I'd guess in the alternate Eloy, the non-prison population is probably ~30,000(???), with breakdowns closer to Casa Grande's. (~20% under 18.) Compared to where I live, I think future Eloy has a higher proportion of Hispanics***, fewer Asians, and is about 40% white non-Hispanic. #HistorytownAZ

So it's not unreasonable to guess that a fair portion of Eloy's population is inmates. Most of the inmates are male, which helps explain why only 32.6% of the population is female. I'm not a statistician, but I'd GUESS the non-inmate population is closer to 12,500-ish.**

#HistorytownAZ

For example, 1.2% of Eloy's 2025 population is "Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander" (versus 0.9% for "Asian alone"). But Eloy has a prison that houses inmates from other states, like Hawaii!

Per Wikipedia, the 4 prisons can house 3,060 + 1,550 + 1,596 + 1,926 = 8,132 people. #HistorytownAZ

HARD QUESTION! Census data gives Eloy a 2025 population of 19,967, but 2020-2024 says 4,495 households and 2.76 person/household = 12,406.2 people. Why the disconnect?

It leaves out people living in "dorms, prisons, nursing homes, etc."* Eloy has 4 prisons. Welp. #Septopolis #HistorytownAZ

❌ Getting actual work done

✅ Using Google Maps to track down where you imagine Historytown is

Heading southwest on the I-10. See the weird elevated cage to the right? Several of those were there back when I went to college. Supposedly they were going to build a theme park...

#HistorytownAZ

Oops I answered this like 3 times already #Septopolis. Sorry!

So I'll talk the name of Alistair Seymour Rochester III, the guy who bought up a fair portion of Eloy. I wanted something that sounded like a name AND organization, like "Rittenhouse" (Timeless) or "Disney." Rochester fit! #HistorytownAZ

…or if not, I suppose I can handwave it. Finding actual history or something close to it would be ideal, though.

ANYWAY, Rochester transformed Eloy from a little rural city to a somewhat larger tourist city with a larger population, more chain stores, and a theme park. #HistorytownAZ

In retrospect, I think the centerpiece/memorable building in “Classic Historytown” should have been built on-site back in the day. I thought that was not possible because no such building exists now, but oh right, alternate timeline. Maybe I can find one that used to exist... #HistorytownAZ

What is now called “Classic Historytown” is still accessible through the park at the outskirts of “Sunset Country,” the Old West area. Almost no one visits the old buildings except for school kids on field trips. But they are there! Not in great shape during my books, though. #HistorytownAZ

At some point, the ridiculously wealthy Alistair Seymour Rochester III bought up Historytown and the land around it. He started investing in Eloy and infrastructure and opened a history-themed amusement park, stealing the name “Historytown“ for some reason. (A marketer, he’s not.) #HistorytownAZ

In my Eloy, in the 1960s(?), some people gathered together several old buildings from around Arizona and dubbed it Historytown. Something like a much lesser version of the Pioneer Living History Museum, with I suppose a single-building restroom/gift shop/~2 rooms of exhibits nearby. #HistorytownAZ

Spoilers #HistorytownAZ and CW: immigrant treatment

When I started writing books set in the "near future," I had no idea that Liam would have been traumatized by current US events. I reckon if this makes any readers think I'm "too political," then they likely need to hear it.

#TimeTravelAuthors