Paul Riggins
Were you living in Quail Creek in 2006? Did you know that there were a few residents living in Quail Creek before 2000? I have met and worked with some residents who have resided here since 1997. It is always fun to know our history. The Quail Creek community certainly does have a fun and long history.
For example, do you know when homes started to be built in Quail Creek, a Robson Resort Community? Do you know that Robson Ranch Quail Creek, LLC, a Robson Company, was not the first developer of homes in the area? For thousands of years, indigenous people have visited and lived in the area. Remnants of their culture remain in the area yet today.
According to Wikipedia, in 1926, an Arkansas farmer named James Bull purchased a 160-acre plot of land between Continental and Sahuarita and called it the Bull Farm. The Bull family raised alfalfa, vegetables, and grains. By 1975, the Bull Farm was one of the largest in the area with 6,150 acres. In 1939, the Bull Farm was used in the filming of a Western movie starring Gary Cooper. During World War II, in late 1944, the United States Army established a prisoner of war (POW) camp for German POWs next to the farm and close to the Santa Cruz River. Camp Continental, as it was called, was built to house 300 inmates and guards.
Other than the remnants of a few old farming vehicles, nothing remains of the Bull ranch and POW camp today. In 1989, the site of the Bull Farm became the future Quail Creek retirement development. Interesting, right? The story of Quail Creek continues. In 1989, the Bull ranch site was sold to a group of investors who began building homes on the current Quail Creek site in around 1990. About 100 hundred homes were built between 1989 and 1999. All the homes that were built in this initial phase of development became part of the Robson Quail Creek development after it was purchased in 1999.
Mr. Robson had a vision for the land and began planning a full scale resort type community for 55 and over active adults. By early 2000, homes were being built in what is now Quail Creek, a Robson Resort Community. The Robson Resort Communities created five or six other major large lifestyle oriented communities prior to Quail Creek. These were patterned after the successful concept and model developed by Del Webb in both California and Arizona. Most of those original homes remain as part of the current Quail Creek community.
Because of the vision and experience of Mr. Robson, the current Quail Creek community is full of amenities for the residents to enjoy. In fact, the community in some ways resembles a large campus providing for the recreation of any interested resident. It could be said that there is something for everyone.
One of the many amenities provided by the developer for the use and pleasure of the residents is the popular Quail Creek Dog Park located on the corner of Quail Crossing Blvd and Quail Loop.
Coming next month! The Old Timers Will Remember, Part Two: A Bark for the Future.