Town file
Apache Junction, Arizona
Apache Junction, Arizona (Maricopa County, Arizona) is the town in one episode of Small Town Murder, the comedy true-crime podcast: episode 224, "The Devil Come To Earth" (20 May 2021). Apache Junction sits in Maricopa County in south central Arizona, a southern suburb of Phoenix about forty minutes from downtown, beside the Superstition Mountains and the road out to Apache Lake.
- Town
- Apache Junction
- County
- Maricopa County
- State
- Arizona
- Country
- USA
- Episodes
- 224
- Approximate location
- 33.383, -111.541
Episode 224 / 20 May 2021 / 167 min / full
The Devil Come To Earth
"We're going to Apache Junction, Arizona ... the murder actually takes place kinda in the desert away from Apache Junction, not in Apache Junction proper, but it's the closest populated place." about 0:05:19
The case: Murder of Larry Pritchard and the kidnapping of Tracy Lynn Andrews and Richard Brogue (February 2 to 5, 1987); Disappearance of David Hersell (January 1987); Murders by , 'Bonzai Bob' (1977 to 1982). Read the case file.
The figures, as told in 2021
- Population
- 38,452
- Median age
- 52
- Median household income
- just under $40,000
- Median home value
- $214,900
- Two-bedroom rent
- about $920
- Cost of living
- about 96
- Religious
- 40%
- Property crime
- ▲ about 25% over the national average
- Violent crime
- ▼ about 20% under the national average
History, in brief
- Originally called Youngburg, which is now a ghost town and former mining camp up the Salt River toward Apache Lake. about 0:07:51
- Gold was first talked about here in 1864, but no samples were produced until 1879. about 0:08:14
- In 1879 two Mexican prospectors found gold and were attacked by local Apaches; one survived and came back to Phoenix saying they had found gold. about 0:08:36
- That attack is the source of the legendary Peralta massacre. about 0:08:58
- Prospectors worked small gold mines around Goldfield Wash in the 1880s. about 0:09:20
- The Lucky Boy claim was staked in 1881. about 0:09:34
- A big deposit of gold ore was discovered at the Black Queen claim in 1892, and 1893 was the biggest claim. about 0:09:37
- The Mammoth mine was discovered after a downpour and flash flood; it produced three million dollars worth of gold bullion, about 12,000 pounds. about 0:09:58
- The Superstition Mountains are on one side of town and are the home of the Lost Dutchman's gold mine. about 0:10:12
- Goldfield was a mining town established in 1893 that came and went in about five years once the gold dried up. about 0:11:45
- Apacheland was a Western movie set in the Superstition Mountains that burned in a huge fire. about 0:11:26
- Goldfield Ghost Town is now a tourist attraction. about 0:11:14
The reviews read out
5 stars
"A very friendly community where everyone treats each other like family; shops and homes are reasonably priced and affordable, there is a low crime rate and people are welcoming."about 0:13:26
2 stars
"It is hot and dirty, there is nothing to do, only one high school with a poor rating, no public transport, drugs are a huge problem, rents are too high, anyone under 65 is out of place and snowbirds take over in winter."about 0:14:00
2 stars
"Most neighbourhoods are shady and sketchy; the writer lives there because their low income is not as low as their neighbours', but there are burglaries and cop cars outside front doors daily, and it is cheap."about 0:15:46
2 stars
"It should be a hiking town, but the public school system is going down the toilet and businesses are suffering; only rich old people in Gold Canyon, meth heads or struggling families live there."about 0:17:09
1 star
"The writer moved for a job and was never notified either way; managers are miserable and act like their personalities have flown out the door."about 0:18:37
1 star
"In two years in Arizona the town has remained a dump; it houses druggies and places that should be demolished, and it has never been cleaned up or made to look nice."about 0:20:06
Nearest Small Town Murder towns
- Florence, Arizona23 miles
- Casa Grande, Arizona35 miles
- Maricopa, Arizona35 miles
- Wittmann, Arizona63 miles
- Oro Valley, Arizona74 miles
- Catalina Foothills, Arizona84 miles
Everything here is as told in the episode, on the date it went out; figures and places may have changed since. Endings are covered: open an episode and use the spoiler switch to read them.