History Photo: Maricopa’s Water Tower
The last of three massive water towers that marked the Maricopa area on the railroad tracks in the 1880s, the 60-foot water tower has...
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...
Blast from the past: Mayor elected, fugitive arrested, and a new route opened
The month of June in the past.
2004: Maricopa native Kelly Anderson was elected mayor of the first elected City Council on June 1. Councilman...
Flash to the past: When grocery shopping wasn’t nearly as pricey
With inflation high these days, it’s interesting to look at what prices on a few staples were back in 2009.
At Bashas’, chicken breasts were...
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...
Old-school memories
This aerial photo from 1958 shows the original Maricopa High School with its gymnasium, right, and two wings of classrooms. The school had only...
Oliver Anderson: Longtime farmer’s life of service mirrors history of Maricopa (VIDEO)
His story begins less than a month after Black Tuesday, America’s economic disaster that incited the Great Depression.“He’s always served without fanfare, under the...
History photo: Fast Times at Maricopa High
Before it was relegated to its current status as the 600 building, the library at Maricopa High School was the office. Between 2000 and...
Christmas treasure: ‘Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus’
In 1897, an eight-year-old girl on the Upper West Side of Manhattan asked her father whether Santa Claus really existed.
Dr. Philip O'Hanlon, a coroner's...
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...
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: Water tanks had important impact on Maricopa
By Patricia Brock, Donald DeHart and Maricopa Historical Society
Just west of the railroad station were two very large water tanks that held over 1...
History photo: Farming staples
The O.S. Stapley store opened in Maricopa in 1955 south of the railroad tracks and east of the high school on Maricopa Road. The...
Flashback: Pima Butte opens doors
In July 2005, Maricopa schools welcomed students for the first day of the new school year. Pima Butte, a new elementary school in Rancho...
A Promise Kept: Korean War veteran Joaquin Comaduran
By Fran Lyons
He said to himself, “No wars in the U.S.”
He wanted our country to be protected and safe. He wanted freedom and he...
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...
The stars came out for Mayor Nancy Smith’s first State of the City address
It was a who's who of Maricopa at the reception that preceded Mayor Nancy Smith's first State of the City address on Oct. 19.
Captains...
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...
Flash to the past: Three arrested in seizure of 1.5 tons of marijuana
In August of 2004, the Pinal County Narcotics Task Force, with the assistance of the marked patrol division, seized 2,927 pounds of marijuana from...
Masik Tas celebrates Ak-Chin history
IF YOU GO
What: Masik Tas
Where: Ak-Chin Circle Field & Arena, 16000 N. Maricopa Road
When: Dec. 5-15
Dec. 5-8: Basketball tournaments
Dec. 7, 7 p.m.: Light Parade...
Nonprofit profile: Maricopa Historical Society
The Maricopa Historical Society began meeting in 2005 as the Maricopa History Committee with the Friends of the Maricopa Library. Thanks to many generous...
Where Are They Now: Former vice mayor reflects on growth in city, career
It has been three years since Brent Murphree’s career in the cotton industry took him away from his Rancho El Dorado home and local...
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...
Flash to the past: Police seek vocal sheep, find vocal frog
In July 2009, Maricopa police officers responded to a report of a sheep stuck in a drainage ditch in The Villages.
The call came from...
History photo: Flooding nothing new
Floodwaters inundate the backyard of Dallas and Susie Smith in September 1946. Their home was just south of today’s Business Barn. Dallas Smith was...
History Photo: Maricopa Depot 1900
By Patricia Brock, Maricopa Historical Society
Three trains were in daily operation from Phoenix to Maricopa in the early 1900s, and Maricopa was quite a...
Celebrating Italian Americans’ contributions to America
Italian-American Heritage Month is celebrated in Maricopa and across the country during October to honor and recognize the centuries of achievements, successes and valuable...
Vietnam vet shares memories with JROTC class at MHS
The Air Force Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps (JROTC) program at Maricopa High School is thriving, with about 130 students, or 5% of the...
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...
Flash to the past: Maricopans left itching as mosquitoes thrive
In August 2012, a trifecta of heat, humidity and standing water left mosquitoes feeling right at home in Maricopa, and Maricopans were itching like...
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