Casa Grande, Arizona
Casa Grande (O'odham: Wainom Wo:g) is a city in Pinal County, approximately halfway between Phoenix and Tucson in the U.S. state of Arizona. According to U.S. Census estimates, the population of the city is 55,653 as of 2020.[3] It is named after the Casa Grande Ruins National Monument, which is actually located in Coolidge. "Casa Grande" is Spanish for "big house". Among resident English speakers, there is no consensus on how to pronounce the city's name.[4]
"Casa Grande" redirects here. For people with the surname, see Casagrande. For other uses, see Casa Grande (disambiguation).
Casa Grande
O'odham: Wainom Wo:g
1879
Craig McFarland
Matt Herman,
Lisa Navarro Fitzgibbons,
Donna McBride,
Bob Huddleston,
Jeff Lavender,
Anthony Edwards
112.01 sq mi (290.10 km2)
112.01 sq mi (290.10 km2)
0.00 sq mi (0.00 km2)
1,381 ft (421 m)
53,658
479.06/sq mi (184.96/km2)
04-10530
2409401[2]
History[edit]
Casa Grande was founded in 1879 during the Arizona mining boom, specifically due to the presence of the Southern Pacific Railroad. In January 1880, the community of Terminus, meaning "end-of-the-line," was established despite consisting of just five residents and three buildings.[5] In September 1880, railroad executives renamed the settlement Casa Grande, after the Hohokam ruins at the nearby Casa Grande Ruins National Monument. Casa Grande grew slowly, and suffered several setbacks both in 1886 and 1893, when fires ravaged the town, destroying all wooden housing structures within it.[5] When the mining boom slowed in the 1890s, the town was nearly abandoned, but with the advent of agriculture, the town remained alive and well, and was eventually incorporated in 1915.[5]
One of the founding fathers of Casa Grande was Thompson Rodney Peart. Peart Road, Peart Park, and the Peart Center, all of which are notable fixtures of Casa Grande, are named after him.
Casa Grande was home to a collective farm society which was part of the Farm Security Administration.
From 1942 to 1945, a Japanese-American relocation camp was set up outside of Casa Grande, known as the Gila River War Relocation Center. Two notable people that were interned there were future actor Pat Morita and baseball player Kenichi Zenimura, who constructed a baseball field and set up a league in the relocation camp.[6]
Casa Grande is home to Francisco Grande Hotel & Golf Resort, former spring training location for the San Francisco Giants. Then owner, Horace Stoneham, began developing the property in 1959. The first exhibition game was played in Casa Grande in 1961, with Willie Mays hitting a 375-foot (114 m) home run. The San Francisco Giants no longer play at Francisco Grande, but the pool in a baseball bat and ball shape remains in memory of the past ballgames.[7]
During the Cold War, Casa Grande was the location of the Casa Grande Photogrammetric Test Range. These targets consisted of concrete arrows located in and to the south of the city, which calibrated aerial cartographic cameras.[8]
Casa Grande has also played a prominent role in semi-pro and collegiate baseball. The Casa Grande Cotton Kings, who were founded in 1948, qualified to play in the National Baseball Congress World Series ten straight times by winning Arizona state championships in the 1940s and 1950s, and were reactivated in the 2000s. They are now members of the Pacific Southwest Baseball League.[9]
Geography[edit]
According to the United States Census Bureau, Casa Grande has a total area of 112.01 square miles (290.1 km2), all land.[10]
Fire Department[edit]
The Casa Grande Fire Department (CGFD), ISO Class 2, provides fire protection and emergency medical services to the City of Casa Grande. The Casa Grande Fire Department operates out of 4 Fire Stations and an Administrative Headquarters at the Public Safety Building.
CGFD is serving 109.65 square miles with over 60,000 residents.
Dave Kean is the Fire Chief for the City of Casa Grande. In 2021-22 Chief Kean led the fight for the City to form their own ambulance transportation service and obtain a “Certificate of Necessity” from the Arizona Department of Health. This allowed the CGFD to expand by 26 members. Just prior to that he had added a full-time Ladder company (12 new firefighters) to the Department.
In 2023, Chief Kean got funding for a new Fire Station 503 at a cost over $13.4 million dollars. This is the first new fire facility in over 14 years.
Library[edit]
The Casa Grande Public Library provides the standard services of access to reading materials, as well as some special services, including a volunteer reading club for elementary school, internet access, and a talking book program. The main library is 16,000 square feet (1,500 m2), provides 75,000 volumes, and provides 38 public access computers with internet access. The Vista Grande Public Library, a branch of the Casa Grande Library System, opened in the summer of 2009.[20][21]
City Court[edit]
The Casa Grande Municipal Court is the judicial branch of Casa Grande City government and accepted 6,609 filings, conducted 2,486 arraignments and held 156 civil, criminal and jury trials in Fiscal Year 2006–2007.[22]
These highways serve Casa Grande.
The City of Coolidge operates Central Arizona Regional Transit (CART), which provides transportation between Florence, Coolidge, Central Arizona College and Casa Grande.[25] Greyhound serves Casa Grande from a stop in Eloy.
The closest major airports to Casa Grande are Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport and Tucson International Airport. Casa Grande Shuttle provides an airport shuttle to Sky Harbor.[26]