Fountain Hills Homes

Welcome to Fountain Hills, Home of...

the World's Tallest Fountain, incredible mountain views and natural open spaces;
the Southwests most interesting residents and a fantastic "Small Town" atmosphere;
Arizona's friendliest retail shopping and dining experiences!
An amazing variety of neighborhoods with homes to suit just about every taste...from cozy condominiums perfect for winter visitors to elaborate homes on high, view oriented homesites with stunning views of mountain ranges near and far.

Here in Fountain Hills, life makes more sense to some 22,000 or so residents lucky enough to call it home. Here's is a little bit about the Fountain Hills lifestyle you might enjoy:

Fountain Hills is one of the most honored communities by a variety of national publications and "Best Of Lists"

“The Fountain in the Desert”: One of Arizona’s most popular icons, the world famous Tallest Fountain will become your time clock at the top of each hour, becoming more mesmerizing each day!

Stroll Amid World-Class Arts & Crafts: Enjoy one of the many celebrated art festivals hosted along Avenue of the Fountains; try the finest wines at the Thunderbird Art & Wine Festival or stop by one of the Avenue Galleries & Shops featuring celebrated local and national artists.

Travel Through Time: The RIVER OF TIME MUSEUM recounts the captivating past of the Lower Verde Valley. Learn how the Yavapai migrated throughout Central Arizona; explore with trappers such as Kit Carson; join the “river tamers” as they build dams and canals and see how “the dam that never was” brought about the development of Fountain Hills. www.riveroftimemuseum.org

Be Entertained! Performing Arts at the Lakeside Village Amphitheater are as varied—and grand—as your imagination! Treat the kids to a “Movie in the Grass”; marvel at Ballet Under the Stars, catch the Old Bard himself at Shakespeare Live, applaud your neighbors of the Fountain Hills Community Theater (Arizona’s most honored community theater!) or listen to the melodious sounds of musical performances by Arizona’s finest entertainers. On week-ends, drop in at Grapeables Fine Wines to enjoy live entertainment and marvelous vinicultural delights!

Watch Art Come to Life: Embark on an artistic journey…. and never leave your neighborhood! The Fountain Hills public art collection is a wonderfully eclectic experience that celebrates artistic excellence ranging from high-alloy contemporary sculpture to traditional bronzes and everything in between. Nearly 70 selections valued at over $1.4 million grace the Avenue of the Fountains, Fountain Park, Plaza Waterfront and the Community Center Complex.

Pay Your Respects To Fallen Heros: The Fountain Hills Veterans Memorial is one of Arizona’s most beautiful and serene tributes to the men and women of the United States Armed forces.

Let It Fly! You’ll never call it a Frisbee again! Fountain Park is home to one of America’s favorite Disk Golf Courses…and the competition can get fierce! From friendly week-end tournaments to national competitions offering major prizes you can’t help but “catch” the fever! If traditional golf is more your game, then go any direction and you’re only minutes from five nationally acclaimed golf courses.

Take A Hike! Choose your trail, challenge your friends and find your passion. But be warned: A walk around one of the Lakeside Village trails can be habit forming! Improve your health, elevate your outlook and meet new acquaintances…each and every day.

Gaze Upon History: Look in any direction, and you’re treated to stunning mountain scenery with rich historical significance: Four Peaks Mountain protects it’s world-renowned Amethyst Mine; The Superstition Mountain’s offer 200 years of lost gold, mystery and intrigue; The mighty McDowell Mountains will reveal to you the relics of old silver, gold and copper mines, ancient petroglyphs and hundreds of species of plant and animal life found only in the lush Sonoran Desert of Arizona.

Pacify Your Palette: Within a 6-block radius, there are no less than 16 restaurants, 5 great “watering holes,” 2 coffee shops, wine bar, gelato shop, a French Bakery, Holiday Inn, 2 drug stores, 3 fitness and yoga gyms, a Basha’s Shopping Center and a Safeway Shopping Center. Just about every convenience from dry cleaning to day spas--all within walking distance!.

Fountain Hills' heritage adds to its future

While Fountain Hills is relatively young as a community, it was developed on a site that is indeed rich in history. This region has a much-storied past ranging from ancient Native Americans farming these lands to the creation of new communities.

Arizona itself has only been a state since 1912, and the town’s official date of incorporation is Dec. 5, 1989.

The expanses surrounding Fountain Hills, including the Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation, the Verde Communities and the nearby mountain ranges, present a rich and fabled background that includes Native American migrations, mining tales, trappers, gun battles, wagon trails and the rise of a modern city today known as Phoenix. The “early day” history dates back centuries when the area was a lush desert environment for Native Americans who inhabited the region. Different Indian cultures occupied the lands over the years, drawn mainly by the area’s two major rivers, the Verde and the Salt. The confluence of the two rivers is just a few miles southeast of Fountain Hills.

Founding of a Community

The “modern” history of Fountain Hills goes back to the late 1960s, when a development company envisioned an old cattle ranch as a potential “model city” for an enterprising United States of America that was rapidly expanding in its metropolitan regions. Most of this local history is captured in the entertaining and educational L. Alan Cruikshank River of Time Museum (see more information in “Attractions” and “Cultural” sections of this Guide).

The community’s founding birthday is considered Dec. 15, 1970, when the famous “World’s Tallest Fountain” was turned on for the first time at Fountain Park. Work started on the first residences in the fall of 1971, and by February 1972, the first homeowners were moving in. Today, more than 24,000 people call Fountain Hills home on a permanent basis.

The community itself is full of fascinating local history, but the land and surrounding territory are abundant with colorful stories as well — from wagon trains and military outposts to sheep ranchers and miners seeking to strike it rich.

About 800 years ago, the area near the confluence of the Salt and Verde rivers was home to between 4,000 and 10,000 Hohokam Indians. Although the tribe later disappeared, remnants of its canals, pottery and other artifacts show it was a thriving civilization. Those artifacts also are found throughout the area of Rio Verde, a retirement community about eight miles north of Fountain Hills, which also had its beginnings in the early 1970s.

Arizona was an unorganized territory in 1865 when Fort McDowell was established as a military center, located adjacent to Fountain Hills on what is now the Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation.

Through most of the 20th century, a part of this area was known as the P-Bar Ranch, a working cattle ranch, and in 1968 Page Land and Cattle Co. sold 4,500 acres of it to the McCulloch Oil Corporation.

McCulloch Properties, a subsidiary of McCulloch Oil Corp., was already developing Lake Havasu City in western Arizona, and the firm was seeking additional land to build another master planned city. Through other purchases, the Fountain Hills project grew to encompass just over 12,000 acres.

Early grading began in 1969 in Fountain Park and the lake area, and by late 1970 the famous Fountain was turned on. Many people were introduced to Fountain Hills in the early years through a unique “fly to see” sales program by McCulloch. The company flew clients to the Valley in the firm's own fleet of aircraft. Once in Fountain Hills, the potential buyers were shown property by salesmen driving white Jeeps. About three-fourths of the buildings to date have been custom single-family homes. There also is a good mix of higher density housing along with commercial and some industrial property.

Although many seniors first moved here because of the climate and lower prices, a major building boom occurred in the mid-1980s that brought an influx of younger families to Fountain Hills. The town's population doubled from 5,000 to 10,000 people from 1985 to 1990. Another “boom” started picking up steam around 1992-93. The official U.S. Census for 1995 put Fountain Hills’ population at 13,745. By the spring of 2002 the growth rate was beginning to slow as the community matured toward buildout. The 2005 Census showed Fountain Hills with more than 23,400 people

Archaic and Hohokam Cultures

For thousands of years, gently sloping land, fertile soil and water have attracted people to the Lower Verde Valley. Ancient petroglyphs and artifacts indicate that as early as 1000 B.C., archaic people followed seasonal routes along waterways to hunt and harvest plants. Primitive gardening eventually evolved into complete agricultural systems and permanent settlements.

Over 10,000 people lived along the Lower Verde Valley around 1000 A.D. One city, dubbed Azatlan by archaeologists, had four ball courts, canals, trash mounds, fire pits, tools and pottery. The Hohokam trade network stretched from the Pacific Coast to the Great Plains. Unpredictable water flows may have led to the disintegration of Hohokam culture.

The Yavapai - The Early Years

Although no one knows exactly when they arrived, the Yavapai inhabited much of Central Arizona when the Spaniards arrived in the late sixteenth century. As nomadic hunter-gatherers, the Yavapai’s life was directed by the cycles of plants and animals.

The arrival of gold prospectors and settlers disrupted their lifestyle and they were often mistaken for the more aggressive Apache, leading to conflicts. Facing starvation, many Yavapai surrendered and lived on the Rio Verde Reservation near Camp Verde. In February 1875, they were forced to make a 150-mile exodus to San Carlos Reservation through freezing and flooding streams and rugged mountains. Scores died during the two-week trek and 25 babies were born along the Yavapai’s “Trail of Tears.” The Yavapai could not return to their home for 30 years.

Explorers, Trappers and Prospectors

Spanish explorers first discovered and named the Verde River in the 1500s, but little historical record exists until the 1820s when trapper Ewing Young wrote in his diaries about his experiences here. In a battle with Apaches at the confluence of the Verde and Salt rivers, his party of 24 men was reduced to six. He returned the next year with Kit Carson as a member of his group, and recorded trapping as many as 30 beaver per night. Prospectors found traces of gold, silver and copper in the McDowell Mountains, but no commercially profitable mines were ever developed.

Cavalry Days

Fort McDowell, named for General Irvin McDowell, was established in 1865 to subdue hostile Indians hiding in the Verde-Salt River Wilderness. After several years of campaigns and conflicts, bands led by Chalipun surrendered to General Crook in 1873. Troops remained to settle confrontations between Maricopa and Pima Indians and white settlers. The post was closed in 1890. On September 15, 1903, President Theodore Roosevelt signed an executive order granting the land to the Yavapai as a reservation and they returned home.

Ranching and Farming

In the 1860s and 1870s, the relatively water-rich lower 15 miles of the Verde Valley was one of the most productive places for both farming and ranching, while the presence of troops at Fort McDowell provided protection.

Ranches in the area included the Box Bar near Rio Verde, the Pemberton Ranch, now a part of McDowell Mountain Park, and the P-Bar Ranch where Fountain Hills is today. They operated until the mid-twentieth century. There is still a small amount of ranching near Four Peaks and Pinnacle Peak.

Fountain Hills and the Lake That Never Was

Fountain Hills owes its origin to a lake that never came to be. As part of the Central Arizona Project, construction of Orme Dam, near Granite Reef Dam, would have created a lake at the Fort McDowell Indian Reservation. Robert P. McCulloch envisioned a community of 70,000 people similar to one of McCulloch Properties’ other master-planned communities - Lake Havasu City.

The lake would have flooded the homes of Fort McDowell residents. The Yavapai and environmentalists defeated the dam proposal, but the town of Fountain Hills had begun. The development was marketed with a “fly-before-you-buy” sales program, beginning in 1972. Prospective buyers were flown in from Midwestern and Eastern cities to tour the desert ridges in white Jeeps and select their properties.

The 560-foot-high “World’s Highest Fountain” was the concept of C.V. Wood, Jr., a planner for McCulloch Properties, Inc., who had worked with Walt Disney on designing Disneyland. It was built to attract attention and buyers. It was turned on for the first time on Dec. 15, 1970, the “birthday” of Fountain Hills. For many years the community was small and remote from the rest of the Valley, so a spirit of neighborliness developed among the town’s pioneers. It still exists as a feeling of small-town togetherness and strong community involvement. Today, the population is around 24,000, with build-out expected at around 35,000 residents.

Modern Day Fort McDowell

The people of Fort McDowell have surmounted many obstacles to return to and keep their land. They have developed several industries, including farming, sand and gravel operations, a gas station and Fort McDowell Adventures. What turned the corner for them, economically, was a bingo hall which became a casino. A crisis came in 1992 when the FBI came to confiscate their slot machines. The tribe prevented their removal by barricading exits with large trucks and equipment. Their stand resulted in the passage of Proposition 202 in 2002, assuring that gaming can continue. Since then, the tribe has built the acclaimed We-Ko-Pa Golf Club, the Fort McDowell Radisson Resort, and an RV park. They are also investing in businesses outside of the reservation, assuring a strong future for the Yavapai of Fort McDowell.

Water Tamers - Canals and Dams

Early settlers utilized the canals of ancient Hohokam Indians. Floods, drought and conflicts over water rights eventually led to the development of a water storage system, with Roosevelt and Granite Reef dams as key components. Roosevelt Dam was built on the Salt River, just below its confluence with Tonto Creek. Granite Reef Dam was built about 50 miles downriver, directly below the confluence of the Verde and Salt Rivers. From here, water is diverted into canals which transport water throughout the Phoenix area. The rapidly growing population of Arizona soon required more water, and the Central Arizona Project (CAP) Canal was built to bring water from the Colorado River to Fountain Hills and other communities.

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16824 E. Avenue of the Fountains, #12
Fountains Hills, AZ 85268
Office: (480) 816-5557
Fax: (480) 816-9636
Info@SonoranLifestyle.com