Gilbert, Arizona

About the Author J

About the Author J

T he settlement of Gilbert has existed for more than one hundred years, even though the town was not incorporated until 1920. Cowboys, sodbusters, and other brave and stalwart pioneers first came to the Gilbert area in the late nineteenth century, seeking pasture for their cattle and a place to farm. Since that time, Gilbert has evolved from a small town in rural Arizona to one of the fastest-growing com munities in America. This pictorial history was created to show the chronology of Gilbert and to answer some questions about how Gilbert happened to be. From photos of Gilbert’s first homesteaders to the first schools, and from true “horse” power to the railroad—a develop ment that was instrumental in the founding of Gilbert—this book offers a wonderful glimpse into the past. How did Gilbert get its name? What created the growth in this beautiful farm area? If not for the great strip annexation of 1975, would Gilbert even exist today? These questions and many more are answered here. T he settlement of Gilbert has existed for more than one hundred years, even though the town was not incorporated until 1920. Cowboys, sodbusters, and other brave and stalwart pioneers first came to the Gilbert area in the late nineteenth century, seeking pasture for their cattle and a place to farm. Since that time, Gilbert has evolved from a small town in rural Arizona to one of the fastest-growing com munities in America. This pictorial history was created to show the chronology of Gilbert and to answer some questions about how Gilbert happened to be. From photos of Gilbert’s first homesteaders to the first schools, and from true “horse” power to the railroad—a develop ment that was instrumental in the founding of Gilbert—this book offers a wonderful glimpse into the past. How did Gilbert get its name? What created the growth in this beautiful farm area? If not for the great strip annexation of 1975, would Gilbert even exist today? These questions and many more are answered here.

D ale Hallock came to Gilbert, Arizona, with his family, who migrated from Anadarko, Oklahoma, in 1936. He was sixteen months old at the time his family fled the Dust Bowl and the Great Depression that had decimated Oklahoma. Except for a few years while serving in the United States Navy during the Korean War and two short stints outside Gilbert, Gilbert has been his lifelong home. Dale graduated from Gilbert High School in 1952 and attended Arizona State Teachers College, Arizona State University, and Brigham Young University. He was president of the Gilbert Jaycees and the Arizona Jaycees. He served as the chairman of the Gilbert Planning and Zoning Committee before serving as mayor of Gilbert from 1971 to 1976. Dale has had a lifelong desire to gather the history of the people of Gilbert, and this pictorial history is a small portion of his writings on the families that have lived here.