CORNVILLE -- Harold Redgrey slammed a cue ball onto the pool table's felt when early reports from the East Coast carried bad news for John McCain.

It turned out to be a long night for many at the Old Corral Bar, a popular nightspot in this Verde Valley town where McCain is a part- time resident.

Redgrey said he wouldn't mind if Cornville became the next Crawford, Texas, a place where the president goes to relax. McCain and his wife, Cindy, own a seven-acre parcel with a cottage along Oak Creek.

"I am proud to support John McCain," said Redgrey, a retired Korean War veteran who has lived this Verde Valley town for 35 years.

"Everyone knows him; he's like family," said Lawrence Rukas, a friend of Redgrey's and a Cornville resident for 20 years.

Dean Millman, a 29-year resident, raised a glass of beer and a cigarette as he sat on the bar's patio, saying, "Home of the future Western White House."

But that became an impossibility Tuesday night when Barack Obama won a commanding victory.

Marvin Schwab couldn't resist smiling when the TV showed McCain trailing Obama in Montana.

"We want Cornville to stay Cornville," said Schwab, who has lived here for 32 years. "Put him in Santa Fe or Cottonwood. Don't put him here."

Stella Braley, who has lived in Cornville for 37 years, groaned when initial reports showed McCain ahead in Virginia.

"I don't want to be accosted or anything," Braley said. "I like the fact that this is Nowheresville. If he wins, it will become Somewheresville."

As the night wore on and the TVs showed McCain conceding defeat, Lee Burton hugged his 18-year-old daughter Jenny as she cried.

"Tomorrow the sun's going to come up like it always does, and whatever happens we'll deal with it like we always do," he told her.

Pat Thornburg said he was disappointed to see McCain lose because he seems like a nice person. He saw him at a Cornville restaurant several years ago.

"He seemed like a pretty normal guy," Thornburg said. "He was treated like a normal customer; the owners told me that they made his favorite pie because he called ahead."

Cornville, an unincorporated community with a population of around 4,000, has faced the possibility of becoming a presidential retreat since McCain won the GOP presidential nomination.

Residents looked to Crawford, Texas, where President George W. Bush has a ranch, and Kennebunkport, Maine, where President George H.W. Bush has a home, as examples of the media attention and tourism that come with having a president as a part-time neighbor.

While McCain's main residence is in Phoenix, he and his wife, Cindy, have had their cottage here for about 20 years and often use it to host politicians of both parties.

Media accounts refer to the area as Hidden Valley, Page Springs or even Sedona. But because the ranch is within the ZIP code 86325 it's considered part of Cornville.