Christmas

Tucked away in Gila County, Arizona, Christmas is an abandoned mining community with an origin story that sets it apart from most ghost towns. The mine at its heart was staked on Christmas Day in 1902, and that holiday timing gave both the mine and the town their distinctive name.

Beyond its mining roots, Christmas earned a quirky footnote in postal history. For the roughly three decades its post office was open, the town drew a steady stream of holiday mail from people across the country eager to have their envelopes stamped with a "Christmas" postmark. The site also holds genuine scientific significance: three minerals — apachite, junitoite, and ruizite — were first identified here, making it a notable location in the history of mineralogy.

Today Christmas is uninhabited, and visitors should expect a quiet, remote setting rather than a preserved townsite. The main draws are the history, the novelty of the name, and the mineralogical legacy. Photography and sightseeing are the realistic activities on offer.