Oro Valley: The First Fifty Years

James Williams new book takes a unique look at the history of the Town of Oro Valley 

James Williams resides in Oro Valley and is an author. Several years ago, he authored “Claiming the Desert: Settlers, Homesteaders, and Ranchers in Oro Valley, Arizona, from 1965 to 1965.” Then, well over a year ago, he undertook the challenge of documenting Oro Valley’s first 50 years. 

Creating a fifty year history was a daunting task

This task proved to be quite challenging, mainly because there is no single, comprehensive source for the town’s history. Instead, Williams had to do thorough research into town records, conduct numerous interviews, collect photographs, and engage with key individuals who played pivotal roles in shaping the community.

The book focuses on the factors that shaped the community

The 200-page book explores Oro Valley through 14 chapters. Yes. The book does start with the town’s formation in 1974; but i offers more than a mere day-by-day historical account. Instead, it takes a comprehensive view of the factors that have shaped Oro Valley into what it is today. For instance, it delves into the significant roles that golf and growth have played in our town’s development.

There’s “lots to learn”

It is an enjoyable read because there is lots to be learned:

• Early Oro Valley government used volunteer workers to save money (p39,1)
• Most of the streets were dirt or gravel and much of the land was open space when the town incorporated in 1974
• The Sheraton El Conquistador was the financial salvation of the town in 1980
• In 1990, seven water companies served Oro Valley (p68)
• Residents voted to approve the original Oro Valley Marketplace. It was supposed to be an “upscale shopping experience
• Naranja Park was a sand and gravel pit (p108)

A read for all… Available on Amazon

Jim has crafted a true masterpiece of Oro Valley’s history. It is a worthwhile read for everyone, offering a glimpse into how the town evolved into what it is today.  Purchase the book from Amazon.

Bits and Pieces

Celebrate Oro Valley Tomorrow at Steam Pump Ranch

"Come on down to Steam Pump Ranch on Saturday, April 8 for the Town’s annual Celebrate Oro Valley event! This free, family-friendly event runs from 8 a.m. to noon, and there is something for everyone to enjoy. If you like the monthly Second Saturdays at Steam Pump Ranch events, then you’ll LOVE Celebrate Oro Valley. We’ve got all the great stuff from Second Saturdays...including your favorite farmers market."   Click for more details. (Source: Town of Oro Valley Press Release)

Jim Williams' Book "Oro Valley-The First 50 years" will be available on Amazon this summer

Oro Valley Historian Jim Williams has created a history of the Town of Oro Valley, from its inception in 1974 to 2020. Author of the book "Claiming the Desert", an early history of the Town of Oro Valley, Williams has been busy interviewing and researching for the past two years. The book is far more than a chronology of events. Rather, Jim chose to focus on topics that were important in each decade and how these issues were resolved.  Jim's latest update to LOVE: "I have formatted the entire book and loaded it into one file. I have added all the pictures but am waiting for release from the owners on a few. It should be all done and printed by Amazon by July."  We will let you know when the book is released.

Can "Council On Your Corner" sessions be done safely?

There was a time when representatives would meet informally with their constituents. All that changed on January 8, 2011. That was the day that Congressperson Gabrielle Giffords was shot about 11am outside of Safeway (Ina and Oracle). The gunman killed six people. There is a plaque there to memorialize that tragic day. 

Giffords was holding a "Meet and Greet" discussion with constituents. Nine year old Christina Taylor Greene was waiting in line to meet her idol when the shooting started. Christina was killed along with the five other victims on that most terrible morning.  Green Field in Kreigh Park is named for her.  No political figure has held such a session since that date.

During the last election, some current Oro Valley council members talked of reinstating our version of "Meet and Greet" called "Council On Your Corner".  Perhaps, with proper security, this can be done. You see. Giffords had no security that day.

(This is a link to a detailed report on this terrible shooting.)

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What do you know about Suffolk Hills in Oro Valley?

This is the fourth in a series of articles written by The Oro Valley Historical Society. Future OVHS articles will appear on LOVE every other Thursday.

Heiress Daisy Leiter and The Earl of Suffolk
This area once had its own Downton Abbey heiress. Like Lady Grantham from the television series, many young, wealthy American women married English nobleman in the pre-World War I era. Margaret (Daisy) Hyde Leiter was an heiress who married the 19th Earl of Suffolk, Henry Molyneux Page Howard. She followed in the footsteps of her sister Mary, Baroness of Kedleson and Vicereine of India, who also married a nobleman.

Daisy was the daughter of Levi Leiter, a very successful Chicago investor and department store owner who partnered with Marshall Field. John Singer Sargent was commissioned to paint Daisy’s portrait in 1898 (prior to her marriage). While visiting her sister, Mary, Daisy met Henry Howard, the Earl of Suffolk. They were married in Washington D.C. in 1904 and during the course of their marriage had three sons.

The Earl was sent with British forces to Mesopotamia in World War I and died there of shrapnel wounds in 1917. Margaret, now the Dowager Countess of Suffolk and Berkshire, never remarried and remained an international celebrity. Though the Countess guarded her private life carefully, she traveled extensively, and was an accomplished pilot and photographer of wildlife.

The Countess purchased land near what is now Magee and Oracle
As part of a stipulation in her father’s large estate, Daisy was required to spend at least four months of each year in the United States. Like many wealthy visitors, she was fascinated by the mystique and isolation of the desert. In 1937 the Dowager Countess came to Arizona with her son, Cecil Howard, and purchased land along the south side of what is now Magee Road, east of Oracle. Margaret commissioned local architect Robert Morse to build Forest Lodge on her land. The grand home was built in the international style, popular with wealthy European and American families in the pre-World War II era. The home had five bedrooms and several terraces, servants’ quarters, a four car garage and even rudimentary air conditioning.

Suffolk Hills was named after the Countess
The splendid isolation of Forest Lodge was disrupted in the 1950s by the growth of suburbia. It was time for the Countess to move on. She sold the home and surrounding land in 1957. The Suffolk Hills development was named after the Countess. She sold 320 acres to the Lusk Corporation for $500,000. The Lusk Corporation planned to construct 250 houses on the one acre lots. They used the hilly ground that adapted development to the natural environment. Eventually, 190 homes were built and the company won a national award for Suffolk Hills in 1960 for “usage of natural terrain, and preservation of the natural desert scenery.” The original homes were priced from $16,000. The remaining property and the Dowager’s Forest Lodge home were purchased by the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart for an academy to be built on the site where it remains today.

Seeking solitude
The Countess relocated to the Oracle area to once again find solitude. This time her home, “Casa del Oro,” was designed in the Spanish style with arches, tiles, walls, gates and private gardens. It was located in what is now the Biosphere II complex.

The Dowager Countess of Suffolk and Berkshire died of a heart attack while en route by plane from San Francisco to her home in Oracle on March 5, 1968. She was 88.

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This article is an excerpt of the book Claiming the Desert – Settlers, Homesteaders and Ranchers in Oro Valley, Arizona 1865-1965 by James A. Williams. Williams is a local resident, retired teacher and historian. He is an Honorary Member of the Oro Valley Historical Society (OVHS) and former president of the same. If you would like to learn more about Oro Valley homesteaders you can purchase his book at amazon.com or through the Oro Valley Historical Society (contact tcolmar@comcast.net). Jim generously donates profits from his book to OVHS!

Additional Credit Royalty in Residence by Barbara Marriott; Oro Valley Voice, November 2015.

Interested in local history?
Stop by Steam Pump Ranch on the second and fourth Saturdays in February, March and April. The Oro Valley Historical Society presents docent-guided tours from 10 a.m. to Noon. No reservations are required for the 50-minute tour that leaves on the hour and every fifteen minutes thereafter. Tours leave from the OVHS tent that is located just south of the Farmer’s Market ramada. The suggested donation supports the cost of our displays, exhibits and ongoing programs. We hope to see you!

The Oro Valley Historical Society is a 501 (c) (3) non-profit volunteer organization, whose mission is “To promote research, preservation, education, and dissemination of historical information related to the greater Oro Valley area.” We invite you to become a member or volunteer or donate.. Visit us at ovhistory.org and help keep Oro Valley history alive!

Jim Williams: When Homesteaders Came To Oro Valley

From time to time, LOVE is featuring Oro Valley author Jim Williams and his book Claiming the Desert: Settlers, Homesteaders and Ranchers in Oro Valley, Arizona, 1865-1965. This is an excerpt from his book.
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Individuals from Tucson and other locales claimed homesteads in four townships that roughly correspond to the Town of Oro Valley today. These grantees were a group of hardy pioneers who braved many difficulties. 

Everyday life was challenging. Some of them prospered, but not all.

Homesteaders came to this area from a variety of locales. Some came to Tucson via the Southern Pacific Railroad. Train travel was preferred because the highways in Arizona and neighboring states were barely functional for interstate travel before the late 1940s.

Gene Magee, who owned a homestead in what became Oro Valley, remembered traveling three days by rail from Oklahoma to reach Tucson.

Most homesteaders already lived in Tucson for some years before applying for a homestead. After arriving in Tucson, homesteaders traveled by wagon or automobile to their claim. 

Buster Bailey, a resident from 1927 onward, remembered that the Oracle Road “was always rough,” consisting of unpaved highway with some gravel. Robert Wilson visited his father Lawrence Wilson’s homestead near Oracle Road in the Thirties and remembered a rough road of packed dirt. Orange Grove Road and La Cholla Boulevard were established by 1930, both county roads but in worse condition than Oracle Road (then called the Tucson-Florence Highway). Maps of the period 1900-1940 indicate many other unnamed and virtually unimproved roads in the area.

The difficult roads presented significant problems for homesteaders.

When the Jim Reidy homestead dwelling was under construction, he and several laborers finished work on the building for the day and started back to Tucson in his 1928 Chevrolet. A flash flood hit as they crossed the Cañada del Oro, and one worker was swept away. He was later found one-half mile downstream, clinging to a Palo Verde tree. The Chevy was destroyed by the flood. Betty Chester Dreyfuss, who lived in what is now Catalina State Park, recalled that her family was isolated when the Cañada del Oro flooded. For days, food and other supplies had to be brought in via a cable strung between two poles on opposite sides of the wash.
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"Claiming the Desert" is available at the Western National Parks Association and through Amazon.com.

Jim Williams: Oro Valley "Claims The Desert"

From time to time, LOVE will be featuring Oro Valley author Jim Williams and his book Claiming the Desert: Settlers, Homesteaders and Ranchers in Oro Valley, Arizona, 1865-1965. This is an excerpt from his book.
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"What was it like to ride a stagecoach from Tucson to what became Oro Valley in 1900? Stagecoaches were used to transport goods and passengers in Great Britain from the 1700s onward, and they became common in the western United States in the late nineteenth century. A stagecoach carried people and freight from Tucson to Mammoth from the 1880s to at least 1908. After that, railroads, buses and automobiles replaced the stagecoach.

In 1900, the stagecoach followed Oracle Road, a rough, dirt highway. Passengers were in for a dusty and bumpy ride. The stagecoach left central Tucson and followed much of what is now Oracle Road to Mammoth. The roadway crossed the sandy bottom of the Rillito River about one-half mile west of the current bridge crossing.

A bridge was not built until the early twentieth century, and the current location for crossing the Rillito was not established until 1951.

The stage continued northward and often stopped at Steam Pump Ranch to water the horses, or at Francisco Marin’s ranch one mile further north (and 12 miles from the start in Tucson) to hitch up fresh teams. After 1899, the stagecoach primarily stopped at the Marin ranch. The significant elevation near Marin’s property, called Marin Hill, was the steepest climb for the horses and stagecoach (located on Oracle Road today, between the entrance to Catalina State Park and Tangerine Road). Some of the stagecoach operators and teamsters included local settlers like William Sutherland, Jesus Maria Elias and Teodoro Marin. Some of these men left jobs with the stagecoach and settled on ranches in the area."
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"Claiming the Desert" is available at the Western National Parks Association and through Amazon.com.

Jim will speak and sign books at Western National Parks on December 8, 2018. The location:12880 N Vistoso Village in Oro Valley.