The Florence tribune., 1899-10-28
THE CASA eRANDE VALLEY.
information for These Seeking Homes
 In the Garden Spot of the West.

ID the 0GFdSE SFOt Si tftC fOSts
 Pinal county was organized in 1875 from portions of Pima Maricopa and faVapal counties. and contains an area of 3. 5.355square miles, or 3, 4S5, ,b20 acres, one-thlrd or Which could be made productive by systematic storage Cf the surplus water now running 10 waste. Next to Maricopa it is the most lm- portant agricultural county lnthe lerrIeoIy. It it traversed from east to west Dy the Southern Pacific railroad ana ,.,a.Ii ora,.on Ii the great Santa Fe system is HOW approach- ing from the north. The oD.ee.lVe poS.n. M ot this road is connection with the sonora Toad ?t the sams syS1emh;; @ .h;s direction Te from Tempe,and it Is confidently peneNeu ai. .n1e work will not cease until the Deer Sreeh coal helds are reached ahG f .So4 road r,,ns ming from Bowie to Globe and now colnpiee- ed to Fort Thomas. :
 Thus it will be seen that rlhai coo.ln.S ss the theater of railroad building aI the pr .I. ent time, and inside of 0 year riorence, ehe county seat, will be
 RAILROAD CENTER.
 At present it contains a population Of about l500, but with the completion or thsse two railroads and the Butte reservoir h3 city in Arizona can approach it for natuTal advantages and a large increase in popuia- tion will follow. Florence Is at an eleVatloh of 1858 feet above sea level situated near the Giia river, twenty.six miles northwest o1 tnS ;nS railroad station of Casa Grande, with Whlcn 1t is connected by an elegantly equipped dsily stage line. Going and coming stages run by the old Casa Grande ruins, ana passengers are allowed short time 50 ln- spect them. There are many handsome pri- vate residences in Florence, several prick stores, good hotel, an excellent graaeo school employing four teachers, churches, secret societies, a Commercial Club news paper (ths only one in the countyl. ana the handsomest court house in the Ieffltory. Here is held the United States Court for the 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 tilla are fresh and pure; the soil contains no llkali, is deep, rich gray ash, especially adapted to the growth of the prune, olive, almond peach, fig, pear, apricot and fruits of all kinds which pay largely on the invest ment. It is also the natural home of alfalfa, which grows in the most prolific manner The grape does exceptionally well In thls valley and wine and raisin culture IS destln- ed to become prominent industry. Citrus fruits have been cultivated to a limited extent; there are number of orange trees in the neighborhoOd of Florence which bear their golden fruit each year without pro- lection, and few date palm trees are also Tn full bearing. The season is from SIX weeks to two months earler than SouthernCaltor- mia, which gives fruit growers an appreclat- ed advantage in
 THE EARLY MARKETS.
 The absence of fogs and nightly dews is . formidable obstacle to the destructive and unsightly scae-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 seasons giving 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 $50 per acre, according to location and im- provements. In the immediate neighbor- hood and to the south of the Casa Grande ruins there are thousands of acres covered with a heavy growth of mesquite timber yet choicest in the valley. Water i'll inexhausti- 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 USINHABITABLE 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 eyer-liy- 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 40,000 square miles. or larger than Maine and Massachusetts combined. The rainfall is suf- ficient to fill the reservoir twice year, and the land to be brought under cultivation is practically limstless. This may read like a fairy tale, but it is every word true, and has been verified time and again.
 CASA eRANDE RESERVOIR.
 The reservoir of the Casa Grande Valley Canal company is the largest in the territory. Itcoyers O surface of 1900 acres, with an aver age depth of 12 feet, and contains about eight thousand million gallons of water. It is sit uated fifteen miles southwest of Florence. A levee of earth has been thrown up across depression in the plain 1i, 900 feet in length 125 feet in width at the bottom and 25 feet in width at top, 2 to 1 slope on each side, and an average height of 9 feet. The waste is regu- lated by 8 cast iron pipes feet in diameter, set in solid masonry, regulated by gates and tower. This reservoir cost $150,000, and SUD- plies water for 5000 acres.
 Meteorological Statistics.
 The signal service of the general govern ment maintained station at Florence from 1874 to 1882. The reports covering the period from July, 1880, to April 1882, gives the follow Ing statistics which may be taken safe guide to the prevailing temperature given during the series of six yeas:
 July y.........................86 86.6 Ill 61 August. st.....................6b .6b.5 1l2 50 September r..........-.---...s1. .s1.0 TOT 48 October ...........-.-...... 6e.0 9o 32