The rise and fall – and rise again – of Maricopa
Maricopa’s growth since incorporation in 2003 may be perceived by some as an overnight success.
When you drive up and down John Wayne Parkway, businesses...
20 YEARS: Visionaries
Monty Ortman
El Dorado Holdings co-founder, Vintage Partners principal
Why did you decide to invest in Maricopa?
In the late 1980s, my partner and I had just...
HISTORY: All along the water tower
The old water tower is a familiar landmark that highlights the city’s history as a hub for trains. This old tower has seen it...
HISTORY: A past rooted in farming
This black-and-white photo (left) shows a young Maricopa 4-Her with a prize cow.
In 1953, area residents began teaching the youth cooking and sewing, which...
![Maricopa Road and Maricopa-Casa Grand Highway [Brian Petersheim Jr.]](https://www.inmaricopa.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/History-Maricopa-Road-today-2-218x150.jpg "History: Maricopa Road’s metamorphosis")
History: Maricopa Road’s metamorphosis
In the 1950s (below), the intersection of Maricopa Road and what later became the Maricopa-Casa Grande Highway, was the business district north of the...
Man and volcano: Retired Forest Service worker shares Mount St. Helens story
It was 43 years ago — May 18, 1980 — when Reed Gardner was working at the federal building in downtown Las Vegas. He...
Then & now: Honeycutt and Taft avenues
In this aerial photo from 1955, Maricopa High School is in the foreground. Beyond are pecan orchards and desert.
Today the high school remains and...
Celebrating freedom, resilience: Maricopa community members reflect on the lasting influence of Juneteenth
Juneteenth. It’s an amalgamation of the words “June” and “nineteenth.” Today is a celebration of freedom, culture and resilience for many in the African...
A historic look at Rancho El Dorado
Rancho El Dorado is among the first subdivisions in Maricopa. Below you can see the subdivision in 2003 and 2007, courtesy of El Dorado...
Happy sweet 116 to local legend
Today, we celebrate the 116th anniversary of John Wayne's birth. The Hollywood star, whose real name was Marion Morrison, was a Maricopa area business...
History: A look back at education in Maricopa
In the photo above, the Maricopa eighth-grade class of 1955 is pictured. In the fall, 28 students would enter as freshmen in the new...
Historical Society debuts city’s ‘rich tapestry’ in Black-history exhibit
The Maricopa Historical Society, hoping to illustrate the city’s diverse history and culture, has opened an exhibit featuring prominent Black figures since the city’s...
Shirley Ann Hartman rode into town and, with hubby ‘McD,’ built a legacy
Beauty. Grace. Hard charging. There is a wistful congruency between the horses Shirley Ann Hartman loves and Shirley Ann Hartman.
Philip “McD” Hartman likely didn’t...
History: A slow ride to Scottsdale
This building was Southern Pacific Railroad’s Maricopa depot from the early 1930s through 1961.
The depot was then moved to Phoenix as a playhouse in...
A SNEAK PEEK: Silver Horizon rail car nearing public debut
Completion after years of restoration work on the city’s Silver Horizon rail car is, well, on the horizon.
InMaricopa got a sneak peek on...
THIS WEEK IN HISTORY: Fishing derby reels in record numbers in 2008
This story was published 15 years ago this week, written by RuthAnn Hogue.
Maricopa's annual fishing derby for kids attracted 579 anglers, hosts and representatives...
Maricopa history moves over
The State Route 347/John Wayne Parkway railroad overpass was a major step forward in moving traffic through Maricopa. It came at a price, however.
The...
Cotton to claustrophobia
Cotton is swallowed up by a picker in the field behind John and Mary Lou Smith's house in the 1980s, when farmers grew about...
Flash to the past: Maricopa PD on patrol New Year’s Eve for first time
A look back 15 years:
In 2008, while most of Maricopa was kicking back to celebrate the passing of another year, Maricopa Police Chief Patrick...
Flash to the past: Big red pump and electricity
A water tank that held 500,000 gallons of water sat just west of the railroad station in Maricopa in the early 1900s. Southern Pacific...
Maricopa history: The first Founder’s Day celebration
The first Founder's Day celebration was held at The Duke in honor of the 1-year anniversary of Maricopa's incorporation.
The city was incorporated on Oct....
Historical Zephyr passenger car to debut as museum in just weeks
The majestic, silver car with domed roof evokes memories of the glory days of luxury train service — the 1940s, ’50s and ’60s —...
History: “Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night, or a fire…”
Fred Cole served as the Maricopa postmaster from 1955 to 1982.
The post office was in the Honeycutt Shopping Center until it
was destroyed by fire...
Flash to the past: TV show sees city as ‘microcosm’ of country’s growth
In October of 2006, a “CBS News Sunday Morning” crew visited Maricopa to film a segment on population growth in America entitled "300 Million...
Flash to the past: Our changing means of transporting goods to market
The Maricopa and Pima tribes farmed the lands adjacent to the Gila River and raised beans, corn, pumpkins, watermelons, muskmelons, cotton and their principal...
Recipes for Thanksgiving dishes from the Maricopa Historical Society
While you prepare your Thanksgiving feast, take a moment to review some recipes that Maricopans have shared through the years.
Right out of a historic...
Veterans working to make memorial park a reality
Maricopa veterans Jim Bussey and Terry Oldfield were coming home from a funeral for a fellow veteran in Marana when the idea of a...
Ex-MP survived ‘The Surge’ in Iraq, now helps other female veterans
Lynise Grell has a knack for putting herself in other people’s shoes.
She spent eight years in the U.S. Army as a military-police officer. During...
Thanking veterans for their service
They've put on the uniforms of the United States of America's armed forces to defend our rights and our way of life.
Many of them...
Maricopa Museum and Visitor Center opens after years of planning, digging
The Maricopa Museum and Visitor Center opened Saturday morning with extensive displays telling Maricopa's history.
Read other stories about the new museum here.
The museum plans...