Apache Wells, Arizona | |
|---|---|
Populated place | |
  Apache Wells Location of Apache Wells in Arizona | |
| Coordinates:33°27′34″N111°42′39″W / 33.45944°N 111.71083°W /33.45944; -111.71083 | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Arizona |
| County | Maricopa |
| Area | |
• Total | 1 sq mi (3 km2) |
| Elevation | 1,427 ft (435 m) |
| Time zone | UTC-7 (Mountain (MST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-7 (MST) |
| ZIP codes | 85205 |
| Area code | 480 |
| FIPS code | 04-02900 |
| GNIS feature ID | 36924 |
Apache Wells is the name of both fictional and real locations in southernArizona.
In fiction, particularly inWestern movies, "Apache Wells" is a common name for a fictional location in theOld West, generally a remotestagecoachway station, typically in southern Arizona. It first came into conspicuous public use inJohn Ford's classic 1939 western movieStagecoach,[2] the film that elevatedJohn Wayne to stardom. (The film also had remakes in1966 and1986).
Subsequent westerns set partly, or chiefly, in or around the fictional "Apache Wells" have included:
"3 Godfathers", 1948. John Wayne John Ford
At the time that the fictional "Apache Wells" first came into use, there was not any actual town of Apache Wells in Arizona, but there were two small, remote settlements in southern Arizona with closely related names:Apache Junction, andDesert Wells — both of which had existed since the 1800s, when they had been sites of stagecoach way stations.
Today,Apache Wells is a populated place andretirement community situated within the boundaries of the city ofMesa (a major suburb ofPhoenix, part of thePhoenix Metropolitan Area) inMaricopa County, in the state ofArizona, in the United States.[9] Apache Wells was established in 1962 and developed by the Hughes family.[10] It has an estimated elevation of 1,427 feet (435 m) above sea level, and is approximately one square mile in size.
Municipalities and communities ofMaricopa County, Arizona,United States | ||
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| Footnotes | ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties | |