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List of historic properties in Mesa, Arizona

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List of historic properties in Mesa
Sign of the historic Buckhorn Baths Motel
Sign of the historic Buckhorn Baths Motel
Location in Maricopa County and the state of Arizona
Location in Maricopa County and the state of Arizona

This is a list, which includes a photographic gallery, of some of the remaining historic structures and monuments in Mesa, Arizona.

Mesa

Mesa is a city in Maricopa County located east of Phoenix. Mesa is the third largest city in Arizona, after Phoenix and Tucson.

There are numerous properties in Mesa which are historical and which have either been listed in the National Register of Historic Places or in the list of the Mesa Historic Properties. The Mesa Historic Preservation Program, established by the city, facilitates public knowledge understanding and appreciation of the City's historic past.[1][2][3]

The city of Mesa cannot keep the private owners of the properties from demolishing them. Before a structure in a historic district or landmark can be demolished it must receive approval from the Historic Preservation Officer. A permit of demolishment will be provided if the property represents an immediate hazard. Other requests will be denied for a period of six months, in which time the Historic Preservation Officer will look for ways to save the structure. The structure may be demolished if at the end of the six months a plan to save the structure has not been established [4][5]

Included and pictured in this list are the historic properties which are located in what once was Williams Air Force Base. The base was once an active training base for the United States Army Air Forces, which later became the United States Air Force. The base closed in 1993. Part of the base was annexed by Mesa and the other part by the city of Phoenix. The area in which the base was located has been converted into a civilian airport called the Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport and an educational campus anchored by the Arizona State University and Chandler-Gilbert Community College.[6]

The following are images of some of these properties with a short description of the same.

Buildings and Houses of religious worship

Houses

Historic structures in what once was Williams Air Force Base

Mesa Grande Ruins

Park of the Canals

City of Mesa Cemetery

The City of Mesa Cemetery was established in 1891 and is located at 1212 N. Center Street. Among the many notable citizens of that city which are interred there are the following:[7][8]

  • Dr. Lucius C. Alston (1892–1958). Dr. Alston was the first African-American doctor to serve Mesa. His house is listed in the National Register of Historic Places, reference number 12000240.[7]
  • Oscar Virgil Crismon (1909-1985). Crismon served as Mayor of Mesa from 1950-1952.
  • George Nichols Goodman (1885–1959). Goodman served as Mayor of Mesa during the following years: 1938–1942, 1946–1948 and 1952–1956.
  • Pedro Warner Guerrero (1896–1995). Guererro was the founder of the Guerrero-Lindsey Sign Company. In 1946, with R.G. Scarborough and Ann Encke, he founded the Rosarita Mexican Foods Company. It has become a national brand. Mesa's Pedro Guerrero Rotary Park is named for him.[9][10]
  • William Johnson LeBaron (1856–1929) served as Mayor of Mesa from 1888 to 1896.
  • Collins Rowes Hakes (1837–1916) and Mabel Ana Morse Hakes (1840-1909). Collins Rowes Hakes, together with Riley Morse and Orlando and Orin Merrill, was the first to discover gold in the Goldfield area by the Superstition Mountains. His wife was president of the Mesa Ward Relief Society for five years and counselor and then president of the Maricopa Stake Relief Society, and was the Mesa representative to the Woman’s Suffrage Convention in Chicago in 1893.
  • Waylon Jennings (1937–2002). Jennings was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. Jennings gave up his seat on the ill-fated flight that crashed and killed Buddy Holly, J. P. Richardson, Ritchie Valens, and pilot Roger Peterson. In 2001, he was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.[11]
  • Ramon Garcia Mendoza (1914–1999). R.G. Mendoza was the first Hispanic police chief in Mesa. His house is listed in the Mesa Historic Property Register. He was the son of Ramon Somoza Mendoza.
  • Ramon Somoza Mendoza (1876–1951). Mendoza was the first Hispanic police officer in Meza. The Mendoza Elementary School in Mesa was named in his honor. His son Ramon G. Mendoza, who led the department from 1969 to 1978, was Mesas' first Hispanic police chief.[12]
  • Ernesto Arturo Miranda (1941–1976). Miranda was a laborer whose conviction on kidnapping, rape, and armed robbery charges based on his confession under police interrogation was set aside in the landmark U.S. Supreme Court case (Miranda v. Arizona), which ruled that criminal suspects must be informed of their right against self-incrimination and their right to consult with an attorney before being questioned by police. This warning is known as the Miranda Rights.[13]
  • Ralph Fleetwood Palmer (1875–1954). Dr. Palmer served as Mayor of Mesa from 1910-1912.
  • Orley Seymour Stapley (1872–1942). Stapley served in the Arizona State Senate from 1914 to 1915.[14] He established a chain of hardware stores throughout the state. Stapley Junior High School in Mesa was named in his honor.[15]

Also interred are the four founding fathers of Mesa:[16]

  • Charles Crismon (1805–1890)
  • Francis Martin Pomeroy (1822–1882)
  • Charles Innes Robson (1837–1894)
  • George Warren Sirrine (1818–1902). His house, the "Sirrine house", is listed in the National Register of Historic Places, reference number 95001082.

Further reading

  • Mesa (Images of America: Arizona); by Lisa A. Anderson and Alice C. Jung; Publisher: Arcadia Publishing; ISBN 978-0738548425

See also

Other cities and towns in Arizona with articles of their historic properties

References

  1. ^ National Register of Historic Places
  2. ^ Check out Mesa’s historic homes
  3. ^ Mesa Historic Properties
  4. ^ a b c Mesa Historic Properties
  5. ^ Historic Preservation
  6. ^ Jim Woodward; Patsy Osmon; Chris Richards (1995). "National Register of Historic Places Multiple Property Documentation: Historic Resources of Williams Air Force Base, Arizona". {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |last-author-amp= ignored (|name-list-style= suggested) (help)
  7. ^ a b Who's buried in Mesa Cemetery?; AZ Central
  8. ^ City of Mesa Cemetery Walking Tour
  9. ^ Rosarita Mexican Foods Company History
  10. ^ Mesa park new focus of community cleanup
  11. ^ Waylon Jennings Bio.
  12. ^ East Valley Tribune
  13. ^ US Civil Liberties
  14. ^ "Latter-Day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia: A Compilation of Biographical Sketches of Prominent Men and Women in the Church of Jesus Chrits of Latter-day Saints" Volume 3; By Andrew Jenson; Page 522; Publisher: The Andrew Jenson History Company
  15. ^ O.S. Stapley
  16. ^ Monument honors Mesa's Founders