Queen Creek, Arizona

Queen Creek, Arizona
Town
Queen Creek Town Hall
Flag Seal
Location in Maricopa and Pinal counties
Coordinates: 33°14′55″N111°38′03″W / 33.24861°N 111.63417°W / 33.24861; -111.63417
Country	United States
State	Arizona
Counties	Maricopa, Pinal
Incorporated	September 5, 1989
Government
•  Mayor	Julia Wheatley
Area [1]
• Total	42.130 sq mi (109.116 km2)
• Land	42.102 sq mi (109.043 km2)
• Water	0.028 sq mi (0.073 km2)
Elevation [2]	1,417 ft (432 m)
Population  (2020) [3]
• Total	59,519
• Estimate  (2022) [4]	70,734
• Density	1,687.6/sq mi (651.6/km2)
Time zone	UTC–7 (Mountain (MST) (no DST))
ZIP Codes	85140, 85142, 84143, 85144
Area code	480
FIPS code	04-58150
GNIS feature ID	2412518 [2]
Sales tax	8.55% [5]
Website	queencreekaz.gov

Queen Creek is a town in Maricopa and Pinal counties, Arizona, United States. The population was 59,519 at the 2020 census. ^[3] It is a suburb of Phoenix, located in the far southeast area of the Phoenix Metropolitan Area. A large battery factory is being constructed. ^{[6] [7]}

History

From the Post Office form on file at the National Archives, Queen Creek was originally known as "Rittenhouse", the community growing up out of a railroad stop. ^[8] In 1919 the Queen Creek Farms Company was formed by C. H. Rittenhouse, constructing that railroad stop to ship the goods from the farm. ^[8] Its eponymous creek (now a usually dry arroyo), Queen Creek, flowed through Queen Canyon and was named for the Silver Queen Mine, but it was originally called "Picket Post Creek". ^[8]

Geography

The town of Queen Creek is primarily within Maricopa County, but the town limits extend into Pinal County on the eastern and southern borders. The town is bordered to the south and east in Pinal County by the unincorporated community of San Tan Valley (population 99,894).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town of Queen Creek has a total area of 42.130 square miles (109.12 km²), of which 0.028 square miles (0.07 km²), or 0.07%, are water. ^[1]

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1980	1,378		—
1990	2,667		93.5%
2000	4,316		61.8%
2010	26,361		510.8%
2020	59,519		125.8%
2022 (est.)	70,734	[4]	18.8%
U.S. Decennial Census [9] 2020 Census [3]

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 26,361 people, 8,557 households, residing in the town. The population density was 167.3 inhabitants per square mile (64.6/km²). There were 8,557 housing units at an average density of 49.6 per square mile (19.2/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 82.1% White, 0.4% Black or African American, 6.5% Native American, 0.3% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 14.3% from other races, and 2.3% from two or more races. 17.3% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 1,218 households, out of which 50.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 75.9% were married couples living together, 7.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 11.8% were non-families. 8.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 2.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.54 and the average family size was 3.77.

In the town, the population age spread was: 35.4% under the age of 18, 8.7% from 18 to 24, 30.1% from 25 to 44, 20.9% from 45 to 64, and 4.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females, there were 104.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 105.3 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $63,702, and the median income for a family was $65,679. Males had a median income of $45,000 versus $31,447 for females. The per capita income for the town was $21,592. About 6.0% of families and 9.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.0% of those under age 18 and 6.5% of those age 65 or over.

Education

The town of Queen Creek is served by six public school districts, as well as public charter schools and a private school. Queen Creek Unified School District serves the greatest number of Queen Creek students. Other districts include: Higley Unified School District, Chandler Unified School District, Florence Unified School District, J. O. Combs Unified School District, and the Apache Junction Unified School District. ^[10]

Elementary

• Auxier Elementary
• Cortina Elementary
• Desert Mountain Elementary
• Faith Mather Sossaman Elementary
• Frances Brandon-Pickett Elementary
• Jack Barnes Elementary
• Katherine Mecham Barney Elementary
• Queen Creek Elementary
• Schnepf Elementary

Junior/Senior High

• Casteel High School
• Crismon High School
• Newell Barney Junior High School
• Payne Junior High School
• Queen Creek High School
• Queen Creek Junior High School
• San Tan Foothills High School

Public Charter Schools

• American Leadership Academy
• Benjamin Franklin Charter School
• Eduprize School
• Heritage Academy-Gateway
• Legacy Traditional School-Queen Creek

Higher Education

• Communiversity at Queen Creek (Rio Salado College). ^[11]

Rittenhouse Elementary School/San Tan Historical Society Museum

Notable people

• Brock Purdy, American football player
• Brock Goates, Arizona Politician ^[12]

Historic properties

Main article: List of historic properties in Queen Creek, Arizona

There are various properties in the town of Queen Creek which are considered historical and have been included either in the National Register of Historic Places ^[13] or listed as such by the San Tan Historical Society. The following are images of some of these properties with a short description of the same.

Historical Structures in Queen Creek, Arizona
(NRHP = National Register of Historic Places)
(STHS = San Tan Historical Society.)

• 
  The Old Rittenhouse Elementary School, located on the S.E. corner of Ellsworth and Queen Creek roads was built in 1925. Used as a school through 1982, this building now houses the San Tan Historical Society. Listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1998. Reference 98000053
• 
  Ruins of the Desert Wells Stage Stop. Located just north of Chandler Heights Road on the east side of Sossaman Road, this site was a small spur stop for the Arizona Stage Company, founded in 1868. The stop provided water, shade, and protection for stages from Florence via Olberg and on to Mesa. Listed as historical by the San Tan Historical Society.
• 
  1900s Railroad Water Tank on Rittenhouse Road.

See also

• Arizona portal

• List of historic properties in Queen Creek, Arizona
• Mansel Carter
• Pegasus Airpark

References

1. "2023 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved July 24, 2022.
2. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Queen Creek, Arizona
3. "Explore Census Data". United States Census Bureau . Retrieved February 10, 2024.
4. "City and Town Population Totals: 2020-2022". United States Census Bureau. February 10, 2024. Retrieved February 10, 2024.
5. "Queen Creek (AZ) sales tax rate" . Retrieved February 10, 2024.
6. Colthorpe, Andy (March 24, 2023). "LG Energy Solution building US factory with 16GWh dedicated to battery storage". Energy Storage News.
7. "LG Energy Solution's $5.5 Billion Stand-Alone Battery Manufacturing Complex In Queen Creek Well Underway". www.azcommerce.com. April 3, 2024.
8. Granger, Byrd Howell (1983). Arizona's Names (X Marks the Place). Tucson, AZ: The Falconer Publishing Company. pp. 508 & 525. ISBN   0918080185.
9. "Census of Population and Housing". census.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
10. "Image". tigerweb.geo.census.gov.
11. "Communiversity at Queen Creek". riosalado.edu. Retrieved January 28, 2016.
12. "Constitution Party of Arizona State Officers".
13. "National Register of Historical Places – Arizona (AZ), Maricopa County". National Register of Historic Places . Retrieved January 28, 2016.

External links

• Official website