Agriculture In Chandler
- Chandler Museum
Even though Chandler featured Arizona’s grandest resort hotel, the town’s economy was firmly rooted in industrial agriculture. Dr. Chandler was Chandler’s first farmer and rancher. On his 18,000 acres, he raised cattle, sheep, ostriches and other fowl, melons, citrus, peaches, dates, cotton, alfalfa, and other vegetables and fruits. In promotional material, Dr. Chandler and the Chandler Improvement Company bragged that “the semi-tropical climate, the almost continuous sunshine, the deep rich sandy loam soil and an incomparable supply of water from the finest irrigation system in the world makes Chandler Ranch the most attractive location for the fruit raiser and gardener in the United States today.” Many people gambled their savings to invest in the “sure bet” of Chandler farmland. In comparison to the expensive farmlands of southern California, Washington state and Oregon, the cheap cost of land and bountiful yields in Chandler seemed to promise the American dream. While some farmers such as the Dobson and Knox families had already settled here, countless families moved across the country to the new state of Arizona to pursue their livelihood in their own industrial agricultural operation. The completion of the Roosevelt Dam ensured a steady and reliable supply of water that turned desert land into a veritable agricultural paradise.