Wittmann, Arizona

Coordinates: 33°46′30″N 112°31′30″W / 33.77500°N 112.52500°W / 33.77500; -112.52500
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Wittmann, Arizona
FIPS code
04-84140
GNIS feature ID2582909

Wittmann is an

unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 684,[2] down from 763 in 2010. It is located along U.S. Route 60 in the central part of Arizona, 35 miles (56 km) northwest of central Phoenix, and is part of the Phoenix metropolitan area
, although just outside the urban portion.

A variant name was "Nadaburg"; the present name is for Joseph Wittmann and his wife Eleanor van Beuren Wittmann, a couple who attempted several times to get approvals to build a dam project in nearby Box Canyon that would have benefitted the town. This was to be a successor to the poorly engineered Walnut Grove dam that had collapsed in February 1890, less than two years after it had filled. Eleanor van Beuren's father was the nominal head of a group of East Coast investors that had funded what was then primarily a placer mining project. One of the Walnut Grove Water Storage Company's engineers (not responsible for the design) was Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Oswald Brodie, who was later appointed Arizona's territorial governor.

Governmental approval and adequate funding lacking, the replacement dam project plans faltered. A long-projected time for repayment of supplemental government funding killed Joseph Wittmann's project in the 1940s, leaving promises to Maricopa County families broken.

The naming of nearby Morristown also refers to the Wittmann and van Beuren families, for they had residences in Morristown, New Jersey.

History

The town was first named "Nadaburg", which is a combination of two words, the

Spanish word "Nada", which means "nothing" and the German word "burg", which means "castle". R.E. Wells of the Southern Transcontinental Railroad named the site Nadaburg when a railroad switch was installed in the area years before it was formally opened to homesteading as a result of the Department of Interior Act of December 29, 1916.[3][4][5]

William Hovey Griffin, a native of Texas, founded the town of Nadaburg (Wittmann). He filed his homestead petition in September 1920. That same year he also plotted out the town site. Griffin donated a block of land to the Maricopa County School District where the little Red School House (it was white at that time) was built. The school currently serves as the Nadaburg Unified School District Governing Board's Boardroom.[3][4] In 1925, Griffin applied to the state corporation commission explaining the necessity of a water utility and requesting a permit to construct one in the town. Up to that point, Griffin had been providing water for about 20 families in the area from his original well that he drilled upon his arrival in 1920.[6][7]

Joseph Wittmann, continuing a legacy initiated by his father-in-law, endeavored to build a dam on the

Hydroelectric dams to were also promised to bring power the community and others nearby.[5] Other land and claims included those that had belonged to the Wittmann-van Beuren family ever since the Walnut Grove Water Storage Company went into receivership in the 1890s.[9] However, unable and/or ill-equipped to keep his family's promise, Joseph Wittmann and his son Joseph Jr. were sued by the citizens of the town; at least half of them were able to recover their lands.[3][4]

The town's economy is largely rooted in agriculture with the town's fertile soil. In the 1930s, the town widely grew dates, citrus, grapes, alfalfa, lettuce and cantaloupes. There have also been numerous livestock farms and dairies.[5]

Demographics

Historical population
CensusPop.Note
2010763
2020684−10.4%
U.S. Decennial Census[10]

As of the

Latino
of any race.

Climate

According to the

hot desert climate, abbreviated "BWh" on climate maps. The hottest temperature recorded in Wittmann was 119 °F (48.3 °C) on June 28, 2013, and June 20, 2017, while the coldest temperature recorded was 12 °F (−11.1 °C) on January 13, 1963.[12]

Climate data for Wittmann, Arizona, 1991–2020 normals, extremes 1930–2020
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °F (°C) 84
(29)
90
(32)
98
(37)
104
(40)
112
(44)
119
(48)
117
(47)
115
(46)
113
(45)
103
(39)
91
(33)
83
(28)
119
(48)
Mean daily maximum °F (°C) 65.2
(18.4)
68.2
(20.1)
74.9
(23.8)
82.1
(27.8)
91.8
(33.2)
101.8
(38.8)
104.6
(40.3)
103.3
(39.6)
97.6
(36.4)
86.5
(30.3)
74.1
(23.4)
64.1
(17.8)
84.5
(29.2)
Daily mean °F (°C) 52.2
(11.2)
54.8
(12.7)
60.3
(15.7)
66.3
(19.1)
75.9
(24.4)
85.5
(29.7)
90.7
(32.6)
90.1
(32.3)
83.7
(28.7)
71.8
(22.1)
59.9
(15.5)
51.5
(10.8)
70.2
(21.2)
Mean daily minimum °F (°C) 39.2
(4.0)
41.4
(5.2)
45.6
(7.6)
50.6
(10.3)
59.9
(15.5)
69.1
(20.6)
76.8
(24.9)
76.9
(24.9)
69.8
(21.0)
57.1
(13.9)
45.8
(7.7)
39.0
(3.9)
55.9
(13.3)
Record low °F (°C) 12
(−11)
17
(−8)
25
(−4)
32
(0)
34
(1)
49
(9)
58
(14)
60
(16)
46
(8)
29
(−2)
23
(−5)
22
(−6)
12
(−11)
Average precipitation inches (mm) 1.38
(35)
1.45
(37)
1.00
(25)
0.45
(11)
0.09
(2.3)
0.07
(1.8)
0.89
(23)
1.13
(29)
1.06
(27)
0.66
(17)
0.67
(17)
0.95
(24)
9.60
(244)
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.01 in) 3.9 4.2 2.5 1.4 0.8 0.3 5.2 4.9 3.4 2.3 2.3 4.3 35.5
Source 1: NOAA[13]
Source 2: National Weather Service[12]

Images

See also

References

  1. ^ "2021 U.S. Gazetteer Files: Arizona". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved May 18, 2022.
  2. ^ a b c "Wittmann CDP, Arizona: 2020 DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171)". U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved May 18, 2022.
  3. ^ a b c History of Nadaburg
  4. ^ a b c "A brief history of a tiny western town" by: Rock Betu
  5. ^ a b c "Residents Change Name of Nadaburg to Hnor Wittman, Its Developer". Newspapers.com. February 4, 1929. Retrieved November 11, 2023.
  6. ^ Simmons, Ellen (2014). "History of the Nadaburg School House" (PDF).
  7. ^ "Nadaburg Man Asks to Operate Water Plant There". Newspapers.com. April 14, 1925. Retrieved November 11, 2023.
  8. ^ "Three Dams on Hassayampa to be Built Soon". Newspapers.com. August 12, 1928. Retrieved November 11, 2023.
  9. ^ "Liggett" (PDF). Retrieved October 28, 2019.
  10. ^ "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2016.
  11. ^ "American FactFinder - Community Facts". Archived from the original on February 13, 2020. Retrieved August 5, 2015.
  12. ^ a b "NOAA Online Weather Data – NWS Phoenix". National Weather Service. Retrieved April 30, 2023.
  13. ^ "U.S. Climate Normals Quick Access – Station: Wittmann 1SE, AZ". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved April 30, 2023.

External links

Media related to Wittmann, Arizona at Wikimedia Commons