They Protected Pinnacle Peak, and More!
Published A Peek at the Peak Magazine, September, 2006
By Les Conklin
Part One Starts Here
This magazine is published by the Greater Pinnacle Peak Association (GPPA), a 501 c (3) nonprofit educational organization. There wouldn’t be a GPPA, this magazine, and a distinctive desert community today had it not been for a far-sighted, dedicated, and talented group of residents who founded the Greater Pinnacle Peak Homeowners Association (GPPHA) in 1977. This is the story of the early development of the Pinnacle Peak area, why homeowners founded GPPHA, and the important contributions they have made to our community. The story begins with one of PinnaclePeak’s early “homeowners” taking his children for a Sunday drive in the country.
Irresistible Magnetism
In the spring of 1933, Phoenix lawyer K.T. Palmer drove east on Indian School Road, through Scottsdale, just a few buildings then, and continued east toward the mountains. He turned onto a winding, bone-jarring dirt track heading northeast. He eventually arrived at the foothills of the McDowell Mountains. Palmer described the scene in his autobiography, For Lands Sake.
“The ironwood trees were in bloom, and seemingly for miles around there was nothing but ironwood trees. The morning light was just right. Back of all and forming the right background were the looming McDowell Mountains in varying shades of blue, with here and there a giant saguaro, highlighted in the sunlight … For the first time I was thrilled by the Arizona landscape. Now, on this Sunday morning on a rough and rocky road leading into the foothills of the McDowell Mountains, I experienced a conversion … I was overwhelmed with the desire to possess this land, to be a part of its beauty.”
I’m certain many readers of The Peak experienced emotions similar to Palmer’s the first time they saw the foothills and Pinnacle Peak area. It’s the irresistible magnetism of this special place that led GPPA’s founders to move here and labor so hard for so long to preserve its natural gifts.
Palmer acted quickly, and in 1933, he and his young family began homesteading on 640 acres
K.T. Palmer stands in front of his homestead that was located on the western slopes of Pinnacle Peak.
of government land located on the lower slopes on the west side of Pinnacle Peak. There was no electricity, no telephone, no well, and the nearest neighbor was five miles away. From their shack the family had clear views to the north, south, and west. There were no signs of human habitation in any direction.
Dry, Remote Outposts
Although Palmer and others began to buy and sell land in the area, the lack of water caused some homesteaders to leave and prevented substantial settlement in the decades that followed. Pinnacle Peak and its environs remained a vast expanse of vacant desert dominated by cacti and cattle feeding on the “open range.”
Prior to the 1950s, J.B. Curry had operated a remote general store at the intersection of Scottsdale and Pinnacle Peak Roads (both dirt roads then). In the 1950s, this location, which was then known as Curry’s Corners, became the site of a curio shop. In 1950, Rancho Vista Bonita Guest Ranch opened at the site of the current Pinnacle Peak General Store. In the early 1950s, Marge and Doc Cavalliere bought a little gas station and store that sold provisions to fishermen following the dirt road to Rio Verde. In 1959, Pinnacle Peak Patio opened, serving western fare to guests willing to make the long, lonely drive from Scottsdale and Phoenix. In 1959, the Cavallieres converted their grocery store into Reata Pass Steakhouse.
Town Goes North
By the 1950s, K.T. Palmer had amassed 2,000 acres of land in the Pinnacle Peak area. He and his
The development of Carefree center began in 1959.
partner, Tom Darlington, considered using the land for a town they dreamed of creating, but the lack of water convinced them to look elsewhere. They tried Curry’s Corner, but their test wells came up dry, and they looked northward, purchasing a parcel called the “old goat” farm.” They began developing Arizona’s first planned community, Carefree, in 1959. Hoping to create a distinctive community that would attract wealthy buyers, they buried power lines, cleared land only where necessary, and took other steps to preserve the natural beauty of the desert. Desert Forest Golf Club opened for play in 1962. It was completely different from earlier flat courses. Its fairways were narrow, and vegetation and existing terrain were disturbed as little as possible, resulting in the first target-type desert course.
Maricopa County paved Scottsdale Road from Pinnacle Peak Road to Carefree. In 1963, Cave
The sign that marked the southern entry to the Scenic Drive on Scottsdale Road. It was located just north of the power line corridor on the east side of the road.
Creek and Carefree’s preservation-minded residents, fearing neon-lit motels and gas stations would spring up along the newly-paved roadside as they had in rural Mesa, established the Desert Foothills Scenic Drive to preserve the desert, showcase desert flora, and establish scenic setbacks. Meanwhile, the area around Pinnacle Peak remained relatively untamed, until the risk-taking Nelsons struck it wet.
Continued: They Protected Pinnacle Peak and More – Part 2
Related Articles
They Protected Pinnacle Peak and More, Introduction
They Protected Pinnacle Peak and More – Part 1
They Protected Pinnacle Peak and More – Part 2
They Protected Pinnacle Peak and More – Part 3
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