My current work in progress is set in and around Arizona, mostly in small towns and obscure desert locations. One of the settings is the small town of Bagdad. Yes … Bagdad, Arizona. (As opposed to Baghdad, Iraq. The H makes a difference!)

Bagdad is literally close to Nothing. See the map below: Nothing, Arizona, is literally the closest “town.”

Here are a few stats about both Bagdad and Nothing, thanks to Wikipedia:

Bagdad, AZ

• Size (sq mi): 7.98
• Elevation: 3,409
• Population: 1,876

Nothing, AZ

• Size (sq mi): unknown, but piddly
• Elevation: 3,268
• Population: 0 (At its height, the population was 4)

According to Wikipedia, Bagdad is “one of only two remaining company towns in Arizona.” Everything in the whole town is owned by the company that controls the copper mine, which changes hands every couple of years or so. Also according to Wikipedia, Nothing is notable in that it “got named by a bunch of drunks.” It was abandoned in 2005 and (appropriately enough) has a current population of zero.

I only know about Bagdad because someone I worked with a long time ago was a property manager who pretty much ran the town. So she had to visit from time to time. She hated it because it was so remote and there was nothing to do there. (As opposed to doing Nothing, which is even worse.)

In researching the town, I snooped around on Google Maps and Street View, but there’s still nothing (heh) like actually being there. I happened to be driving past, so I decided to take a detour and see what the town is really like. I didn’t even get out of my car. The few people I saw looked extremely suspicious.

If you ever want to visit an out-of-the-way hole in the wall town, visit Bagdad. Or don’t. It makes no difference either way.