Casa Grande, Arizona
| Casa Grande, Arizona | |
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| City | |
Historic Casa Grande Union High School which now serves as the Casa Grande City Hall.
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 Location in Pinal County and the state of Arizona |
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 Casa Grande
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| Coordinates: 32°53′9″N 111°44′38″W / 32.88583°N 111.74389°WCoordinates: 32°53′9″N 111°44′38″W / 32.88583°N 111.74389°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Arizona |
| County | Pinal |
| Founded | 1879 |
| Government | |
| • City Manager | James Thompson |
| • Mayor | Craig McFarland |
| • City Council | Mary Kortsen, Ralph Varela, Karl Montoya, Lisa Fitzgibbons, Dick Powell, Matt Herman |
| Area | |
| • Total | 109.67 sq mi (284.0 km2) |
| • Land | 109.67 sq mi (284.0 km2) |
| • Water | 0.0 sq mi (0.0 km2) |
| Elevation | 1,398 ft (426 m) |
| Population (2010) | |
| • Total | 48,571 |
| • Estimate (2014) | 51,478 |
| • Density | 442.8/sq mi (171.0/km2) |
| Time zone | MST (no DST) (UTC-7) |
| ZIP codes | 85122, 85130, 85193 |
| Area code(s) | 520 |
| FIPS code | 04-10530 |
| Website | http://www.casagrandeaz.gov |
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 the 2010 census, the population of the city is 48,571. It is named after the Casa Grande Ruins National Monument, which is actually located in Coolidge. "Casa Grande" is Spanish for "big house".
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. 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. 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.
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 New Deal.
According to historian David Leighton, during World War II, 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.
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