Town file
Bagdad, Arizona
Bagdad, Arizona (Yavapai County, Arizona) is the town in one episode of Small Town Murder, the comedy true-crime podcast: episode 311, "Lust, Death, Insanity... And A Potato" (19 August 2022). Bagdad, Arizona, is a copper company town in Yavapai County, about two hours and fifteen minutes from Phoenix, where the mining company owns every house and the open pit runs around the clock.
- Town
- Bagdad
- County
- Yavapai County
- State
- Arizona
- Country
- USA
- Episodes
- 311
- Approximate location
- 34.577, -113.177
Episode 311 / 19 August 2022 / 65 min / express
Lust, Death, Insanity... And A Potato
"About two hours and 15 minutes from Phoenix to Bagdad, Arizona; the district attorney's department in Yavapai County handled the case." about 0:03:06
The case: Murder of David Johnson (November 12, 1987). Read the case file.
The figures, as told in 2022
- Population
- 1888
- Median household income
- $88,676
- Median home value
- $219,000
History, in brief
- One theory is that Bagdad is a misspelling of Baghdad, Iraq, chosen because the name suggested riches and gold. about 0:04:23
- Prospectors originally thought there was gold and silver, dug mines and found copper instead; copper is still being pulled out of the ground. about 0:04:43
- Local lore says a father and son ran a small copper mining operation in the late 1800s: the father dug the ore, the son loaded it into bags and asked 'do you have a bag, dad?', which became Bagdad. about 0:05:05
- Bagdad is a company town owned by Freeport McMoRan; residents do not own their homes and the mine runs open-pit mining around the clock. about 0:06:08
The reviews read out
"All the reviews are really good and everybody loves the place: you work, you eat, you work, and there is no time to think or be upset."about 0:06:48
4 stars
"Bagdad is a nice place to live with calm surroundings, a quiet atmosphere and well-mannered people; good and bad aspects like any place, great infrastructure and safe except for the occasional rattlesnake."about 0:07:26
Nearest Small Town Murder towns
- Congress, Arizona34 miles
- Williamson, Arizona38 miles
- Prescott, Arizona42 miles
- Lake Havasu City, Arizona65 miles
- Wittmann, Arizona67 miles
- Golden Valley, Arizona74 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.