In 1899, after his father became ill, Carl Hayden dropped out of Stanford University, returning to Arizona to care for his family. Hayden soon became active in the Democratic Party and pursued a career in politics. Early in the new century, Hayden…

The Vance Auditorium was built in 1904 by John Thomas Vance. People all around Mesa came to the dances. At the time of its construction, it was the biggest auditorium in the southwest. In 1919, Vance sold the building to the Maricopa Stake of The…

With its Victorian-style architecture, this building is extremely reminiscent of a two-story saloon or boarding house straight out of an Old West novel. In reality, the building housed a drug store owned by Dr. J. A. Dines and Hugh Laird. They…