The Florence tribune., 1899-07-15
THE CASA eRANDE VALLEY.
Information for Those Seeking Homes
 In the Garden Spot of the West.

Pinalcounty was organized in 1875 from portions of Pima, Maricopa and YaVapal counties and contains an area of 1888 square miles. or 8, S5,520 acres, one-third of which could be made productive by systematic storage of the surplus water now running to waste. Next to Mariccpa it is the most im- portant agricultural county in the Territory. It it trayersed from east to west by the Southern Pacific railroad, and a branch of the great Santa Fe system is now approach. Ing from the north. The objective point Of this road is connection with the Sonora Pacific is also building in this direction from Tempe. and 1t Is confidently believed that work will not cease Nntil the Deer Creek coal fields are reached and connection IS made with another branch of that road rum ming from Bowie to Globe and now complet- cd 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
 A RAILROAD CENTER.
 At present it contains population of about 1500 but with the completion of these two railroads and the Butte reservoir no city in Arizona can approach 1t for natural advantages and n large increase in popuia- tion will follow. Florence is ct an elevation of 1858 feet above sea level, situated near the Gila river, twenty-six miles northwest of the railroad station of Casa Grande, with which 1t is connected by an elegantly, equipped duily stage line. Going and coming stages run by the old Casa Grande ruins, ana passengers are allowed short time to h. spect them. There are many handsome pri- vate residences in Florence, several brick stores, good hotel, an excellent graaeu school employing four teachers, churches, secret societies, a Commercial Club, news paper (the only one in the county. ana the handsomest court house in the Territory. 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 warEnest days.
 PRODUCTS or THE VALLEY.
 Unlike the Salt river, the waters of the .illa are fresh and pure; the soil contains no adapted to the growth of the. prune, olive, almond, peach, fig, pear, apricot and fruits ment. It is also , the natural home of alfalfa, which grows in the most prolific manner The grape does exceptionally well in this valley, and wine and raisin culture is destin- ed to become a prominent industry. Citrus fruits have been cultivated to Q limited extent; there are number of orange trees in the neighborhood of Florence which bear their golden fruit each year without pro- tection, and few date palm trees are also in full bearing. The season is from six weeks to two months earlIer than Southern Calltor- nia, which gives fruit growers an appreclat- cd advantage in
 THE EARLY MARKETS.
 The absence of fogs and nightly dews is a formidable obstacle to the destructive and ,lnsightly 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 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 go to $50 per acre, according to location and im- .4- Tn, @k @kr. fnfo moi iph hood and to the south of the Casa Grande ruins there are thousands of acres covered with Q heavy growth of mesquite timber yet open to settlement. These are among the choicest in the valley. Water in inexhausti- ble quantity is found at a depth of from twenty to thirty feet; in fact, river seems to be flowing underneath. Here is a splen- did opportunity to take up and improve sand with a pumping system of irrigation, which is said to be successful on small tracts. However, with the completion ot the Butte reservoir, pumping will be thing Of the past. and 1t 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 UNINHABITABLE 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 1t. There is no water-storage scheme on the Pacific coast that has one-half
 
 ing difficulties as the Butte reservoir. Here nature has built the abutments in ever-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 country is drained through this narrow canyon 200 miles square, representing 10000 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 limitless. This may read like a 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. Itcovers @ surface of 1890 acres, with an aver age depth of F feet. and contains about eight thousand million gallons of water. lt is sit- uated fifteen miles southwest of Florence. levee of earth has been thrown up across depression in the plain 14, 900 feet in length, l25 feet in width at the bottom and 9 feet in width at top 2 to slope on each side, and an average height of 9 feet. The waste is regu- lated by cast iron pipes feet in diameter, set in solid masonry, regulated by gates and tower. This reservoir cost S15O,0OO, and sup plies water for 6.O00 acres.
 Meteorological Statistics.