History of Apache Junction
Apache Junction didn’t really start off as a town; it just sort of began as a settlement along the Apache Trail, which was a major transport route for construction of the Roosevelt Dam. Originally thought to have been carved out by the Salado Indians, who inhabited and farmed the area between roughly 900-1450 AD, the Trail was used to move from winter homes in the lowlands to summer homes in the Superstition Mountains. Later it was used by marauding Apaches and Yavapai to raid Pima villages along the Salt River, hence the name.
The Trail was not wide enough for a transport route up to the site of the new Roosevelt Dam, and it was widened and graded for haulage between 1903 and 1905. Horse-drawn transports and automobiles both used this route.
Apache Junction’s story really begins in 1921; George Hunt, Arizona’s first governor, recommended the construction of a paved highway from Phoenix to the mining town of Globe. The Apache Trail became primarily a tourist stagecoach route, with such attractions as Goldfield (a gold mining town between 1890 and 1915) and the Lost Dutchman’s rumored gold mine. Apache Junction, right at the intersection of the Trail and the new Globe highway, began to grow.It wasn’t rapid, but Apache Junction is now a vibrant part of the metro Phoenix area,and a major tourist and residential area. With the Superstition and Goldfield Mountain ranges as backdrops, the town has one of the most scenic locations imaginable, and will continue to develop as a really nice place to live.