Thomas Newton Clanton arrived in the area around 1877, bringing his family west from Iowa in search of a better climate for his failing health.
Another settler, Malin Monroe Jackson, along with two others began construction on the canal that was to bring life giving water to the area. Jackson named the canal Buckeye after his home state of Ohio. Ten miles of the canal were completed in 1886, and several small farms were established along the nearby canal.
Thomas Clanton applied to the U.S. Postal Service for the first post office in the area. When the request was granted in 1888 the new station was named Buckeye after the canal. Clanton had big plans for a new town.
In September 1888, he teamed with Phoenix surgeon Oscar L. Mahoney to subdivide 160 acres of their land to establish a business district in the new town, then named Sidney. With the all important canal called Buckeye, most of the locals also referred to the town by that name and in 1910, it was officially changed from Sidney to Buckeye.
Buckeye has surpassed Phoenix geographically with 660 square miles in the planning area and will one day be the largest city in the state of Arizona.
Growth in Buckeye surged in the last few years, bringing residential developments and much needed retail and services. Much of the farmland and many of the descendants of the original founding families remain, keeping the “small country town” atmosphere that is Buckeye.
The lovely White Tank Mountains to the north and Robbins Butte Wildlife Area to the south offer prime hiking, biking and wildlife watching to residents and visitors alike. Buckeye’s Museum is a treasure trove of history that will soon be moved into larger quarters at the new Heritage Park. The park, with the restored Eastman Gin, acres of historic agriculture and a working mini gin, is scheduled to be a stop on the 2012 Arizona Centennial Celebration.
Buckeye is home to the March Helzapoppin’ PRCA Rodeo; “the best place to see a national rodeo” according to Phoenix New Times Magazine, and the only PRCA sanctioned rodeo in the west valley. Two demolition derbies, Heritage Days, CountryFest, Pioneer Days, and Glow on Monroe round out a series of events guaranteeing things are always “a-poppin’ in Buckeye!” |
