Spenazuma, Arizona | |
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  Spenazuma Spenazuma (the United States) Show map of the United States | |
| Coordinates:32°57′17″N110°11′44″W / 32.95472°N 110.19556°W /32.95472; -110.19556 | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Arizona |
| County | Graham |
| Founded: | 1898 |
| Abandoned: | 1899 |
| Time zone | UTC-7 (MST (noDST)) |
Spenazuma was a short-lived mining town, now aghost town, inGraham County,Arizona, United States. The townsite is now privately owned, and the site of a working ranch.
The town of Spenazuma was part of an elaborate swindle by an east coast con man,Richard C. Flower, to sell shares in the Spenazuma Mining Company. In 1898, Flower bought some nearby mining claims, laid out the townsite of Spenazuma, and sold shares in eastern states on the pretense that the Spenazuma Mining Company owned gold mines of immense value. Several trainloads of eastern investors were brought to Spenazuma to sustain the illusion.
It is unclear how large the mining town was during its brief life, although friendly newspaper accounts credit it with several stores and businesses, and regular stagecoach service to the railroad station atGeronimo, Arizona.
The swindle collapsed after an investigation byArizona Republican reporterGeorge Smalley in 1899. The town was quickly deserted. Flower ostensibly dropped out of the company management, although the remaining management immediately started another mining swindle atAura, Arizona, now also a ghost town.[1][2]
The townsite is at32°57′17″N110°11′44″W / 32.95472°N 110.19556°W /32.95472; -110.19556, at an elevation of 3840 feet above sea level.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: year (link)Municipalities and communities ofGraham County, Arizona,United States | ||
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| Populated places | ||
| Indian reservations | ||
| Ghost towns | ||
| Footnotes | ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties | |