Editing Casa Grande, Arizona (section)

==History==
Casa Grande was founded in 1879 during the Arizona mining boom due to the presence of the [[Southern Pacific Railroad]]. In January 1880, the community of Terminus, meaning "end-of-the-line," was established with just five residents and three buildings.<ref name="COC">[http://www.casagrandechamber.org/area_information/cghistory.htm "Casa Grande History"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150701083305/http://www.casagrandechamber.org/area_information/cghistory.htm |date=July 1, 2015 }}, retrieved September 10, 2013</ref> In September 1880, railroad executives renamed the settlement Casa Grande after nearby [[Hohokam]] ruins with the same name. Casa Grande grew slowly and suffered several setbacks both in 1886 and 1893 when fires ravaged the town, destroying all wooden housing structures within.<ref name="COC" /> When the mining boom slowed in the 1890s, the town was nearly abandoned, but, with the advent of agriculture, the town survived and was incorporated in 1915.<ref name="COC" />

One of the founding fathers of Casa Grande was Thompson Rodney Peart. Notable fixtures of Casa Grande like Peart Road, Peart Park, and the Peart Center are named after him.

Casa Grande was home to one of the [[Farm Security Administration]]'s collective farm societies.

From 1942 to 1945, a Japanese-American [[Internment of Japanese Americans|relocation camp]] known as the [[Gila River War Relocation Center]] was set up outside of Casa Grande. Notable internees included future actor [[Pat Morita]] and baseball player [[Kenichi Zenimura]] who constructed a baseball field and set up a league in the relocation camp.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://tucson.com/news/blogs/streetsmarts/street-smarts-miracle-mile-went-to-big-house/article_37f7e4c2-c122-11e4-b233-4784ecf60fe8.html|title=Street Smarts: Miracle Mile went to 'Big House'|first=David |last=Leighton |work=Arizona Daily Star |date=March 2, 2015 |access-date=April 19, 2024}}</ref>

Casa Grande is home to the [[Francisco Grande|Francisco Grande Hotel & Golf Resort]], a former [[spring training]] location for the [[San Francisco Giants]]. The Giants' then owner, [[Horace Stoneham]], began developing the property in 1959. The first exhibition game was played in Casa Grande in 1961 with [[Willie Mays]] hitting a {{convert|375|ft|m|adj=on}} [[home run]]. The Giants no longer play at Francisco Grande, but the baseball bat and ball shaped pool remains in memory of the past ballgames.<ref>[http://www.franciscogrande.com/resort.asp "The Birth of a Mecca, the Realization of a Dream"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180620100745/http://www.franciscogrande.com/resort.asp |date=June 20, 2018 }}, retrieved September 10, 2013</ref>

During the [[Cold War]], Casa Grande was the location of the [[Casa Grande Photogrammetric Test Range]]. These targets consisted of concrete arrows located in and to the south of the city which calibrated aerial cartographic cameras.<ref name="Hider">{{cite news|last1=Hider|first1=Anna|title=What the heck are these abandoned cement targets in the Arizona desert?|url=https://roadtrippers.com/stories/what-the-heck-are-these-abandoned-cement-targets-in-the-arizona-desert?lat=40.80972&lng=-96.67528&z=5|access-date=April 14, 2016|work=Roadtrippers|date=October 3, 2014}}</ref>

Casa Grande has also played a prominent role in semi-professional and collegiate baseball. The [[Casa Grande Cotton Kings]], founded in 1948, qualified to play in the [[National Baseball Congress]] World Series ten straight times by winning Arizona state championships in the 1940s and 1950s and were reactivated in the 2000s. They are now members of the [[Pacific Southwest Baseball League]].<ref>[http://www.casagrandecottonkings.com/history/ History – Casa Grande Cotton Kings], retrieved February 4, 2014</ref>