The Florence tribune., 1897-05-08
THE CASA eRANDE VALLEY.
Information for Those Seeking Homes
 In the Garden Spot of the West.

Information for Those Seeking Homes
 In the Garden Spot of the West.
 Pinal county was organized in 1915 from portions of Pima, Maricopa and fuyupai counties, and contains an area Gf sssoss sqpaare are miles, or ], ,43S ,52O acres, one-thlrd or when could be made productive by systematic ssn~age of the surplus water now running to waste. Next to Maricopa it IS the most lm- portant agricultural county in the Ierrltory. 1t It trdYcrsed from east to west by the Southern Pacific railroad, and branch or the great Santa Fe system is now approach. jag from the north. The objective point Of this road is connection with the sonora road, ef the same system The southern Pacific is also building in this direction from Tempe, and it is contide ntly believed that work will not cease until the Deer Creek coal fields are reached and connection IS made with another branch of that road runs ming from Bowie to Globe and now complete ed to Fort Thomas.
 Thus it will be seen that Pinal county is the theater of railroad building at the pres ent time, and inside of a year Florence, the county seat, will be
 RAILROAD CENTER.
 At present it contains a population Eof about l5c0, but with the completion Of these two railroads and the Butte reservoir no city in Arizona can approach it for natural advantages, and a large increase in popula- ton will follow. Florence is at an elevation oi l55S feet above sea level, situated near the -stlN fiNef, tNVenty-SlN 1nlleS hOFtiiN U. ehS railroad station of Casa Grande, with which t is connected by an elegantly equipped daily stage line. Going aud coming stages run by the old Casa Grande ruins, aud passengers are allowed short time to ln- spect them. There are many handsome pri- Vate residences in Florence, several bricK stores, good hotel, excellent gradeo school employing four teachers, churches secret societies Commercial Club, news paper (the only one in the eountyl. and the landsemest court house in the Territory. iere is held the United States Court Tor tne district composed of Gila. Graham and Pinal counties. The streets are lined with shade trees which impart an air of comfort on the warmest days.
 PRODUCTS OF THE VALLEY.
 Unlike the Salt river, the waters of the Giia are fresh and pure; the soi, contains no no Ilkali, is a deep, rich gray ash, especially adapted to the growth of the prune, oilve, almond, peach, fig, pear, apricot and frults of all kinds, which pay largely on the invest ment 1t is also the natural home of alfalra, which grows in the most proiific manner. The grape does exceptionally well ln Inis valley, and wine and raisin culture is destln- ed to become prominent industry. CltruS fruits have been cultivated to a limited extent; there are a number of orange trees tn the neighborhood of Florence v hich bear their golden fruit each year without pro lection, anu few date palm trees are also Tn full bearing. The season is from SIX weeks to two months earller than Southern Califor- mia, which gives fruit growers an appreciat- cd advantage ia
 THE EARLY MARKETS.
 The absence of fogs and nightly dews is 2 formidable obstacle to the destructive and unsightly scale-bug. and the fruits of the valley are all bright and clean. All the agri- cultural products of temperate and semi tropic zones are easily grown here, the long long seasons giving a succession Of crops that double or treble the productive value of the land.
 PRICES OF LAND.
 Improved lands, with government title and water right, can be bought for from so to S50 per acre, according to location and iIEl- proEements. In the immeSiate f eS s neignDodf gande ruins there are thousands of acres covered with heavy growth ef mesquite timber yet open to settlement. These are among the choicest in the valley. Water in inexhansti- ble quantity is found at depth Of from twenty to thirty feet; in fact river seems to be flowing underneath. Here Is splen- did opportunity to take up and improve land with a pumping system of irrigation. which is said to be successful on small tracts However, with the completion of the Butte reservoir pumping will be thing of the past, and it is only mentioned here for the purpose of showing what can be done, and to magnify the further fact that what was once considered
 AN UEINHABITABLE DESERT is in truth the most productive land on the globe, and that there is water in abundance
 
 only waiting for the magic wand of capital to develop it. There is water-storage scheme on the Pacific coast that has oEie-haH the natural advantages and SO few engineer ing difficulties as the Butte reservoir. Here nature has built the abutments in ever-liv ing rock, and all that is left for man to do is to put in the headgate. the bluffs which form the gorge being only separated by paltry 220 feet. A country is drained through this narrow canyon 200 miles square, representing 40. GOO square miles, or larger than Maine and Massachusetts combined. The rainfall IS suf- ficient to fill the reservoir twice a year, and the land to be brought under cultivation is practically nmitless. This may read like fairy tale, but it is every word true, and has 1 been verified time and again.
 CASA GRAkDR RESERVOIR. The reservoir of the Casa Grande Valley | Canal company is the largest in the territory. | It covers surface of 1600 acres, with an aver | age depth of IF feet, and contains about elght thousand million gallons of water. It is sit- | uated fifteen miles southwest of Florence. | A Ievee of earth has been thrown up across | a depression in the plain IA. GOO feet in length, l25 feet in width at the bottom and 9 feet in width at top, ? to slope on each side, and an | lated by 3 cast iron pipes 3 feet in diameter, ,et in solid masonry, regulated by gates and ,ower. This reservoir cost S150,000, and sup plies water for 5000 acres.
 Meteorological Statistics.
 The signal service of the general govern nent maintained a station at Florence from 874 to 1882 The reports covering the period rom July, 1880, to April, 1882, gives the follow ug statistics, which may be taken as a safe guide to the prevailing temperature given turing the series of six yeas:
 1880. Mean. Max. Min. July ......-...-.-...........S S6.6 III ol