Looking for the Ruins of La Paz, Arizona - Where the Civil War Came to the Colorado River

For a short time La Paz was one of the biggest towns in Arizona and was in consideration to be the territorial capital. Now, the town has all but vanished from the face of the earth. All that is left are a few brick walls and mounds of mud.

Established in 1862 after gold was found nearby, with an influx of Californians the town quickly grew, and so did the violence. By early 1863 there had been a number of murders at the town, but on May 20, 1863, an ambush by a Confederate volunteer on three Union troops in the town, would make the town the westernmost spot where blood was spilled in the American Civil War.

La Paz was also the site of one of the many atrocities committed against native peoples, as it was the ending point of the La Paz Trail of Tears, where countless Hualapai died while being forcibly relocated from their homeland.

Despite the violence, the town was the business and political center of the area, but in 1866 the Colorado River shifted, and left the town high and dry. Eventually the county seat moved from La Paz to Yuma, and the town faded away. In 1912, the Colorado River flooded, washing through the townsite, melting the abandoned adobe buildings and eliminating most traces of the the town.

For more info on the La Paz Trail of Tears: https://hualapai-nsn.gov/wp-content/u...

La Paz can be found at: 33.678953, -114.478690

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