An unexpected late-afternoon storm cooled things down 10 degrees and brought a nice breeze throughout the evening for Queen Creek's Founders' Day 2021 on Sept. 18.
Due to COVID-19, the annual event was cancelled for the first time last year. So this year, everyone was eager to celebrate the town’s 32nd anniversary at Founders’ Park.
Miles Dergins, 10, and many others had fun at the axe throwing booth while many cheered them on.
Dergins' aunt, Andria Cerrone, a Queen Creek resident, said she moved to the Will Rogers Equestrian Ranch neighborhood a year ago from Mesa, where she had lived since 2000 after moving to the East Valley from her native Minnesota.
"I absolutely love the small town feel of Queen Creek," she said. "It's a great place to raise a family and it's affordable. We were looking for horse property and our (neighborhood) has a wonderful boarding and equine care facility."
At the Future Farmers of America Arizona (FFA) agricultural zone, Queen Creek High School students, senior Mikayla Askey and junior Mattie Richards, were welcoming people to learn more about FFA and participate in the many booths they had set up at Founders' Day 2021.
"I grew up with (FFA) and it aligned with what I wanted to do, plus it was an assigned credit. Now, I'm hooked," Askey, 17, said. "The teachers are amazing and supportive. The program gets you involved in the community."
Richards, 16, said that "showing animals is fun, but it's the people you meet that become family that I enjoy."
FFA advisor and agricultural science teacher, Aleah Shook, said Queen Creek offers the perfect setting for the school's FFA program.
"The Queen Creek agricultural science program not only teaches them about animals, it teaches them about business and life skills," she said, adding that the program usually averages 100 students each year and has been at Queen Creek High since 1992.
"(FFA) is the biggest youth organization and it teaches them how to be career ready," Shook said.
Manning the cow milking booth was FFA members Aaron Haynes, 15, and Tristan Modic, 15. Both were demonstrating how to milk a cow at the Queen Creek High School's FFA agricultural zone.
On the other side of the park, Jayce Marino, 11, was partaking in the Food Eating Contest with a host of other kids having fun stuffing their mouths full of apple pie.
Town history
Since its incorporation on Sept. 5, 1989, the Town of Queen Creek has fulfilled residents’ dreams for the community. The town has adopted several award-winning plans designed to guide future growth, planning and land use as well as provide amenities. The town has grown from rich rural roots to what is one of the most innovatively planned family friendly home towns in Arizona.
The community’s founding families were drawn to this portion of the Sonoran Desert, known as Rittenhouse, in the early 1900s to farm cotton, corn and potatoes.The fertile valley below the San Tan Mountains offered a safe haven for the early Indian communities and the homesteaders who farmed and ranched along Queen Creek Wash. Citrus, cotton, pecans, vegetables and other crops still provide for area families, and the wash is a key element in the town's plan for future recreational trails and open space.
Before the scattered farm community was called Queen Creek, it had a different name. The area was known as Rittenhouse because of the railroad spur located near Rittenhouse and Ellsworth roads. People used to flag down the train to get a ride into Phoenix. As the community grew, and the use of the railroad stop diminished, the community changed its name and took on the name Queen Creek.
Location, location
Queen Creek is located primarily in Maricopa County, with eastern portions of the town in Pinal County; and is located within 10 minutes of Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport and 45 minutes of Sky Harbor International Airport. The town’s planning area is bordered on the north by the City of Mesa, to the west by the Town of Gilbert, to the northeast by the City of Apache Junction planning area and to the southeast by the Town of Florence’s planning area. The east is bordered by an unincorporated area of Pinal County, San Tan Valley, and the south is bordered by San Tan Mountain Regional Park, a 10,200- acre park managed by Maricopa County.
Population growth
In 1990, just after the town incorporated, Queen Creek’s population was just over 2,500. The next 10 years experienced a relatively rapid growth rate, with the town’s population escalating significantly by 2010. The Great Recession tempered growth for several years, but by 2015, Queen Creek was one of the fastest growing communities in Arizona. The town’s population continued to increase at a steady, manageable pace, with an estimated population of 41,980 in 2017.
What's in a name?
The Town of Queen Creek's name originated over 100 miles away. Up in the eastern mountains surrounding the Town of Superior, the land is rich with supplies of ore. One of the many mines that opened up in those mountains was the Silver Queen (another was the Silver King, but it was later renamed the Magma Mine). At the base of the Silver Queen Mine there was a creek known as the Picket Post Creek. It was named after the oddly shaped mountain above it (the one you can see today above the State Arboretum). When the Silver Queen Mine opened for production, the name of the Picket Post Creek was changed to Queen Creek. That creek runs down from the mountains, past the mine, through the Queen Creek Canyon, into the area surrounding the present day Town of Queen Creek.
Historical documentary
In honor of the town's 25th anniversary in 2014, the town produced and released “From Rittenhouse to QC,” a mini-documentary about the history of the community and the struggle to become a municipality. Updated in 2020, this PBS award-winning film includes interviews from members of Queen Creek’s founding families and three residents responsible for leading the incorporation effort - Paul Gardner, Mark Schnepf and Steve Sossaman.
Produced in conjunction with OrangeScreen Production, the film is available free-of-charge on the town’s YouTube channel, “TheQCchannel.”
