Kearny, Arizona

Kearny, Arizona
Town
Kearny Historic Marker
Motto:  "The Heart of the Copper Basin"
Location of Kearny in Pinal County, Arizona.
Coordinates: 33°3′15″N 110°54′32″W
Country	United States
State	Arizona
County	Pinal
Incorporated	1959
Government
• Mayor	Curtis Stacy
Area
• Total	2.74 sq mi (7.09 km2)
• Land	2.70 sq mi (6.98 km2)
• Water	0.04 sq mi (0.11 km2)
Elevation	1,860 ft (567 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	1,741
• Density	645.77/sq mi (249.35/km2)
Time zone	UTC-7 (MST (no DST))
ZIP code	85137
Area code	520
FIPS code	04-37200
GNIS feature ID	6633
Website	Town of Kearny

Kearny is a town in Pinal County, Arizona, United States. The town was named after General Stephen Watts Kearny, who passed through the area on November 7, 1846, while leading 100 dragoons to California. According to the 2010 census, the population of the town is 1,950. The economic base of Kearny and nearby towns is the Ray mine and Hayden Smelter, both owned and operated by ASARCO.

History

Kearny was built by the Kennecott Mining Company in 1958 as a planned community to accommodate the populations of nearby Ray, Sonora and Barcelona, which were about to be swallowed by Kennecott's expanding open-pit copper mine. While many houses in the town were newly built, some mine employees had their homes moved down the road. Kearny was officially incorporated in 1959.

Geography

Kearny is located at 33°3′15″N 110°54′32″W (33.054160, -110.908857).

The town sits near the Gila River in the Copper Basin area along with its sister cities, Hayden and Winkelman. According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 2.8 square miles (7.3 km²), all land.

Climate

According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Kearny has a warm-summer Mediterranean climate, abbreviated "Csa" on climate maps.

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1960	902		—
1970	2,829		213.6%
1980	2,646		−6.5%
1990	2,262		−14.5%
2000	2,249		−0.6%
2010	1,950		−13.3%
2020	1,741		−10.7%
U.S. Decennial Census

As of the census of 2000, there were 2,249 people, 791 households, and 616 families residing in the town. The population density was 805.4 inhabitants per square mile (311.0/km²). There were 873 housing units at an average density of 312.6 per square mile (120.7/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 77.3% White, 0.3% Black or African American, 0.8% Native American, 0.1% Asian, 18.4% from other races, and 3.2% from two or more races. 38.4% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 791 households, out of which 34.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 65.0% were married couples living together, 9.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 22.1% were non-families. 19.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.84 and the average family size was 3.25.

In the town, the population was spread out, with 29.9% under the age of 18, 7.6% from 18 to 24, 21.7% from 25 to 44, 26.7% from 45 to 64, and 14.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.5 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $39,906, and the median income for a family was $42,313. Males had a median income of $40,056 versus $23,684 for females. The per capita income for the town was $16,797. About 12.1% of families and 13.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 16.0% of those under age 18 and 19.9% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Kearny is part of the Ray Unified School District, made up of two schools: Ray Junior-Senior High School, and Ray Elementary School.

Transportation

Kearny Airport is a general aviation airport located in the southern section of the town. In 2003 it received the Arizona Department of Transportation's Airport of the Year award. The airport has a single asphalt runway, 3,400 feet (1,000 m) in length and 60 feet (18 m) in width, with a field elevation of 1,833 feet (559 m) above mean sea level.

Images

Kearny

Porter Air Locomotive

• 
  Porter Air Locomotive built in 1925
• 
  Different view of the Porter Air Locomotive
• 
  Rail and Copper Park
• 
  Mining Cars in the Rail and Copper Park
• 
  The Jake Jacobson Caboose in the Rail and Copper Park
• 
  Native copper from the nearby Ray Mine
• 
  Copper Basin Railway trains at Ray Junction in Kearny, around 1987

See also

• List of cities and towns in Arizona
• Ray, Arizona

External links

• Official website
• Ray Unified School District
• Copper Basin Chamber of Commerce
• History of the Kearny area
• How Kearny got its history