Goodyear, A Company Town, 1917

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Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company leased 8,000 acres from Dr. Chandler to produce cotton for its tires

The outbreak of World War I cut off the world’s access to Egyptian cotton, forcing companies to find other sources. At the time, Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company used cotton to support the sidewalls of their tires. By 1917, Goodyear had turned to Arizona Pima cotton and entered into a long-term lease with Dr. Chandler and the Chandler Improvement Company for 8,000 acres of land on which to develop a cotton ranch.

At the center of the leased ranch was the town of Goodyear. Built by the company, the town featured a palm tree lined boulevard that ran along an irrigation canal, a main square, a grocery, a movie theater, a pool hall, a church, a hospital, and school buildings. Residential streets featured housing for Goodyear’s employees.  Executives, managers, and foremen lived in houses with cement sidewalks, well-manicured lawns, and beautifully landscaped gardens. Laborers lived in low slung adobe barracks.

The end of World War I meant that Egyptian cotton was available again and the price of cotton plummeted. Goodyear consolidated its cotton production to the West Valley of Phoenix metropolitan area. By 1922, the cotton ranch in Chandler was divided up and sold to individuals.