Editing Tolleson, Arizona (section)

==History==
The city was incorporated in 1929<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.city-data.com/city/Tolleson-Arizona.html|title=Tolleson, Arizona |publisher= City-data.com|access-date=August 24, 2012}}</ref> and named after founders [[Walter G. Tolleson]] and his wife Alethea H. Tolleson.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.epodunk.com/cgi-bin/genInfo.php?locIndex=11329 |title=Profile for Tolleson, Arizona, AZ|publisher= ePodunk|access-date=August 24, 2012}}</ref> The Tollesons moved to the area in 1910, buying a 160-acre ranch at the intersection of 91st Avenue and [[Van Buren Street (Arizona)|Van Buren Street.]] Walter Tolleson reopened the Ten Mile Store which was the first stagecoach stop and general merchandise store in route to [[Yuma, Arizona|Yuma]] from [[Phoenix, Arizona|Phoenix]]. The store was located on what is now the intersection of 91st Drive and Monroe Street.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Green |first=Jim |title=Tolleson |publisher=Arcadia Publishing |date=July 28, 2008 |isbn=978-0738556307 }}</ref>

In 1912, the Tollesons subdivided their ranch, allowing more people to buy their land. In an effort to market his new community as a good opportunity for farmers, Mr. Tolleson chartered a train and provided free lunches for anyone to make the journey. He also gave away five dollars worth  of gold to better entice people. Eighty lots were sold at a price of $50.00 per lot.<ref>{{Cite web |date=July 19, 1995 |title=A town is born |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/123735753/ |access-date=June 28, 2023 |website=Arizona Republic |language=en}}</ref>

Leon Tolleson, Walter’s brother, became the first postmaster of the development in 1913. The with rural mail route operated out of Walter's general merchandise store for a time before a stand alone post office was built at what is now 91st Avenue and Van Buren Street, where it is still located today.<ref name=":0" />

Beginning in the 1940s, agriculture in the surrounding area began to take off, providing a great economic boost to the city. By the 1950s, Tolleson had become known as the "Vegetable Center of the World."<ref name=":0" />{{rp|44}} The early 1960s saw a rapid decline of agri-business as more machinery became available to farmers in the area, leading to decreased need for labor.

The 1970s city planners developed a master plan, began street beautification projects, encouraged new housing development and built a multi-million dollar sewage treatment plant essential for industrial and residential growth. The city hoped that this would help entice new businesses and homebuyers to move in driving up population and revenue once again, seen as an investment in the city’s future. Tolleson also expanded its land during the Phoenix metropolitan area’s “range war” in the late 1970s. Cities such as [[Avondale, Arizona|Avondale]], [[Goodyear, Arizona|Goodyear]], and Phoenix, began annexing large chunks of land around where the [[Interstate 10|I-10]] was set to go through. Tolleson went from one square mile to six square miles during this time. The cities around Tolleson often had much more buying power so the small town could not grow as much as others. In one instance, Phoenix bought two strips of land measuring thirty and fifty feet wide between Tolleson and Avondale solely so that Tolleson would be confined to its existing space.<ref>Savage, Neal (March 23, 1983). "Growing up - Tolleson tackles big job: expanding in a small way". ''Arizona Republic''. Retrieved June 30, 2023.</ref>

The 1980s marked the entry of [[Fry's Food and Drug]] and [[Albertsons|Albertson's]] Distribution Centers that generated spinoff industrial development to Tolleson. These distributors showed other businesses the strategic placement of Tolleson in moving supplies and products due to its close proximity to Phoenix as well as California, allowing for easy shipment of imports coming from the west coast. Tolleson also sits along [[Interstate 10 in Arizona|Interstate 10]], [[Union Pacific Railroad]] and State Route 85, as well as the newly constructed [[Arizona State Route 202|Loop 202]] only 3 miles to the east creating an efficient transporting environment.

Today, Tolleson is an employment center for the [[West Valley (Phoenix metropolitan area)|West Valley]], hosting over twenty Fortune 500 companies. The city employs more than 20,000 people, while having a population just over 7,000 residents. Tolleson has one of the highest jobs-to-residents ratios in the nation.<ref>{{Cite web |title=History of Tolleson {{!}} Tolleson AZ - Official Website |url=https://www.tolleson.az.gov/291/History-of-Tolleson |access-date=June 28, 2023 |website=www.tolleson.az.gov}}</ref>