Litchfield Park Historical Society and Museum

This historical society is dedicated to the documentation, preservation, and the exhibition of the history at Litchfield Park. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co started a new company, Southwest Cotton Co., that required a work force and, in 1917, it was mostly comprised by employees who came from Mexico. They worked for six months in Arizona and returned back home for the balance of the year. Because of this, housing became a priority. Within a year of the first company settlement, almost everyone moved to what is now the center of Litchfield Park. An early plan for Litchfield General Townsite (1918) shows a section of the settlement devoted to its Mexican Employees.

After the Cotton Crash of 1920, Southwest Cotton Co. had to find a new purpose to remain in business. They began a lease at Marinette (Sun City) and Goodyear (Chandler) Ranches, eventually selling both. Litchfield Park reformed and began to diversify into an experimental farming operation. They called this new business Goodyear Farms, and it had a profound impact on national and international farming methods. Visitors all around the world would come to study their agricultural techniques.

Many of the original Mexican employees returned to Mexico, however, a number became citizens of the United States. Children born at Litchfield Ranch eventually grew up to work at Goodyear Farms as adults. These employees were eventually forced out of Litchfield Park when The Wigwam (originally a company hotel) opened as a public resort that was designed to appeal to a wealthy and near-wealthy cliental.

The company employees were moved into camps across Litchfield Park and given numbers 50, 51, 52, 53 or 54. The camps were made of adobe or wood. Upon entering the Great Depression, families received lower wages and the housing became free. The people in these homes would grow closer and nurture a community that contributed to the greater American culture.

In the camps, many weddings were held with Mexican traditions such as el lazo and une bolsa pequenia, sewed into the ceremony. A Roman Catholic wedding is a sacrament of the church, and because it is a commitment that lasts a lifetime, great care was taken in the preparation for these ceremonies; good food and music abounded. Male musicians would sit on hay bales on the backs of open trucks to play music, and occasionally, men would be creative incoming up with some sort of homemade instrument.

The Mexican-Americans who grew up in these camps or are descendants of those who did bond over their status as former camp residents, immediately sparking a discussion that brings a smile to their face as they remember a time when things were slower and everyone took care of each other. The imprint Litchfield Park has left on its former people is a legacy that can be found in many of today’s annual celebrations, street names, restaurants, music, and most especially the contributions of their descendants.