Peruse Maricopa’s railroad legacy, Zephyr car at Historical Society event
For those who have never had the chance to look inside the California Zephyr train car, the next opportunity is Feb. 27.
The Maricopa Historical...
History: First Maricopa Stagecoach Days May 3, 1959
Courtesy of Maricopa Historical Society
The first of many Maricopa Stagecoach Days began on Sunday, May 3, 1959, with a BBQ dinner, and a slew...
History photo: 19th century scene
This photo from the 1890s looks east along the railroad tracks while a steam engine is stopped at the Maricopa Depot, on left. The...
History photo: Yes, Maricopa can flood
One of Maricopa’s more memorable floods came in 1983, when Santa Cruz waters invaded most existing structures south of the tracks, including the elementary...
Parade lets veteran groups shine together
The COVID-19 pandemic that has plagued the nation since early 2020 has changed the way we do a lot of things. Put the staging...
History photos: Student explosion
The Maricopa High School campus has grown considerably over the years. The football players and cheerleaders pictured were among the 28 MHS students —...
Signs of life at ‘ghost subdivision’
Maricopa’s “ghost subdivision” is coming back to life. Dormant for a decade, the Santa Rosa Crossing development with a long history and no homes...
Woolly topic for historical society presentation
Sheepherding for wool and meat has been an Arizonan occupation since the mid-1800s, and if the Native Americas are included, the date can be...
History Photo: Maricopa’s Erstwhile County Jail
Even after Maricopa incorporated in 2003, its law and order mostly came from the county sheriff and justice of the peace. In the late...
History Photo: Maricopa Business District in the 1950s
At the intersection of Maricopa Road and the future Maricopa-Casa Grande Highway in the 1950s was the business district north of the tracks. At...
History: Sourcing Maricopa’s floodwaters
By Patricia Brock and the Maricopa Historical Society
Do you know the rivers of Maricopa? The Gila River is one of the largest desert rivers...
History: Law of the land
In the late 1950s, Pinal County Sheriff’s Office built a substation and jail in Maricopa just east of West Garvey Avenue.
Even after Maricopa was...
City residents divided on cemetery
Believe it or not, Maricopa, with a population of more than 60,000, does not have a cemetery. The city is exploring the possibility of...
History photo: Art on the Rails
Maricopa Historical Society received this original painting from the Cole family through the Maricopa Public Library. The painting (ca. 1972) was on display in...
History: Maricopa Gets Electrified
In 1930, Electrical District No. 3 brought electrical power to homes in western Pinal County, including Maricopa. Powerlines were installed to serve Maricopa and...
Curtis: Battle of Pima Butte made history
Like most Maricopa residents, I have driven past Pima Butte (“M” mountain) many, many times. But only recently did I learn that a significant event...
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...
The last years of Lorenzo and Olive Oatman
EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the last in a series of articles dealing with the Massacre of the Oatman family in 1851 and those who...
History photo: On the Rails 2001
The historic California Zephyr railcar (right) makes its 2001 debut in Maricopa and is greeted by a modern Amtrak train (left). The railcar, which...
Life in Mobile: A Close-Knit Family
By Patricia Brock and the Maricopa Historical Society
Mobile is a small community located about 15 miles west of Maricopa on State Route 238 (Mobile...
Pool is gone, but history remains
A community pool once sat just north of where the Silver Horizon Zephyr railcar now sits. The Zephyr railcar came to Maricopa in 2000...
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...
Collection of ‘new’ history donated to Maricopa Historical Society
Now with the confidence of having future storage and display space for their many items of historical significance to the community, Maricopa Historical Society...
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...
Cotton workers remember moving to ‘hellhole’ in 1940s
By Patricia Brock and the Maricopa Historical Society
Bertha Anderson Easley and her husband Jay Easley came to Maricopa in 1947.
“We lived on Porter Ranch,...
DNA test reveals a father – and a family
It’s said life can turn on a dime. For Mike Otis, it changed on a $69 DNA test.
Otis, a retired technical writer, did what...
‘Lost mine’ in Sierra Estrella: Fact or Folklore? (VIDEO)
Embedded in Arizona is a history rife with facts, folklore and fantasy.“The structure is one of the more substantial mining structures that I’ve seen....
Where are they now? For original city councilman, work is a numbers game
Kelly Haddad, one of the original members of city council, entered community service at the invitation of civic leader Ed Farrell when Maricopa was just a patch in the desert.
He...
History photo: At the station
Believed to have been taken between 1900 and 1920, this photo of a train at the pumping station with the iconic water tower nearby...
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...
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