Early 1900s life at Ak-Chin and in Maricopa

Carmelita Norris Stanley was born in 1914 at Gila Crossing, northwest of Maricopa Wells and near St. Johns. 

She came to Maricopa in 1918 when she was four years old. When her family moved to Maricopa, she attended school at Ak-Chin in a small, one-room adobe house that was also used as the Presbyterian Church. This church was located by the cemetery and was operated by the government. 

After Father Antonine completed the St. Francis Catholic Church in 1920-21, Stanley attended classes in this church. She remembered that Father Antonine built other churches in this area, too.  Today many of the Ak-Chin people are Catholic and attend the St. Francis Church that was built by the Franciscans. 

Inside the church is a big room with windows to the left and right, a ceiling of painted cactus ribs, main and side altar tables and two large frescos.  Around the frescoes are wainscot patterns painted directly on the wall. Each year, St. Francis and Mary Magdalena are honored with feasts and a festival for the Day of the Dead in October. 

After attending school for a short time in the Catholic church,. Stanley did not complete her educational years at Ak-Chin. Her family made the decision to send her to the boarding school at St. Johns. In 1925, when she was eleven years old, she left her home at Ak-Chin to go to St. Johns, and only returned home during school vacations. 

In later years, she recalled the many passenger trains that arrived daily in Maricopa at the old railroad junction.  She remembered the many railroad houses located along the tracks for the railroad workers and the constant shortage of housing in Maricopa during that time. She and her brother lived in one of the railroad houses during the time he worked for the railroad.

What does she miss about the old days? “Things are different today,” she says. “There are better houses, paved roads, and people use cars instead of wagons.” 

What are the greatest improvements in the past 50 years?  Stanley did not hesitate, “The greatest improvement in the past 50 years for us is with farming and housing.  Farming has expanded greatly at Ak-Chin, and there is much better housing for the families.” 

Farming has always been an important part of the economy and survival of the Pima and Tohono O’odham people. Research confirms that the Ak-Chin ancestors have occupied and farmed its land in this Sonoran Desert for thousands of years. The hot summers and mild winters are conducive to a year around growing season. 

Today the Ak-Chin Farms have 84 employees and farm almost 16,000 acres making this one of the largest farming communities in the United States. Cotton is the principal crop, but they also grow corn, alfalfa, barley and potatoes. 

Submitted photo

Editor’s note:  Maricopa factoids are a regular feature on InMaricopa.com. They are provided by the Maricopa Historical Society, a branch of the Friends of the Maricopa Public Library. Most of the photos and information come from “Reflections of a Desert Town” by author and historical society chairperson Patricia Brock.