Arizona Cotton Land
Dedicated to Commercial Fields
Marker:
Arizona Cotton Land Dedicated to Commercial Fields
Location:
Corner of S. Fulton Ranch Boulevard and S. Iowa Street
Chandler, Maricopa County, Arizona
33.236999468970666, -111.8482142321741
Directions:
Across from Fulton Elementary School on S. Iowa Street
Historical Significance:
The marker reads, “Arizona Cotton Land / The land surrounding this cemetery represents the beginning of commercial cotton growing in Arizona. In January 1917, during World War I, the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company [of Akron, Ohio,] founded the Southwest Cotton Company to begin producing long-staple [Pima] cotton initially for [airplane tires and then for] domestic and military use. People came from across the United States and Mexico to start a new life in the cotton fields [which led to the founding of Goodyear, Arizona.] Migrant workers and their labor laid the agricultural foundation of the East Valley. / Dedicated by the Gila Butte Chapter / National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution 2009.”
Pima cotton is still available today as a luxury fiber.
Located behind the marker is the Goodyear Cemetery (formerly the Goodyear-Ocotillo Cemetery), an abandoned cemetery within the Fulton Home subdivision, which has been preserved by community groups.
Dedicated:
2009
Sponsor:
Gila Butte Chapter, NSDAR
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Unless otherwise noted, images are courtesy of Arizona State Society, DAR, Daughters.