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List of historic properties in Peoria, Arizona facts for kids

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List of historic properties in Peoria, Arizona
Old Town Peoria as seen from an intersection between Washington St. and 83rd. Ave.
Old Town Peoria as seen from an intersection between Washington St. and 83rd. Ave.
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 properties in the town of Peoria, Arizona. There are numerous properties in the city of Peoria which are considered to be historical and have been included either in the National Register of Historic Places or the listings of the Peoria Register of Historic Places. The following are images of some of these properties with a short description of the same. Included are images of the ruins of a Hohokam Puebloans village, early inhabitants of what is now Peoria's Lake Pleasant Regional Park, located on top of Indian Mesa. Also posted are the images of some of the historic structures of Weedville, a small community founded in 1911, in an area which at the time was outside the city limits of Peoria.

Peoria

Peoria is a city in Maricopa and Yavapai counties in the State of Arizona. Peoria was a farm community originally settled in the late 1880s by farmers from Peoria, Illinois. These settlers were recruited by William John Murphy a young engineer from Illinois who had just completed the grading of a stretch of the Atlantic and Pacific Railway (which later became the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway) and who in 1885 completed the Arizona Canal.

SD-Peoria Train Depot
Peoria Railroad Depot - built in 1895. The station was dismantled and rebuilt at the McCormick-Stillman Railroad Park in Scottsdale, Arizona

The rail line was beneficial to the development of the town. The rail company built a small depot on 83rd Avenue just off Grand Avenue. Thus, the local ranchers and farmers were able to ship via rail and sell their crops and cattle to other towns in the area. The people of Peoria were also able to purchase goods which arrived by rail from other locations. A fire in 1917 destroyed all but one building in the downtown core. After that event, there was a concerted effort to build with more substantial materials. Peoria was incorporated in 1954.

The Peoria Arizona Historical Society was founded in 1990. Its goal is to preserve the buildings and artifacts that are reminders of Peoria’s past. The historic Peoria Central School building, located at 10394 N. 83rd Ave., serves as the society's headquarters. The society established a museum which exhibits and stores a collection of historical artifacts in the building. The society provided assistance for the City’s first Historic Resource Survey in 1997, which covered the area of the original town plat.

Peoria razing its historical properties

Peoria's Historical Society does not have the ability to deny a demolition permit. Therefore, the owner of a property, listed either in the National Register of Historic Places or the Peoria Historic Property Register, may demolish the historical property if he or she so wishes. According to the "Review of Proposed Construction Activity" section of the City of Peoria Historic Preservation Master Plan: The City may request a survey prior to construction activity or other actions that involve properties that may have historic and/or archaeological significance. The Historic Preservation Commission will review survey reports that discover properties that may be eligible for inclusion on the Peoria Register of Historic Places. New construction or rehabilitation work proposed within a local historic district or on an individual local landmark must be reviewed by the Historic Preservation Commission and receive a Certificate of Appropriateness from the commission before work may begin. In its reviews, the commission follows the standards established by the Secretary of Interior, so that each structure or site reviewed is held to the same standards. Such projects then follow all other applicable development processes. However, according to an article published in the Arizona Republic by Adrian Hedden and Laura Gomez, a citywide code enforcement initiative has led to the destruction of older buildings and homes in Old Town Peoria. Many owners can not afford to repair some of these properties and the city officials have insisted that rejuvenation and enforcement efforts are separate. Residents believe that the citi is ignoring the historical preservation of these properties while pressing them to demolish older homes in need of repairs.

Among the historic structures which no longer exist in Peoria is the old town water tower. The tower was constructed in the 1890s to provide water storage from the town’s well. The tower was removed in 1936. The Edwards Hotel is another property which is in danger of being demolished. The property is boarded up and in state of abandonment. According to Jim McPherson, Arizona Preservation Foundation Board President:

"It is crucial that residents, private interests, and government officials act now to save these elements of our cultural heritage before it is too late.”

Buildings, etc.

Houses

Palo Verde Ruins

The Palo Verde Ruin was once home to the largest Hohokam settlement along the New River. It is the second Peoria landmark to be listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Indian Mesa and the Hohokam village

Indian Mesa is located in the Lake Pleasant Regional Park. On top of the mesa there are ruins of a prehistoric Hohokam village which is monitored by the Arizona Site Stewards and considered an important archaeological site by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. It is estimated that in the years AD 1000 to AD 1200, members of the Hohokam Indians, built a community which housed anywhere from 100 to 200 people on top of the mesa.

Weedville (Peoria)

Weedville, Arizona was a small community founded in 1911, by Reverend Ora Rush Weed, a Methodist minister from Kansas. Weedville was founded in an area which at the time was outside the city limits of Peoria. The area is located within the pockets of an unincorporated land under the jurisdiction of Maricopa County.

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