History

Photos of the same intersection in Maricopa nearly 20 years apart show the changes that have occurred since 1998. The 1998 photo, part of...

The Pinal County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a measure to transfer the ownership of the California Zephyr railcar to the Maricopa Historical Society. ...

Before Maricopa was a city, it was a tiny town in the Wild West. In fact, its history spans nearly 150 years prior to...

City of Maricopa Fire/Medical Deputy Fire Marshal (and former Maricopa Fire Department chief) Eddie Rodriguez shows off the department’s 1940s Ford/Howe pumper truck. The...

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...

By Michelle Chance Rural Maricopa is home to several archaeological sites that contain petroglyphs along local mountain passes. Aaron Wright, preservation archaeologist with Archaeology Southwest, said...

Maricopa Historical Society hosted its annual symposium "A Morning of History" Saturday at City Hall, with diverse presentation from Ak-Chin Indian Community, the Buffalo...

By Michelle Chance An estimated 200 Hohokam petroglyphs are etched into a pile of boulders that lay nestled at the base of a mountain range...

Around the time the United States began its fight for independence from Great Britain in eastern North America, Spanish explorers on the other side...

During one of Marshall Trimble’s visits to Tombstone, a family came over to him and said, “The next gunfight isn’t for 45 minutes. What...

Fred Cole served as the Maricopa postmaster from 1955 to 1982. The post office was located in the Honeycutt Shopping Center until it was...

Maricopa Historical Society received this original painting from the Cole family through the Maricopa Public Library. The painting (ca. 1972) was on display in...

A little-known Spanish Colonial era trail paints a colorful history in our minds’ eye. If You Go What: Presentation on the Juan Bautista de Anza...

Today is the 75th anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor that resulted in the United States entering World War II. How many...

A 1998 aerial photo of the Maricopa High School campus, looking northeast. At the bottom of the photo is the junction of Honeycutt Avenue...

How people entered Maricopa from the south in 1913. Note the different fencing styles along the road. (Photo from Pratt family courtesy Maricopa Historical...

The changing skyline of Maricopa is evident in historic and modern photos of the same stretch of railroad tracks. In 1911, the depot was...

Maricopa is surrounded by desert historic sites, but it is not always easy – or legal – to get to them in a vehicle. Take,...

Looking south from a water tower, this is a scene from Maricopa during the flood of 1949. The Maricopa Hotel is on the right,...

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...

The first transcontinental flight in the United States, a Wright Model EX piloted by Calbraith Perry Rodgers, landed in Maricopa on Nov. 1, 1911....

Trains have always been a part of Maricopa and are the reason the town exists where it does. The first “trains” were horse and...

A print of a 100-year-old photograph was found in a Maricopa library book, and the Maricopa Historical Society is trying to find out who...

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...

The Maricopa Historical Society announced the Nov. 14 historic tour of Maricopa’s California Zephyr from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. at the Amtrak station. There...

By Michael K. Rich John Smith, a Maricopa resident since 1951, sits in an old reclining chair by his living room window, looking out at...

By Maricopa Historical Society Throughout the last 100 years, the tractor has played a significant role in agricultural practices around the world. Maricopa Historical Society...

The city of Maricopa has witnessed numerous changes since its incorporation in 2003. New homes bloomed, businesses formed and the population swelled. Kazi Haque, zoning...

By Raquel Hendrickson Frustrated and angry about being relegated to a footnote in the middle of one of the most tense military times in world...

The Maricopa Historical Society began meeting in 2005 as the Maricopa History Committee with the Friends of the Maricopa Library. Thanks to many generous...