The earliest inhabitants of the Colorado River Valley were the
Mojave people. The rich soil and plentiful water provided the valley's natives with the necessities to create a prosperous farming community. According to Mojave legend, life began on
Spirit Mountain, the highest peak visible from the Bullhead City area. The first account of European contact was with Spanish explorer
Melchor Díaz, who in 1540 documented his travels in what is now northwestern Mohave County. He recounts meeting a large population of natives who referred to themselves as the Pipa Aha Macav, meaning "People by the River". From "Aha Macav" came the shortened name "Mojave" (also spelled "Mohave"). While Mohave County uses the modern English spelling, the tribe retains the traditional Spanish spelling "Mojave". Both are correct, and both are pronounced "Moh-
hah-vee". Father
Francisco Garces, a
Franciscan missionary and explorer, crossed the Colorado River in the Bullhead City area in 1774.
Hardyville In March 1864, the current site of Bullhead City was the location of a settlement called "Hardyville". It was named for early resident and politician
William Harrison Hardy. A
New York native and an entrepreneur, Hardy established, with the support of
George Alonzo Johnson's steamboat company, a ferry service and steamboat landing where the
Mojave Road crossed the Colorado River. He also built and owned the
Hardyville–Prescott Road, a toll road from Hardyville to the new Arizona territorial capital of
Prescott, and raised
Angora goats. He was a colorful and somewhat controversial figure. He was the town's first postmaster from January 17, 1865, and is credited with the invention of the riveted mail sack. He was also a Mohave County supervisor and a member of the
Arizona Territorial Legislature. In 1864 his personal worth was over $40,000, making him the second-richest man in Arizona. From 1864 to 1883,
steamboats made regular trips up the Colorado River from
Port Isabel in Mexico and, after the arrival of the railroad from
Yuma, Arizona, stopping at Hardyville regularly to deliver supplies to the mines of the surrounding mining districts and those to the east in the interior of Arizona and carry out their ore for processing and sale. These
stern-wheeler riverboats played an important part in the early development of the areas bordering the Colorado River, and Hardyville was considered the low water limit of navigation for the steamboats. Steamboat travel above that point to places in like
El Dorado Canyon,
Callville and later
Rioville was possible only during the few months of the late spring to early summer flood caused by snowmelt in the upper Colorado River watershed. Hardyville was the starting point for wagon roads and pack trails to the mines and other settlements in the upper region of the river. It was also the port for flatboats that ascended the river as far as Callville in the extreme low water time of the year. In April 1866,
Brevet Brigadier General James Fowler Rusling visited the settlement and described it: Hardyville received a boost in 1867, when it became the county seat of
Mohave County and the mills at Eldorado Canyon began operating, stimulating trade up river again. Hardyville had a population of 20 in 1870. The 1870s saw a population boom in Hardyville as mining became more profitable. With the end of hostilities with the Native Americans in Mohave County, mines in the interior boomed again, and the small town later grew with the construction of a general store, a saloon, a blacksmith shop, a billiard hall, and a respectable public hall. However, in 1873, the county seat was moved to the mining boomtown of
Cerbat. In 1877, the
Southern Pacific Railroad arrived at Yuma. It bought out Johnson's Colorado Steam Navigation Company, and by 1878 had built rails into
Maricopaville, resulting in wagon traffic moving to that railhead that was closer to the mines in the northern interior than Hardyville. Traffic on the road to the interior mines of the east from Hardyville waned except for that to Cerbat,
Mineral Park, and
Chloride. In May 1881,
Issac Polhamus, captain of one of the Southern Pacific-owned Colorado Steam Navigation Company steamboats, went into competition with Hardy for the trade to those mines, establishing
Polhamus Landing, a rival landing five miles up river, closer to the mines, taking away most of its river trade. Worse yet, the construction of the
Atlantic and Pacific Railroad to its bridge crossing on the Colorado River near
Needles, in May 1883, saw the remaining interior mining trade move away from the Colorado River and Hardyville.
Hardyville Pioneer Cemetery, a small cemetery, now a historic landmark at , is the most significant existing remnant of Hardyville. An unofficial historical marker for the town is in the parking lot across Highway 95 from the cemetery at . The Hardyville Mill ruins appeared on a USGS topographic map, at .
Bullhead City Decades later, Hardyville would be resurrected as Bullhead City with the construction of
Davis Dam between 1942 and 1953. The dam was originally called Bullhead Dam after "Bull's Head Rock", a well-known rock formation along the Colorado River. Steamboats on the river used the rock as a navigation point. After the construction of Davis Dam, the water level rose and now almost completely covers the landmark. The community that arose during the construction of Bullhead Dam was nicknamed Bullhead. Bullhead City became the headquarters for the construction project, which was completed in 1953. Thus the name Bullhead City was born. As the nearby Lake Mohave developed into a major tourism destination, and as the casino and resort town of
Laughlin, Nevada, sprouted up across the river, Bullhead City grew rapidly. Bullhead City and the neighboring town of Laughlin, Nevada, have grown in popularity as tourist destinations, and so has the population. Today, tourism is by far the main economy in Bullhead City. In the summer months, tourists from all over come for water recreation on Lake Mohave and the Colorado River. Starting in the fall, tourists from colder states flock by the thousands in their motor homes because of the mild winters. ==Geography==