Hayden was a prosperous mining town founded in 1911, which is in the process of becoming a Ghost town. Hayden was founded in 1909 and owned by the Kennecott Copper Corp. In 1912, the company built a 1,000 feet smelter named the "Hayden Smelter". It is the tallest smelter chimney in Arizona. The mine veins began to dry out and was the cause of the town's devastating economic failure. Also in the case of Hayden the local government, businesses and younger generations turned their backs on the town. The town's crime rate rose and the residents began to move out to other towns. The town was also riddled with political scandals. The once prosperous businesses closed their doors and are boarded up. The churches, schools and houses are abandoned and some have even been burned to the ground. The Valley National Bank, the local bank abandoned its building which is now occupied by the Hayden Police Department. According to the mayor, Bob Smith, Hayden has more police cars then police officers.
At the 2000 census there were 892 people, 288 households, and 222 families living in the town. The population density was 707.1 people per square mile. There were 334 housing units at an average density of 264.8 per square mile. The racial makeup of the town was 56.95% White, 0.45% Black or African American, 1.68% Native American, 0.56% Pacific Islander, 35.09% from other races, and 5.27% from two or more races. 84.53% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. Of the 288 households 31.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.5% were married couplesliving together, 13.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 22.9% were non-families. 21.5% of households were one person and 9.0% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 3.10 and the average family size was 3.56. The age distribution was 33.2% under the age of 18, 9.0% from 18 to 24, 20.5% from 25 to 44, 23.2% from 45 to 64, and 14.1% 65 or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.6 males. The median household income was $24,293 and the median family income was $26,964. Males had a median income of $35,521 versus $22,500 for females. The per capita income for the town was $9,797. About 20.1% of families and 27.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 35.2% of those under age 18 and 14.9% of those age 65 or over.
