Queen Creek, Arizona

History

Based on the post office form on file at the National Archives, Queen Creek was originally known as Rittenhouse, after C. H. Rittenhouse—the community having grown out of a railroad stop he constructed after forming the Queen Creek Farms Company in 1919 and needing a shipping point for his produce. The eponymous "creek" (typically more of a dry arroyo), originally called Picket Post Creek, once flowed through Queen Canyon and was named for the Silver Queen Mine.

Geography

The town of Queen Creek is primarily within Maricopa County, but the town limits extended into Pinal County on the eastern and southern borders when they annexed the Ironwood Crossing neighborhood in 2018. The town is bordered to the south and east in Pinal County by the unincorporated community of San Tan Valley (population 99,894).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town of Queen Creek has a total area of 42.130 sqmi, of which 0.028 sqmi, or 0.07%, are water.

Climate

Typical of the Sonoran Desert, Queen Creek has a hot desert climate (Köppen: BWh), characterized by long, extremely hot summers and mild winters. The region is one of the sunniest on Earth, receiving over 3,800 hours of bright sunshine annually. While precipitation is sparse, it follows a bimodal pattern. The primary rainy season is the North American Monsoon, which occurs from July to mid-September, bringing moisture from the south that results in dramatic thunderstorms. A secondary, gentler rainy season occurs during the winter from Pacific frontal systems. This two-season rainfall pattern makes the Sonoran Desert the most biodiverse desert in the world, supporting a richer ecology than drier, single-season rainfall climates like the Mojave Desert.

The official weather observation station is located at the nearby Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport. The all-time record high temperature is 119°F (48°C), recorded on two separate occasions, while the all-time record low is 15°F (−9°C). This record low was set during the "Great Freeze of 1963," a historic arctic outbreak that devastated the agricultural industry across the Southwest. Specifically citrus was hit the hardest. Citrus groves took years to recover. Summers are defined by persistent and extreme heat; on average, temperatures reach or exceed 100°F (38°C) on 103 days per year, with 11 of those days reaching 110°F (43°C) or more. In contrast, while light frosts can occur, a hard freeze where temperatures drop to 28°F (−2°C) or below is rare, happening only every couple of years on average.

The following table contains the monthly climate normals and record extremes for Queen Creek.

|Jan record high F = 88 |Feb record high F = 92 |Mar record high F = 99 |Apr record high F = 106 |May record high F = 114 |Jun record high F = 119 |Jul record high F = 119 |Aug record high F = 116 |Sep record high F = 113 |Oct record high F = 107 |Nov record high F = 94 |Dec record high F = 83 |year record high F = 119

|Jan avg record high F = 75 |Feb avg record high F = 79 |Mar avg record high F = 88 |Apr avg record high F = 97 |May avg record high F = 105 |Jun avg record high F = 113 |Jul avg record high F = 114 |Aug avg record high F = 112 |Sep avg record high F = 107 |Oct avg record high F = 99 |Nov avg record high F = 85 |Dec avg record high F = 74 |year avg record high F = 115

|Jan avg record low F = 31 |Feb avg record low F = 34 |Mar avg record low F = 39 |Apr avg record low F = 45 |May avg record low F = 53 |Jun avg record low F = 63 |Jul avg record low F = 72 |Aug avg record low F = 71 |Sep avg record low F = 63 |Oct avg record low F = 48 |Nov avg record low F = 36 |Dec avg record low F = 30 |year avg record low F = 28

|Jan record low F = 15 |Feb record low F = 22 |Mar record low F = 26 |Apr record low F = 32 |May record low F = 37 |Jun record low F = 49 |Jul record low F = 58 |Aug record low F = 55 |Sep record low F = 42 |Oct record low F = 30 |Nov record low F = 22 |Dec record low F = 19 |year record low F = 15

Demographics

|align-fn=center 2020 Census

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, there were 59,519 people, 17,965 households, and 15,549 families residing in the town. The population density was 1476.3 PD/sqmi. There were 19,628 housing units. The racial makeup of the town was 77.2% White, 3.3% African American, 0.9% Native American, 2.5% Asian, 0.2% Pacific Islander, 4.2% from some other races and 11.7% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 16.2% of the population. 30.8% of residents were under the age of 18, 6.3% were under 5 years of age, and 12.6% were 65 and older.

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 26,361 people, 7,720 households, 6,557 families residing in the town. The population density was 940.1 PD/sqmi. There were 8,557 housing units at an average density of 49.6 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the town was 83.6% White, 3.4% African American, 0.7% Native American, 2.8% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 5.8% from some other races and 3.6% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 17.3% of the population.

There were 7,720 households, out of which 50.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 75.9% were married couples living together, 7.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 11.8% were non-families. 8.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 2.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.54 and the average family size was 3.77.

In the town, the population age spread was: 35.4% under the age of 18, 8.7% from 18 to 24, 30.1% from 25 to 44, 20.9% from 45 to 64, and 4.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females, there were 104.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 105.3 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $63,702, and the median income for a family was $65,679. Males had a median income of $45,000 versus $31,447 for females. The per capita income for the town was $21,592. About 6.0% of families and 9.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.0% of those under age 18 and 6.5% of those age 65 or over.

Education

The town of Queen Creek is served by six public school districts, as well as public charter schools and a private school.

The portion in Maricopa County is mostly in the Queen Creek Unified School District, with portions in the Higley Unified School District and the Chandler Unified School District.

The portion in Pinal County is divided between the Florence Unified School District, J. O. Combs Unified School District, and the Apache Junction Unified School District.

Elementary

• Auxier Elementary
• Cortina Elementary
• Desert Mountain Elementary
• Faith Mather Sossaman Elementary
• Frances Brandon-Pickett Elementary
• Jack Barnes Elementary
• Katherine Mecham Barney Elementary
• Queen Creek Elementary
• Schnepf Elementary

Junior/Senior High

• Sossaman Middle School
• Casteel High School
• Crismon High School
• Newell Barney Junior High School
• Payne Junior High School
• Queen Creek High School
• Queen Creek Junior High School
• San Tan Foothills High School

Public Charter Schools

• American Leadership Academy
• Benjamin Franklin Charter School
• Eduprize School
• Heritage Academy-Gateway
• Legacy Traditional School-Queen Creek

Higher Education

• Communiversity at Queen Creek (Rio Salado College).

Rittenhouse Elementary School/San Tan Historical Society Museum

Transportation

Queen Creek is a member of Valley Metro. Queen Creek is not currently served by scheduled service. Valley Metro provides vanpools in Queen Creek.

Notable people

• Tony Huffman, racing driver
• Donovan Parisian, soccer player
• Brock Purdy, American football player

Historic properties

Main article: List of historic properties in Queen Creek, Arizona

There are various properties in the town of Queen Creek which are considered historical and have been included either in the National Register of Historic Places or listed as such by the San Tan Historical Society. The following are images of some of these properties with a short description of the same. (NRHP = National Register of Historic Places) (STHS = San Tan Historical Society.) |File: Queen_Creek-San_Tan_Museum.jpg|The Old Rittenhouse Elementary School, located on the S.E. corner of Ellsworth and Queen Creek roads was built in 1925. Used as a school through 1982, this building now houses the San Tan Historical Society. Listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1998. Reference 98000053 |File: Queen_Creek-Desert_Wells_Stage_Stop_ruins.jpg|Ruins of the Desert Wells Stage Stop. Located just north of Chandler Heights Road on the east side of Sossaman Road, this site was a small spur stop for the Arizona Stage Company, founded in 1868. The stop provided water, shade, and protection for stages from Florence via Olberg and on to Mesa. Listed as historical by the San Tan Historical Society. |File:Queen Creek- Railroad Water Tank-1900-3.jpg |1900s Railroad Water Tank on Rittenhouse Road.

References

References

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2. "2023 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau.
3. {{GNIS. 2412518
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21. "Communiversity at Queen Creek". riosalado.edu.
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