 and 8,919 in 2000. It is a suburb of Bullhead City. Its recent growth has made it the most populous unincorporated community in Mohave County. The largest single employer in Fort Mohave is Valley View Medical Center. In 2013, Fort Mohave became the home of a 200+ acre photovoltaic solar generating plant. The plant was built east of Vanderslice Road between Joy Lane and Lipan Boulevard.

History

The first known European to visit the area was Spanish explorer

Melchor Díaz Melchor Díaz (1505 – January 1541) was a Spanish ''conquistador'' who was Governor of Culiacan. He is best known for leading a 25-man auxiliary party during the 1540 Coronado expedition. In December 1540 Díaz crossed the Colorado River which ...

. He documented his travels in what is now northwestern Mohave County in 1540. He recounts meeting a large population of natives who referred to themselves as the ''Pipa Aha Macav'', meaning "People by the River". From "Aha Macav" came the Spanish name "Mojave", which was later passed into English, where it is also spelled "Mohave". When most people refer to Fort Mohave, they use the spelling "Mohave", while the tribe retains the traditional Spanish spelling "Mojave". During the

the fort was established as a base of U. S. Army military operations against the native

Mohave people Mohave or Mojave (Mojave language, Mojave: 'Aha Makhav) are a Native Americans in the United States, Native American people indigenous to the Colorado River in the Mojave Desert. The Fort Mojave Indian Reservation includes territory within the bo ...

, who had been living in the area for centuries prior. In April 1861, during the early part of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

, the fort was abandoned, its garrison sent to secure

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural List of regions of California, region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Its densely populated coastal reg ...

from possible secession, and then sent to the east. It was subsequently garrisoned by Company B and Company I, 4th California Infantry Regiment, in May 1863. Company B remained for six months, but Company I remained until March 1865, when it was relieved by Company C, 7th California Infantry Regiment, until 1866 when Camp Mohave was again garrisoned by regular U.S. Army troops. The U.S. Army remained until September 29, 1890, when the War Department turned it over to the Indian Service by order of President

Benjamin Harrison Benjamin Harrison (August 20, 1833March 13, 1901) was the 23rd president of the United States, serving from 1889 to 1893. He was a member of the Harrison family of Virginia—a grandson of the ninth president, William Henry Harrison, and a ...

. It was given up by the Indian Service in 1935 and is now part of the

Fort Mojave Indian Reservation The Fort Mohave Indian Reservation is an Indian reservation along the Colorado River, currently encompassing in Arizona, in California, and in the southernmost point of Nevada. Located around the tri-point of the three states, the reservation i ...

Geography

Fort Mohave is in western Mohave County along Arizona State Route 95. It is bordered to the north by Bullhead City, to the west by the Fort Mojave Indian Reservation, and to the south by unincorporated Mesquite Creek. AZ 95 leads north to the center of Bullhead City and south to

Needles, California Needles is a city in San Bernardino County, in the Mojave Desert region of Southern California. Situated on the western banks of the Colorado River, Needles is located near the California border with Arizona and Nevada. The city is accessible v ...

, across the

Colorado River The Colorado River () is one of the principal rivers (along with the Rio Grande) in the Southwestern United States and in northern Mexico. The river, the List of longest rivers of the United States (by main stem), 5th longest in the United St ...

. Aztec Road leads west from the center of Fort Mohave across the Colorado into the southernmost corner of

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...

, south of Laughlin. According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The U.S. Census Bureau is part of the U ...

, the Fort Mohave CDP has an area of , all of it recorded as land. Many neighborhoods in Fort Mohave are built on man-made lakes, golf courses, and mesas with majestic mountain views. The newest golf course, Los Lagos Golf Club, is a Ted Robinson, Sr. Signature Golf Course. It is home to the Mojave Crossing Event Center, the largest stadium within , serving all Mohave County for large indoor events. It has a seating capacity of 3,000 stadium style and 5,000 arena style.

Demographics

Fort Mohave is geographically between, and economically connected to, Bullhead City and

Mohave Valley The Mohave Valley is a valley located mostly on the east shore of the south-flowing Colorado River in northwest Arizona. The valley extends into California's San Bernardino County; the northern side of the valley extends into extreme southeast ...

Education

The CDP is in the Mohave Valley Elementary School District and the Colorado River Union High School District. Fort Mohave has two public elementary schools, Fort Mojave Elementary School and Camp Mohave Elementary School, both of which are a part of the Mohave Valley Elementary School District. There is also a public charter school, Young Scholar's Academy, All Beauty College, the Academy of Building Industries, and Desert Star.

Infrastructure

Health care

Fort Mohave is the location of the Valley View Medical Center, which opened in 2005. It is a facility with state-of-the-art technology. The hospital features 38 medical/surgical beds, 10 rehabilitation beds, a six-bed labor and delivery unit, a six-bed intensive care unit, four major operating rooms and two procedure rooms. In 2010, Valley View announced a 1.2 million Emergency Room expansion.

Emergency services

Fort Mohave is served by the Fort Mojave-Mesa Fire Department.

Transportation

Vegas Airporter provides service between Lake Havasu City, Fort Mohave, and

Harry Reid International Airport Harry Reid International Airport , formerly known as McCarran International Airport, is the primary international airport serving the Las Vegas Valley, a metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Nevada. It is located south of downtown Las Vega ...

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

References

External links

{{Mohave County, Arizona Arizona placenames of Native American origin Lower Colorado River Valley 1935 establishments in Arizona