Queen Creek

Queen Creek is a family place, where the residents take pride in independence. It’s a “first name” community, where a person behind the counter isn’t an uncaring stranger, but someone who will know you by name. If you enjoy the great outdoors, Queen Creek is the place for you. You can ride a horse or hike into the mountains and across trails into the countryside. If a more relaxing time is your idea of fun, you can sit on the patio and view the San Tan and Goldmine Mountains to the south, and the Superstition Mountains to the northeast.

Queen Creek has earned more recognition than most communities its size. The Town has received awards on national, state and regional levels for its innovative General Plan and ordinances, community outreach and citizen participation programs, environmental preservation efforts, and leadership, among others. The Town is committed to continuous improvement and innovation.

The Town of Queen Creek’s name originated over a hundred miles away. Up in the eastern mountains surrounding the Town of Superior, the land is rich with supplies of ore. One of the many mines that opened up in those mountains was the Silver Queen. (Another was the Silver King, but it was later renamed the Magma Mine.) At the base of the Silver Queen mine there was a creek known as the Picket Post Creek. It was named after the oddly shaped mountain above it (the one you can see today above the State Aboretum). When the Silver Queen Mine opened for production, the name of the Picket Post Creek was changed to Queen Creek. That creek runs down from the mountains, past the mine, through the Queen Creek Canyon, into the area surrounding the present day Town of Queen Creek.

Before the scattered farm community was called Queen Creek, it had a different name. The area was known as Rittenhouse because of the railroad spur located near Rittenhouse and Ellsworth roads. People used to flag down the train to get a ride into Phoenix. As the community grew, and the use of the railroad stop diminished, the community changed its name and took on the name Queen Creek.