Swansea, Hidden Mining Ghost Town in Arizona

Many new towns were established throughout the American West in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. But unless you are a local in Arizona, you have probably never ever heard of Swansea. The name for the town has its origins in international copper ore smelting. The city of Swansea in South Wales, the United Kingdom, was the final destination for the copper ore mined in this part of Arizona.

Swansea is a ghost town 32 miles from Parker, in the state of Arizona. That doesn’t sound too far until you consider the quality of the roads that lead to the town. A trip here can take up to three hours one way, depending on your vehicle clearance. This old mining town is in the middle of nowhere, down a very rocky and bumpy, not maintained dirt road. The first 1/3 is a paved road. The next 1/3 is a dry wash bed, and the last 1/3 is a real challenge not for the faint hearted!

In the horrific heat of the summer in Swansea you will quickly get an understanding of the harsh life of a miner of that era living in extreme conditions. The town was settled in 1909 in what was then the Arizona Territory. Swansea served as a mining town and a location for processing and smelting the copper ore taken from the nearby mines.

Prospecting and mining in the area first began in 1862, but the remote location and lack of transportation kept activity to a minimum. By 1904, the railroad was coming to nearby Parker, and local businessmen Newton Evans and Thomas Jefferson Carrigan saw an opportunity to develop the area. Within a few years, the two miners had built a 350-ton furnace, a water pipeline to the Bill Williams River, and hoists for five mine shafts.

They called the new town Signal.

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