About Gilbert, Arizona -
A Great Place To Call Home

Gilbert, Arizona, just twenty-two miles southeast of downtown Phoenix, is a rapidly growing community. With its eye keenly on new business, Gilbert is progressing while acknowledging and embracing its rich history and tradition.

With a population of approximately 150,000 people, Gilbert is a family-oriented city that takes a special interest in education, recreation and economics. Once a farming community known as the "Hay Capital of the World", Gilbert got its boost with the building of the Roosevelt Dam. The dam helped regulate water for farming. In 1920, when the city was incorporated, there were 500 hundred families farming in Gilbert.

The town is named for William Gilbert who offered his own land to the railroad and soon had a rail siding on his property. A rail siding was an extra section of rail that allowed the loading and unloading without blocking the tracks. Gilbert essentially had customers coming right to his property and buying his crops. Pretty soon a town was established and named after him.

Gilbert annually hosts a large rodeo. This happens in November and is referred to as Gilbert Days. There are parades and other activities to celebrate the town’s rich heritage. The Gilbert Historical Museum is another great place to get a taste of Gilbert’s agricultural beginning. With many artifacts for display, one can really experience the great past and appreciate the forward thinking of the Gilbert council. Because of the Town Council’s determination to leave room for future growth, Gilbert approved a 53 square-mile annexation strip. This was a good decision as Gilbert’s population quintupled from the 1980s to the 1990s.

There is still room for growth. The city is enthusiastic about new business and has land for development.

Gilbert public schools were recently identified as a "Blue Ribbon District" by Expansion Magazine. This is a publication that performs an annual survey on 770 school districts to determine just what the graduates are giving back to the community. Gilbert was shown to present high achievement with moderate funding. This is another nod to the business mindset of Gilbert. There is a desire to attract business to Gilbert as well as a determination to provide work for its graduates and to be sure they are receiving the education they need to work without leaving their home towns.

Many of the homes in Gilbert are situated on mini-farms. The average price for a three bedroom home is in the $300,000 price range.

Gilbert is a beautiful town with the great combination of small-town friendliness, a slower pace of life with plenty of trails for hiking and lots of fishing, and big-city business sense that will long preserve the Gilbert way of life.

With a nod to its rich agricultural history and an eye toward its future as a haven from the hustle and bustle of the metropolis, Gilbert is a perfect mix of past and present and this ensures Gilbert and its residents a successful future.

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Touring Gilbert, Arizona - A community of Excellence