Around San Tan Mountain

Within a few years of 1912--the year Arizona became the 48th state admitted to the Union--families began to settle on homesteads 30 miles southeast of Phoenix. These early settlers were primarily farmers
of diverse heritage and faith. San Tan Mountain provided the backdrop for the arduous task of clearing cactus and thorny scrub brush from the
desert. As irrigation water was pumped from drilled wells, crops took root on newly cultivated fields, and the communities of Rittenhouse, Higley, Combs, and Chandler Heights were established. Rittenhouse later became the town of Queen Creek. These communities were influenced--like many others across the Southwest--by war, the Depression, and immigration, all of which challenged and enriched the area.

Author David Salge has been serving the San Tan Historical Society as president since 2002. He got involved in local history purely by accident while looking for information about a stone foundation in his neighborhood that, based on folklore, was a stage stop from the late 1880s through the early 1900s. Several of the images in this volume were provided by the San Tan Historical Society, although many of these precious memories are from the private collections of the families that have made this area so special.