1.Queen Creek history timeline: the dated record
Every row below is dated by a Town of Queen Creek, National Park Service or San Tan Historical Society record. Where a source attributes a date to folklore or calls a site “reported,” the table says so.
| Date | Event | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 1868 to about 1916 | Arizona Stage Company, founded in 1868, said to have used a Desert Wells stop (folklore, per the Town-published history) | Town of Queen Creek |
| 1904 | USGS maps show a historic road passing a well on Andrada’s Ranch, which homesteaders called Desert Wells | Town-published history |
| Early 1900s | Founding families arrive to farm cotton, corn and potatoes in the area known as Rittenhouse | Town of Queen Creek |
| 1924 | Charles Rittenhouse establishes the Queen Creek Farms Company on 1000 acres; construction of the school starts | Town-published history; NPS registration form |
| 1925 | School building completed | NPS registration form; Town of Queen Creek |
| 1926 | First classes held in the new school | NPS registration form |
| 1941 | Jack and Maude Schnepf buy the Schnepf Farms area | Town of Queen Creek |
| 1942 to 1945 | World War II prisoner of war camp north of the railroad; German prisoners work on farms | Town of Queen Creek |
| 1947 | New post office established under the name Queen Creek; the Rittenhouse name ends | Town-published history |
| May 13, 1951 | First service in the chapel that later became Town Hall | Town of Queen Creek |
| 1982 | Rittenhouse school building last used as a school | Town of Queen Creek |
| March 1989 | Queen Creek ward holds its last meeting in the chapel | Town-published history |
| Sept. 5, 1989 | Town of Queen Creek incorporates | Town of Queen Creek |
| 1990 | Population just over 2,500; school placed on the Arizona Historical Registry; San Tan Historical Society established | Town of Queen Creek; Town-published history; the Society |
| November 7, 1990 | Community leaders authorize buying the chapel for the Town | Town-published history |
| February 1991 | Deed for the chapel signed | Town-published history |
| 1998 | School accepted by the National Register; NPGallery record date published 2/5/1998 | Town-published history; NPS NPGallery |
| 2014 | Town releases the mini-documentary “From Rittenhouse to QC” for its 25th anniversary, updated in 2020 | Town of Queen Creek |
| 2017 | Last year the former chapel served as Town Hall | Town of Queen Creek |
| April 28, 2025 | Society posts on the 100th anniversary of the Old Rittenhouse Elementary School | San Tan Historical Society |
2.Why is it called Queen Creek? From Rittenhouse to Queen Creek
Before it was Queen Creek, the area was known as Rittenhouse because of the railroad spur near Rittenhouse and Ellsworth roads, the Town says. As the community grew and use of the railroad stop diminished, it took the name Queen Creek. A Town-published history credited to the San Tan Historical Society dates the change to 1947, when a new post office was established under the name of Queen Creek.
The name itself came from a creek. The Town says that when the Silver Queen Mine near Superior opened for production, Picket Post Creek was renamed Queen Creek.
The railroad shaped daily life. The Town’s heritage page recalls a train called a dinky that could be flagged down at the switch at Rittenhouse and Ellsworth roads, and its landmark list notes three sidings in the area, with a water tower on the one near Schnepf Farms.
The farm company that gave the old name its weight arrived in 1924, when, according to the Town-published history, land developer Charles Rittenhouse established the Queen Creek Farms Company on 1000 acres of desert.
3.Rittenhouse Elementary School: the National Register building
The National Park Service’s NPGallery record for the building carries National Register Information System ID 98000053. NPGallery titles it Rittenhouse Elementary School, while the pages of the registration form carry the property name Queen Creek Elementary School.
| Field | What the NPS record says |
|---|---|
| NRIS ID | 98000053 |
| Record title | Rittenhouse Elementary School (registration form’s property name: Queen Creek Elementary School) |
| Resource type | Building |
| Criterion, area and period of significance | Event; Education; 1925 to 1949 |
| Location (NPGallery) | Queen Creek; Ellsworth Rd., 1 mi. N of Rittenhouse Rd. |
| Location (registration form) | Southeast corner of Ellsworth and Queen Creek roads |
| Construction | Started 1924, completed 1925, first classes 1926 |
| Style | One-story school building reflecting the stylistic influences of the Spanish Colonial Revival style (registration form) |
| NPGallery date published | 2/5/1998 |
Two location descriptions, one building: the NPGallery locator reads “Ellsworth Rd., 1 mi. N of Rittenhouse Rd.,” while the registration form and the Town both place the school at the southeast corner of Ellsworth and Queen Creek roads.
The Town says the building was used as a school through 1982. A Town-published history adds that it was placed on the Arizona Historical Registry in 1990 and accepted by the National Register in 1998, and that the uniqueness of its roll-down room dividers ensured its place on the historic registers.
The San Tan Historical Society marked the school’s 100th anniversary with a post dated April 28, 2025.
4.Visiting the San Tan Historical Society Museum
The old school is home to the San Tan Historical Society museum. The Society gives its address as 20425 S. Ellsworth Road, Queen Creek, AZ 85142, says it was established in 1990, and describes its work as preservation, restoration and education related to Chandler Heights, Combs, Higley and Queen Creek history.
| Item | As listed | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Address | 20425 S. Ellsworth Road, Queen Creek, AZ 85142 | Society homepage |
| Hours | Saturdays, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., free to the public | Society homepage (undated) |
| Admission | Free to all visitors; donations welcome | Society hours and admission page (undated) |
| Tours | Call (480) 987-9380 to schedule | Society tours page |
| Town’s description | Open to the public every Saturday morning | Town landmarks page (undated) |
The Society’s hours and admission pages carry no date. Call (480) 987-9380 before you go.
5.The Historic Town Hall: from 1951 chapel to Town Hall
The building on the Town’s landmark list as the former Town Hall began as a Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints chapel and held its first service on Mother’s Day, Sunday, May 13, 1951. It served as Queen Creek’s Town Hall through 2017.
According to the Town-published history, the Queen Creek ward held its last meeting in the chapel in March 1989. On November 7, 1990, community leaders authorized buying the building for the Town, and the deed was signed in February 1991. The same history places it just south of Ocotillo Road on the west side of Ellsworth Road and says the stained-glass windows in its Council Chamber make it unique.
For where Town services are handled today, see our Queen Creek Town Hall and civic services guide.
6.Desert Wells Stage Stop: what the Town actually says
The Town reports the Desert Wells site as a small spur stop for the Arizona Stage Company, founded in 1868. Its wording is careful: the site “is reported to have been” a stop.
The Town-published history adds that USGS maps dated 1904 show a historic road passing a well on Andrada’s Ranch, which homesteaders called Desert Wells, and that according to folklore it was a stage stop for the Arizona Stage Company from 1868 to approximately 1916.
The Town notes that some of its listed landmarks are on private property and asks visitors to respect the owner’s rights and privacy.
7.Other Queen Creek landmarks on the Town’s list
- Prisoner of war camp: during World War II, a POW camp operated on the north side of the railroad from 1942 to 1945, and German prisoners worked as farm labor.
- Rittenhouse Air Force Base: one of five satellite airfields supporting Williams Field, used for touch-and-go pilot training. For today’s nearby airport, see our Mesa Gateway Airport guide.
- Hunt Highway: named after Arizona’s first Governor (1912), George W. P. Hunt.
- Queen Creek’s first school: the first classes were held in an old muleskinner’s cook shack, a half mile north of Queen Creek Road on the west side of Crismon.
- Schnepf Farms: the area was bought by Jack and Maude Schnepf in 1941; see our Schnepf Farms visitor guide.
- Railroad sidings: three in the Queen Creek area, with a water tower near Schnepf Farms.
The Town also says the names of founding families, Ellsworth, Power, Sossaman, Hawes, Combs and Schnepf, live on in area roads.
8.How and why Queen Creek incorporated in 1989
The Town of Queen Creek incorporated on Sept. 5, 1989. The Town says it did so to preserve the benefits of rural life while providing an avenue for managed change. In 1990, just after incorporation, the population was just over 2,500.
The Town’s documentary credits three residents with leading the incorporation effort: Paul Gardner, Mark Schnepf and Steve Sossaman. The Town released the mini-documentary “From Rittenhouse to QC” for its 25th anniversary in 2014 and updated it in 2020.
The Town says Queen Creek is located in Maricopa and Pinal counties. Our guide to which county Queen Creek is in explains what that means for an address, and our Queen Creek population page follows the growth since.
9.Seeing Queen Creek’s history in person: a short checklist
- Start at the San Tan Historical Society Museum, 20425 S. Ellsworth Road, which the Society lists as open Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
- Call (480) 987-9380 first to confirm hours or to schedule a tour.
- Look for the Historic Town Hall just south of Ocotillo Road on the west side of Ellsworth Road.
- Respect fences and signs at landmark sites: the Town says some landmarks are on private property.
For more around town, see things to do in Queen Creek, and if you are relocating, our moving to Queen Creek checklist.