Blythe, California
| Blythe, California | ||
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Blythe street scene, c. 1900
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 Location in Riverside County and the state of California |
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 Blythe, California
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| Coordinates: 33°36′37″N 114°35′47″W / 33.61028°N 114.59639°WCoordinates: 33°36′37″N 114°35′47″W / 33.61028°N 114.59639°W | ||
| Country |
 United States
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| State |
 California
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| County | Riverside | |
| Incorporated | July 21, 1916 | |
| Named for | Thomas H. Blythe | |
| Government | ||
| • Mayor | Joey DeConinck | |
| Area | ||
| • Total | 26.972 sq mi (69.855 km2) | |
| • Land | 26.189 sq mi (67.828 km2) | |
| • Water | 0.783 sq mi (2.027 km2) 2.90% | |
| Elevation | 272 ft (83 m) | |
| Population (April 1, 2010) | ||
| • Total | 20,817 | |
| • Estimate (2013) | 19,832 | |
| • Density | 770/sq mi (300/km2) | |
| Time zone | PST (UTC-8) | |
| • Summer (DST) | PDT (UTC-7) | |
| ZIP codes | 92225, 92226 | |
| Area code | 442/760 | |
| FIPS code | 06-07218 | |
| GNIS feature IDs | 1660349, 2409872 | |
| Website | www |
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Blythe /ˈblaɪθ/ is a city in Riverside County, California, United States, in the Palo Verde Valley of the Lower Colorado River Valley region, an agricultural area and part of the Colorado Desert along the Colorado River. Blythe was named after Thomas H. Blythe, a San Francisco financier, who established primary water rights to the Colorado River in the region in 1877. The city was incorporated on July 21, 1916. The population was 20,817 at the 2010 census.
In the early or mid-1870s, William Calloway (known as Oliver Calloway in some sources), an engineer and a former captain of the 1st California Infantry Regiment, explored an area across the Colorado River from Ehrenberg, Arizona and found its potential for development. Calloway made preliminary surveys and filed land claims under the Swamp Land Act of 1850. He interested the wealthier Thomas Henry Blythe (real last name Williams), who was born in Mold, Wales, to undertake development and settlement of an "empire" located next to the Colorado. On July 17, 1877, Blythe filed his first claim for Colorado River water on what was to become the "Blythe Intake". Blythe appointed another man named George Irish as manager to assist Calloway in building an irrigation system. Calloway died in a Chemehuevi attack in March 28, 1880, and was replaced by C.C. Miller, the father of Frank Augustus Miller. Thomas Blythe died on April 4, 1883; his only revisit to the valley was in November 1882. After his death, the work in the valley halted and Blythe's estate subsequently went into litigation between his illegitimate daughter Florence and other claimants. The California Supreme Court up to 1895, and the U.S. Supreme Court towards the 1900s, ruled that Florence was the holder of the estate, after several years of preceding rulings in favor of her and appeals against her in these courts.
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