If you tell people you've been to Scottsdale, most folks know that's a city in Arizona. Scottsdale is known for being a winter destination, an entertainment district, a place to play golf, and a place to retire. But it's so much more and has a rich history. For me, Scottsdale has connections to my home state of Kansas, too. But I didn't discover that until after I moved here!
Reading the newspaper was a morning ritual and continued after moving to Scottsdale, December 30, 1998. Being from Kansas, I didn't expect to find an article that included my home state in an Arizona newspaper on February 26, 2000. This article was pure gold for me. Why? Because this article included a town where my father grew up. Not knowing my father during my early years has been a constant state of discover. This article was another nugget for me and it was about Dad's hometown.
You see, my Dad's hometown and Scottsdale are both named for the same person, Winfield Scott. This article appeared in the Arizona Republic February 26, 2000, which happens to be Winfield Scott's birthday. Prior to this article, I had no idea of the Kansas connection in the city I just relocated to from St. Louis!
Back in 1987, I had travelled from Kansas with my then husband to Scottsdale thanks to a Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT,) staying at that property, the Scottsdale Princess. What a destination! Truly an oasis in the desert at that time because NOTHING was nearby for many miles. So Scottsdale began for me as a tourist destination. Never in my wildest dreams did I plan on living here!
Scottsdale is landlocked and is located just East of Phoenix. You can cross Scottsdale Road from Phoenix and be in Scottsdale city limites+-. Scottsdale is bounded by Fountain Hills to the East, Cave Creek and Carefree to the north and Tempe to the South. Scottsdale also borders the Salt River - Pima Indian Community to the East. In case you're curiouis, the median price for a home in Scottsdale is currenlty $885,000, almost double the median housing prices in Phoenix.
History of Scottsdale!
Winfield Scott was born on February 26, 1837 in Michigan and was a preacher and than an Army Chaplain. He grew up as one of eleven children on a farm in New York. Despite his father being a farmer with humble beginnings, Scott attended the University of Rochester. He was known as the "Fighting Parson" as he was already a chaplain when entering the Civil War. After being wounded in the war, Scott traveled south to Kansas courtesy of the Baptist Mission Society. He settled in Leavenworth, Kansas and founded a church there. He then moved south about 200 miles in Kansas and established another church in an as yet named town. An election settled the naming rights of the town which became known as "Winfield," Kansas, which is where my father was raised! Scott went on to found a church in San Francisco, and served in churches in other cities in California.
In February, 1888 Scott was invited by businessmen to "the Salt River Valley." Phoenix was located about 14 miles east of this area and had been founded in 1867; 3000 settlers already lived in the Phoenix area by the time Scott arrived. Scott was so "impressed" by the area that he purchased 640 acres to eventually become his ranch for about $2.50 an acre in what is now Scottsdale. Scott would help to develop an irrigation system, similar to what he had seen in Los Angeles.
Scott requested "duty at Fort Huachuca in Southern Arizona so he could be closer to his ranch and oversee the planting of citrust trees. According to the pictured article from the Arizona Repubic, "When he returned to the Valley, brother George had already planted a crop of barley along with a vineyard and a small orchard. Scott himself planted 50 orange trees to see whetye they would grown in the desert." "They did and the following year, Scott planted 1500 more." By 1890, he had expanded to 2500 trees.
Scott was so successful, the he brought 55,000 more orange and lemon trees from California to sell to his neighbors. Unfortunately, a flood wiped them out in 1891, but thanks to Scott's publicity campaigns to New York newspapters, investors came from the East to invest. A banker from Rhode Island arrived and drew up plans south of town and the area became known as Orangetown. There aren't specific records, but sometime after that, the area became known as Scottsdale, naming the city for the "developer" who worked so hard to establish the town.
Winfield Scott was so popular in the Phoenix area that he won a seat in the Arizona Territory Legislature. Besides being a successful preacher running successful campaigns to grow the city, he was a developer and business man.
Winfield Scott died due to his last injury as a result of the Civil War on October 19, 1910 and on his deathbed wrote, "I leave you my work in Scottsdale. If you take this work and do it, and enlarge it as God gives you strength, you will receive my blessing and His." The Scott family legacy lives on in Scottsdale as descendants still live here in the Scottsdale area.
The Scott family in a 2000 photo standing in front of status in honor of Winfield Scott, his wife Helen and mule "Maude."
In 1914, WWI created a need for cotton produced in Arizona. Cotton became a Scottsdale primary cash crop and a cotton gin opened on 2nd Street in 1920.
In 1916, the area north of the Scottsdale settlement saw the development of cattle and sheep ranching. The largest ranches at that time were Brown's ranch and DC ranch. Today's those areas make up "Troon and Troon North" which represents luxury homes and several golf courses. The photo above is of the Troon North Golf Course. The area is hilly and the course is said to be a challenging course!
Another early celebrity arrived in Scottsdale, building his winter home in 1937, Frank Lloyd Wright. Purchasing 600 acres near the McDowell Mountains, Wright built has winter home, "Taliesin West." His home is now a tourist attraction, but was originally his home. This is also the location for what started as the Taliesen Fellowship, which was a team of apprentices . Students lived in tents that were on platforms so they could align their studies with living in the desert Southwest. According to the Taliesen site, this was a "total learning envirnment integrating all aspects of the apprentices' lives with the intent of educating responsible, creative, and cultured human beings and building professionals." This program became a formal school after the passing of Wright (1959) and his wife Olgivanna Wright in 1989.
This 20 minute video does have commercials (sorry) but is very worthwhile to view as it includes a lot of what is NOT visible to the public and so much more detail than a tourist will gain on a visit to Taliesen West. The moderator goes back to early years when he first began in architecture, his offices in Oak Park, IL, and during his time in Asian where he gleaned Asian influences for his designs.
In 1942, the Thunderbird II Airfield opened and 5500 pilots trained during World War II here in what is now the Scottsdale Airport. The Scottsdale Airport just finished a large expansion with more hangers and expanded office space. You can fly your corporate jet directly to this airport without stopping anywhere else to go through customs as there's a customs office at Scottsdale International Airport! There are no domestic flights to Scottsdale Airport.
In 1951, Scottsdale was incorporated into a town with a population of 2,032 residents on about a half a square mile of land! That same year, the Sunshine Festival was created by the Scottsdale Chamber of Commerce and the Scottsdale Riding Club. The event was later renamed the Parada del sol, which as been rumored to be the largest horse drawn parade in the West, but no verification can be found. It's a great event with a variety of floats and beautiful horses and one I try to attend every year!
The 2026 Parada del Sol parade will be held January 31, 2026.
It's an annual event to hang out at the parade as it lasts most of the day. Scottsdale Road is blocked off in the early monring hours south of Indian School. After the hour and a half long parade with at least 125 entries is over, 5 stages open up with local bands playing to big crowds. The Festival starts with booths, rides for children and an animal petting area. It's a great time to purchase momentos from local vendors and Old Town Scottsdale stores. It's sweater weather in February, but sunscreen is still a must!
The oldest golf course in Scottsdale is Starfire Golf Course that was founded in 1953. Did you know there are 51 golf courses in Scottsdale alone? There's a golf course for every ability in Scottsdale. Besides golf, a variety of entertainment is the main attraction! In fact, MANY OF SCOTTSDALE'S attractions are located on the Salt River- Pima Indian Community land, which means the land is leased from tribes for these attractions and businesses. These are some of the attractions in that section of Scottsdale:
The largest Odysea Aquarium in the Southwest
Salt River Fields (Diamondbacks Spring Training Stadium)
Scottsdale Stadium (SF Giants Spring Training Stadium)
Talking Stick Resort (and Casino)
Tournament of Players Club, Waste Management Phoenix Open
In the backdrop of the above photo is the McDowell Sonoran Preserve,l a 30,000 acre expanse of mountains, and scenic 180 miles of hiking trails. It's located on the Northeast edge of Scottsdale with homes circling the base. Regional parks in Arizona are almost everywhere you look. Occasionally, you'll see a home located halfway up a mountain, but that's only because they purchased the land prior to restrictions put in place eliminating any construction on the mountains, which are now all designated as preserves. It's wonderful to see nature throughout the Scottsdale area, including the surrounding Phoenix area.
The City of Scottsdale is home to just under 250,000 people, but it seems MUCH larger thanks to the McDowell Mountain Preserve and Salt River Pima Indian Reservation. Those wide open spaces leave lots of sky and scenery to view!
The above photo is also in McDowell Mountain Ranch, which includes 1500 homes in a planned community at the base of the McDowell Mountain Preserve.
There are LOTS of hiking trails at every range, not just the McDowell Mountain Preserve, for all levels of fitness. This photos is taken from atop the Pinnacle Peak trailhead, one of my favorites in Scottsdsale. It's not difficult and has amazing views. The trailhead starts with a park office and restrooms as shown below.
The Scottsdale polo club plays at the fields at West World, the same venue as the Barrett Jackson car show, fall auction, October 13-18, 2025 and winter auction will be January 17-25, 2026.
Scottsdale received 11 million visitors in 2023! Astonishing considering the city is only 32 miles from it's north to south borders and 11 miles wide with about 250,000 residents!
This is just a hint of what's in Scottsdale. There is so much more to visit in the area!
If you're planning on making Scottsdale your next home, come and stay a while and check out the scenery. Fair warning, you'll want to spend at least 2 weeks here to experience it all. Our typical tourist season has already started with winter visitors departures in April. There's so much to see and do!
Thank you to Eileen Burns and Debe Maxwell, CRS for providing this challenge to showcase Scottsdale, Arizona!
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