 Sahuarita (Saw wah ree ta) is a town in Pima County, Arizona, United States. Sahuarita is located south of the Tohono O'odham Nation and north of Green Valley, 15 miles (24 km) south of Tucson. The population was 3,242 at the 2000 census; in 2006, it was estimated at 13,027.
Sahuarita was founded in 1911 and incorporated in 1994.
[] Hohokam (200 to 1450)
The first known human inhabitants of the Sahuarita region were the Hohokam people, which may be the ancestors of the modern day Tohono O'odham nation. The Hohokam were known for their highly innovative and extensive use of irrigation. The Hohokam were a very peaceful people, they had extensive trade routes extending to mesoamerica, and showed many cultural influences from their southern neighbors.
[] Sobaipuri (1400 - 1900)
The Sobaipuri were possibly related to the Hohokam, and occupied the Southern portion of the Santa Cruz, with the Pima to their North and South. While Coronado passed just East of Sahuarita in 1521, it wasn't until Eusebio Kino's 1691 journey along the Santa Cruz River that he met the leaders of the Sobaipuri people. Kino was a true champion of the indigenous Indians, opposing forced labor in mines by Spanish overseers. Kino would later go on to found the Mission San Xavier del Bac in 1699, just north of Sahuarita. In 1775, Fransico Garcés would follow the same path, laying the groundwork for the founding of Tucson.
[] Spanish & Mexican control (1775 - 1853)
In 1775, after building a series of missions in the region, the Spanish established a colony in Tucson, just north of Sahuarita, effectively placing the region under Spanish control. After the Mexican War of Independence in 1821, the region came under Mexican control.
[] Incorporation into the U.S. (1854 -1874 )
In 1854, following the Gadsden Purchase, Sahuarita would become a part of the Territory of Arizona, in the United States of America. In the same year, Andrew B. Gray would travel the region on behalf of the Texas Western Railroad, in order to run a preliminary survey of the region. Meanwhile, the Native American peoples of the region were being pushed onto each other's land through American expansionism. In 1857, the Sobaipuri, who had acted as a buffer between the hostile Spaniards to the South and Apache to the North, finally collapsed under the pressure and vacated the area, generally moving Westward to Papago territory. In 1867, Fort Crittenden was created between Sonoita and Patagonia in order to support the establishment of European settlements in the Santa Cruz Valley. In 1874, the San Xavier reservation was created, presently called the Tohono O'odham Reservation, and Native Americans were forcibly relocated to the reservation.
[] Sahuarita on the map (1870 - 1925)
 An 1870 map of Arizona shows an "Indian Village" just north of Sahuarita. The earliest known reference to the town can be found on a German map from 1875, which labels the town "Sahuarito". The first known US map to list the town came in 1879, by the US Department of Interior, calling the town "Saurita". The Saurita town name would continue to be found on successive maps of 1880 and 1890.[10] Finally, a 1925 map of "Auto Trails" (e.g. roadways) of Arizona and New Mexico lists "Continental" instead of Sahuarita. The roadway at the time was an "improved road", one step inferior to a "paved road", laying the route to what today is called the Old Nogales Highway. [11]
[] Sahuarita Ranch (1879 - 1886)
In 1879 Sahuarita Ranch was created by James Kilroy Brown. Brown choose the name Sahuarita due to the preponderance of saguaros in the area. The ranch was used as a staging area between Tucson, Arivaca, and Quijotoa. A small community developed in the area named Sahuarito, while the railroad laid tracks through the area (which remain to this day) and established a station and post office. Although originally surveyed by the Texas Western Railroad, the route would soon be run by the Southern Pacific Railroad up until the late 20th century. Brown sold his ranch in 1886 which caused the region to stagnate for three decades. [12]
[] Continental Farm (1915 - present)
 The Continental Farm of Sahuarita plays a central role in town history. In 1915, worried about the possibility of a German blockade of rubber imports, Bernard Baruch, Joseph Kennedy and J.P. Morgan founded the farm along the Santa Cruz River with hopes of growing guayule: plants that provide rubber. The project was abandoned after the end of World War I, and in 1922, was sold to Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands. The Queen rented the land to cotton farmers, in what would be the primary crop for the following four decades. In 1948, R. Keith Walden relocated the Farmers Investment Co. (FICO) from California to Arizona, buying the Continental Farm lands from the Queen. In 1965, over fears of a fall in demand for cotton resulting from the advent of synthetic fibers, Walden switched his crop to pecans. Today, the FICO pecan orchard is the largest in the world, with over 6,000 acres and 106,000 trees. [13]
[] Sahuarita Bombing & Gunnery Range (1942 - 1978)
 The Army Air Corp from Davis-Monthan Air Force Base first used this 27,046 acre range in April, 1942 for practice bombing runs. The Sahuarita Flight Strip was completed in 1943, with a 5,540 foot paved runway, and the bombing runs ceased shortly thereafter. The site included 12 buildings in addition to the airstrip, and four observational towers. In 1950, bomber crews operating out of Carswell AFB, TX, restarted bombing runs on the range, which would last until 1962, with the airway strip remaining in use as an emergency landing strip thereafter. The Federal government soon released the land to the State of Arizona in 1978, who in turn leased the land to a cattle rancher. Presently, the former airstrip has been converted into a roadway the leads to "Sahuarita Park", while the remaining land remains in use for catle grazing. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is continuing its longstanding efforts of identitifying remaining munitions, preventing environmental containmentation, and protecting several endangered species in the area, including jaguars, spotted owls, among others. [14][15]
[] World War II (1944 - 1945)
During World War II, Sahuarita was home to Camp Continental, a labor camp for German prisoners of war. The location of the camp was around what is now Continental Ranch, West of the Nogales Highway and the Quail Crossing Boulevard intersection. It was established around November, 1944, as one of 21 "branch" POW camps established throughout the state. The population of 250 prisoners primarily worked in agriculture, tending to cotton and vegetable crops. [16]
[] Population
The population of the town was 1,629 in 1990,[17] while in 2000, the population rose to 3,242. The U.S. Census Bureau estimated that it had a population of 13,027 in 2006.[18]
As opposed to Federal Census data, in 2006 the Arizona Department of Economic Security assessed the town population at 18,035. The town has guessed that its 2007 population was 20,393.[17]
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