Congress

History

Gold was discovered at the Congress Mine in 1884. By 1893, the Santa Fe, Prescott and Phoenix Railway passed within three miles of the mine, at Congress Junction. Congress boomed, and remained prosperous until the mid-1930s, when the mines closed. Total gold production at the Congress Mine exceeded $8 million at a production price of $20.67 per ounce – or about $400 million, at the 2007 price. The post office moved to Congress Junction in 1938, where it remains. The community known as Congress is the old Congress Junction. Little remains at the original mining-camp townsite. The old Congress Cemetery is nearby.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of , of which is land and (0.08%) is water. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Congress has a semi-arid climate, abbreviated "BSk" on climate maps.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• House Finch

  Haemorhous mexicanus (P.L.Statius Müller, 1776) · Aves
  248
• Common Raven

  Corvus corax Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  245
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  241
• Gambel's Quail

  Callipepla gambelii (Gambel, 1843) · Aves
  213
• Turkey Vulture

  Cathartes aura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  205
• Gila Woodpecker

  Melanerpes uropygialis (S.F.Baird, 1854) · Aves
  198
• Phainopepla

  Phainopepla nitens (Swainson, 1838) · Aves
  198
• White-crowned Sparrow

  Zonotrichia leucophrys (J.R.Forster, 1772) · Aves
  197

Largest nearby schools

• Congress Elementary School
  Elementary · Congress · 102 students · 10.2:1 ratio

Most recent

• M 2.5 — 2025-08-03
  39 km SSW of Bagdad, Arizona
• M 3.8 — 2023-07-23
  2 km E of Chino Valley, Arizona
• M 2.6 — 2020-06-06
  5 km NW of New River, Arizona
• M 3.6 — 2015-11-02
  4 km NNE of Black Canyon City, Arizona
• M 4 — 2015-11-02
  7 km NNE of Black Canyon City, Arizona
• M 3.2 — 2015-11-02
  8 km N of Black Canyon City, Arizona