Filed Under Arizona and the Wider Southwest

Marinette, Arizona

By William M. Bercu, Ph.D.
Irrigation Canal for Marinette Cotton Farm Cotton farmers needed water to irrigate their land. Canals were dug to bring water from the local wells to the fields. The Marinette Canal, shown here, brought water to the community from wells owned by a water company five miles north of the present day Sun City's northern boundary. Source: Peoria Historical Society Date: c. 1920

Marinette is a ghost town in Maricopa County Arizona. It was located just northwest of Peoria Arizona, along the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway. The site was promoted in the early 20th century for production of citrus fruit, apricots, olives, and other crops.

The town was purchased by the Southwest Cotton company, a Goodyear subsidiary, in 1920. At some point in the mid-20th century, it was abandoned. The place where Marinette once was later became the site of Del Webb Corporation's Sun City, Arizona

Images

Irrigation Canal for Marinette Cotton Farm Cotton farmers needed water to irrigate their land. Canals were dug to bring water from the local wells to the fields. The Marinette Canal, shown here, brought water to the community from wells owned by a water company five miles north of the present day Sun City's northern boundary. Source: Peoria Historical Society Date: c. 1920
Mariette Advertisement This advertisement circulated in major Eastern Cities in the 1920's promoting Marinette. Source: Peoria Historical Society Date: c. 1920
"King Cotton" mountain in Marinette. Cotton was a popular crop for owners of land in Marinette. Other crops including sugar beets and yuli (a type of sagebrush that produced a substance which was experimented with to make synthetic rubber. Source: Peoria Historical Society Date: c. 1920
Marinette General Store Marinette's general store once stood near the intersection of what today is 105th avenue and Thunderbird Boulevard near the Boswell Hospital Complex. Nearby (about 112th and Grand Avenue) there was a saloon and brothel, which also served locals and travelers alike. Source: Peoria Historical Society Date: William Bercu, Ph.D.
Southwest Cotton Southwest was a subsidiary of Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company. In this photograph, the Las Botas Camp and Compound storage area are shown. Resident workers lived in the tents shown in the picture. Source: Peoria Historical Society Date: c. 1920
Cultivating Cotton Marinette A significant part of the land in Marinette was used to cultivate cotton. Shown here are cotton fields of the Southwest Cotton Company being worked. Source: Peoria Historical Society Date: c. 1920
Marinette on the Atchison, Topeka, & Sante Fe Lines This map is from promotional literature distributed by Developer R. P. Davie who bought up tracks of land in 1912 to plat the "Orchard Town of Marinette." Davies sold his holdings to the Southwest Cotton Company. Source: Peoria Historical Society Date: c 1920
Promoting Marinette Another perspective of Marinette shown on promotional map. Notice the relative size of Marinette to Phoenix. Source: Peoria Historical Society Date: c. 1920
Modern-day Sun City. (what happened to Marinette?) A modern day view of Sun City. The memories of Marinette still remain. Date: c. 2000

Location

Metadata

Citation Info

William M. Bercu, Ph.D., “Marinette, Arizona,” Salt River Stories, accessed December 1, 2023, https://saltriverstories.org/items/show/240.
Published Dec 8, 2016. Last updated May 9, 2017.

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