Brock’s new book celebrates Maricopa and its heritage

Maricopa historian Patricia Brock has spent the last year writing a new book, “Images of America: Maricopa,” which follows and celebrates Maricopa’s rich heritage—from the early Hohokam digging canals with sticks to the residents of the city of Maricopa as it exists today.

Brock chronicled the early history of Maricopa and profiled some of its residents in her previous book, “Reflections of a Desert Town.”

According to Brock, the 127-page “Images of American: Maricopa” combines archival photographs with stories from the past, revealing the people and events that helped shape the character of what Maricopa is today.

“The material came from the files of the Maricopa Historical Society’s oral and written history projects—newspapers, magazines and even faded handwritten letters saved in someone’s old trunks,” said Brock.

Her stories tell of a neighbor who taught a 17-year-old boy how to cook when he had nowhere to eat at Maricopa Wells in the 1870s and  a young man who traveled from Missouri in 1891 to Maricopa Junction for his health. His grateful mother sent this telegraph giving thanks to those who helped him through his final days: “He was a stranger in a strange land, yet found here brothers in Free Masonry, who did all that was possible to smooth his pathway to the grave.”

Later, during the uncertain years of the depression when her own husband lost his job with the railroad, Nina DeHart gave all she had to feed the thousands of hungry people passing through Maricopa in the open boxcars of the trains. 

At the height of Maricopa’s agricultural days, farmers came from miles around the Maricopa area with their own machinery to harvest a cancer-stricken neighbor’s crops before tackling their own fields and crops, and they did it all in one day. 

Then, more recently, after the slowdown of America’s fastest-growing city because of the economy, many people fell upon hard times. Neighbors rallied around to help: donating a car to a family who had none, cleaning up vacant yards and generously giving money or food to those who had no job or could not feed their families. 

Today, the city offers a variety of programs that bring people and families together such as Stagecoach Days, the Movies in the Park series and the Salsa Festival under the Stars.

In addition, there are groups in the community who not only share parenting skills, but also raise funds to help schools, clubs, the library and other programs that need assistance. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Quilts donates comfort quilts to the Police and Fire Department for children who are in fires, accidents or generally need help. 

“Images of America: Maricopa,” from Aracadia Publishing, will be available in March for $21.99. The Maricopa Historical Society is taking book orders now. Visit the Maricopa Historical Society’s website for more information: www.maricopahistory.com.

All profits from the book will go to the building of the Maricopa Historical Museum. To order your copy, email Patricia Brock at [email protected].

“The Maricopa Historical Society and I are proud to share Maricopa’s rich heritage and to highlight the incredible role Maricopa played in the growth and development of the Southwest,” Brock said.

Submitted photo