Hardyville - Mohave County
Where: Mohave County along Colorado River
Operation Dates: March 1864 to May 1883 with the post office established on January 17, 1865
Noted Aspects of Town: Hardyville was a port town established along the Colorado river as a location for ferry service and steamboat landing.
History: Hardyville was established in March of 1864 along the Colorado river by William Hardy and served as a port and warehouse location supporting the surrounding communities. Hardyville was the first Mohave County seat from 1867 to 1872. The port provided ferry service across the Colorado river and served as a freight depot. The post office was established January 17, 1865 and discontinued February 19, 1883.
Steamboats made regular trips up and down the Colorado river as far south as Port Isabel, Sonora with Hardyville a regular stopping location. The steamboats would bring supplies for the mines in the area and transport the ore for processing. The Hardyville port supported transportation and suppling products to the local communities from 1864 to 1883. A repot from the Arizona Sentinel on March 20th, 1873 mentions a major fire that occurred on March 18th, 1873 causing the total destruction of Hardyville.
The demise of the town occurred when the A & P railroad arrived at Needles, California. At that time the port at Hardyville was deemed obsolete and deserted. The area obtained interest again in the 1940’s with the building of Davis Dam and Hoover Dam. The present town of Bullhead city was established along the river leaving no evidence of Hardyville other than a cemetery.
People: William Harrison Hardy
Mine(s) supporting town: Hardyville support many mining districts in the area providing a port for incoming mine supplies and location to carry ore material out for processing. Many of these mines were located in the Cerbat mountains which produced silver, gold, and copper.
What you will see today: Hardyville has been overtaken by the town of Bullhead on the Colorado river with the only remaining evidence of the historical town is the cemetery.shrubs are some old building wooden planks and some rusted tin panels.
Acknowledgement: Arizona Place Names, Wikipedia, GhostTowns.com, Arizona Pioneer & Cemetery research Project