The Florence tribune., 1897-09-11
THE CASA eRANDe VALLEY.
Information for Those Seeking Homes


 In the Garden Spot of the West piral county was organized in 1875 from | portions of Pima, MaricOpa and 1 aaYapal | counties, and contains an area ol 9'soS SqIIaalS miles, or 8, ,l35, ,529 aeres one-thlro ol MnS;,. Viii; could be made productive by systt.ilta.4io ~ | Stnroua of the surplls water now running to | waste. Next to Mariocpa 1t IS tue T lnos1 inii- portant agricultural county lnthe lsrLt I sI 1t it trayersed from east to west by enS es Southern Pacific railroad, and pralch pA the great Santa Fe system IS nov app: oASl tf | iag from the north. The objective poine ,,ora Ua | this read is a connection with the sVloa.. sI. | road, of the same system: The Soatheri f'si,ii l Pacific is also building in thls directioi tL. Tempe, and it is confidently be,iess"c casis .nsis work will not cease until the Deer Sreen | coal fields are reached and conneetion 10 made with another branch of that roao run ! ming frea Bowie to Globe aud now eoinile'- Thus it will be seen that Pinal county IS the theater Of railroad building at the prs prs l ent time. and inside of 3 year rlorehee' 'ne county seat, will be
 RAILROAD CENTER. At present it contains population i .oi abont l5Ge, but with the completion or thsso two railroads and the Butte reservoir h9 city in Arizona can approach 1t for haturai advantages, and large increase lh L po3a;io, u;1, tien will follow. Florence is at an elevation of 1553 feet absYe sea level, situated near t,ie Gila river, tpenty-six miles northwest oi tle railroad station of Casa Grande, wish Mnle1 a it is connected by elegantly eqatpDeu daily stage line. Going and eonlanS stages run by the old Casa Grande ruins, and passengers are allowed short time 10 ln- spect them. There are many handsome prl- Vate-residences in Florence several prick stores, good hotel, an excellent gfaueu school employing four teachers. churenes, al'ss secret societies, a Commercial Club, news paper lthe only one in the county. ana the haEdsSmest court house in the Ierrltory. Here is held the United States Court for tis district composed of Gila. Graham aud Pinal counties. The streets are nned wltn shade trees, which impart an air of comfort on the warmest days.
 PRODUCTS OF THE VALLEY.
 Unlike the Salt river. the waters of the Siia are fresh and pure; the soil contains no TO alkali, is a deep, rich gray ash, especially adapted to the growth of the prune, oiNe, almond, peach, hg, pear, apricot ana Irults of all kinds which pay largely on the inyess ment. It is also the natural home Of alfalfa, which grows in the most prolnc manner. The grape does exceptionally well III tnls valley, and wine and raiSin culture IS o~estlh- ~ ed to become a prominent industry. Citrus fruits have been cultivated to hihlteu extent there are number Of orange trees in the neighborhoed of Florence %hieh pear their gelden fruit each year without pro lection. and few date palm trees are also lil full bearing. The season IS rom slN MSeAs to two months earlIer than Southern Cahior- mia, w whieh gives fruit growers an apprecia'- cd advantage in
 THE EARLY MARKETS.
 The absence of fotrs and nightly dews is q formidable obstacle to the destructive and unsightly scale-bug, and the fruits or the valley all bright and clean. All the aSri- cultural products of temperate and semi- tropic zones are easily grown here, the long seasons giving succession or crops that double or treble the productive value of the land.
 Improved lands, with government title and water right. can be bought for from S20 to $50 l,er acre according to location and im- proyemeuts. h the immediate neighboT- hood and to the south of the Casa 0randes ruins there are thousands of acres covered with heavy growth of mesquite timber yet open to settlement. These are among the choicest in the valley. ateT in mex xhaustI- be quantity Is found at q 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 USIEHABITABLz DESERT
 Is in truth the most productive land on the globe and that there is water in abundance to bring every foot of it under cultivation, only waiting for the magic wand of capital to develop it. There is no Water-storage scheme on the Pacific coast that has one-half the natural advantages and so few engineer ing difficulties as the Butte reservoir Here nature has built the abutments in ever-liy- ing rock. and ali 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. 4 country is drained through this narrow canyon 200 miles square, representing 4OOO0 square miles, or larger than Maine and Massachusetts combined. The rainfall is sui tcient to fill the reservoir twice Q year, and the land to be brought under cultivation IS practically limitless. This may read like fairy tale, but it is every word true, and has been verified time and again.
 CASA CYANIDE RESERVOIR.
 The reservoir of the Casa Grande Valley Canal company is the largest in the territory. It covers surface of 1890 acres, with an aver age depth of F feet and contains about eight thousand million gallons of water. It is slt- uated fifteen miles southwest of Florence. leyee of earth has been thrown up across a depression in the plain II 900 feet in length, I25 feet in width at the bottom and z5 feet in width at top, to slope on each side, and an average height of 9 feet. The waste is regu- lated by 3 cast iron pipes feet in diameter, set in solid masonry, regulated by gates and tower. This reservoir cost Sl5O,OOJ, and sup plies water for 6O50 acres.
 Meteorological Statistics.
 The signal service of the general goyern- ment maintained a station at Florence from 1874 to 1882. The reports covering the period from July. 1880, to April, 1892 gives the follow ing statistics, which may be taken us a safe guide to the prevailing temperature given during the series of six yeas: