The Florence tribune., 1899-04-01
THE CASA eRANpE VALLEY.
information for Those Seeking Homes In the Garden Spot of the West.

In the Garden Spot of the West.
 Pinal county was organized in 1875 from portions of Pima, Marieopa and Yavapai counties, and contains an area of ,, ,S5Ssquare miles. or 8, ,4S5, ,52O acres, one-third of which could be made productive by systematic storage cf the surplus water now running to waste. Next to Maricopa it is the most i'm portant agricultural county in the Territory. It it traversed from east to west by the Southern Pacific railroad, and branch of the great Santa Fe system Is now approach ing from the north. The objective point oi this road is a connection with the sonora road, of the same system. The southern Pacific Is also building in this direction from Tempe, and it is confidently believed that work will not cease until the Deer Creek coal fields are reached and connection IS made with another branch Of that road run ming from Bowie to Globe and now complet- ed to Fort Thomas.
 the theater of railroad building at the pres ant time, and inside of a year Florence. the county seat, will be
 RAILROAD CENTER.
 At present it contains a population of about 1500, but with the completion of these two railroads and the Butte reservoir no city in Arizona can approach It for natuIai advantages, and a large increase Tn popula- tion will follow. Florence is at an elevation of 1858 feet above sea level, situated near the Gila river, twenty six miles northwest or the
  it is connected by an elegantly. equipped deily stage line. Going and coming stages run by the old Casa Grande ruins, and passengers are allowed a short time to in- spect them. There are many handsome prl- vate residences in Florence, several brick stores, good hotel, an excellent graded school employing four teachers, churches secret societies, a Commercial Cup, news paper (the only one in the countyl, and the handsomest court house in the Territory Here is held the United States Court tor 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 i1la are fresh and pure; the soil contains nc ilkal;, 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 this valley, and wine and raisin culture is destin- ed to become prominent industry. Citrus fruits have been cultivated to a limited extent; there are a number of orange trees in the neighborhood of Florence which bear their gelden fruit each year without pro- lection, and few date palm trees are also in full bearing. The season is from six weeks to two months earher than Southern Califor- mia, which gives fruit growers an appreciate ed advantage in
 THE EARLY MARKETS.
 The absence of fogs and nightly dews is a 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 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 $50 per acre, according to location and inn 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 open to settlement These are among the choicest in the valley. Water in 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 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 UNINHABITABLR DESERT as 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-liv- ing rock, and all that is left for man to do is to put in the headgate, the bluffs which form 4he gorge being only separated by paltry .220 feet A country is drainede through this narrow canyon 20U miles square, representing 4OOOO 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 hmitless. This may read like a fairy tale, but it is every word true, and has been verified time and again.
 CASA GRAEDE RESERVOIR.
 The reservoir of the Casa Grande Valley Canal company is the largest in the territory. age depth of F 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 a depression in the plain IA, 600 feet in length, 125 feet in width at the bottom and 9 feet in average height of g 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 $150,0O0. and sup 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 Julg, 1880, to April, 1882 gives the follow Ing statistics, which may be taken as a safe