Southern Arizona is home to some of the country’s most spectacular open spaces, and Marana offers the perfect launching point for outdoor adventures.
Marana’s Story
Although only incorporated as a Town in 1977, Marana’s history dates back thousands of years. What is now Marana and Southern Arizona is believed to have been inhabited by humans for 4,000 years, with some archaeologists estimating the date as far back as 8,000 years. During this time, various peoples have relied on the Santa Cruz River as a lifeline, digging irrigation canals and building villages along its banks. The relatively-lush (in terms of deserts, at least) Sonoran Desert has been a provider to the people groups who have inhabited this land, from millennia in the past all the way up to present-day.
The Hohokam Era
Around 200 AD, Southern Arizona saw the rise of the Hohokam people. Building on the irrigation practices of their ancestors, the Hohokam built complex irrigation canals and systems both directly along the Santa Cruz and in the Tortolita Fan (an area of loose soil caused by water runoff from a mountain range), supporting villages that held hundreds of people. The Santa Cruz Valley, and the foothills of the Tortolita and Catalina mountain ranges are dotted with the remnants of these villages, from the Los Morteros site at the base of the Tucson Mountains, the ancient agave plantations in the Tortolita Fan, to the Romero Ruins in Catalina State Park, and many more. Hohokam society flourished until about 1450 AD, when their civilization mysteriously collapsed.
Post-Hohokam Era
After the Hohokam era, what is now Marana and Southern Arizona was inhabited by the Tohono O’odham people, the descendants of the Hohokam. In the late 1600’s, Spaniards arrived, bringing Catholicism, certain crops such as cotton and wheat, and their distinct architectural style. They built the San Xavier del Bac Mission in the Santa Cruz valley, and the presidio (fort) which eventually became Tucson. In 1775 and 1776, Juan Bautista de Anza led an expedition to find a route from Sinaloa, Mexico to California, which passed through present-day Marana. They followed the Santa Cruz River, and camped near the Los Morteros site. De Anza’s route is preserved today as a National Historic Trail.
Settlement and Growth
What we know now as Marana became an established community in the 1880’s, with several large farms and ranches being developed, still using the valuable water from the Santa Cruz River. The name Marana comes from the Spanish “maraña”, meaning “thicket or bush”, given by 19th-century workers who had to clear thick vegetation in the area when they were constructing the Southern Pacific Railroad (which later became the Union Pacific). The name “Marana” first appeared on a railroad map in 1890.
For the next 80 years, Marana slowly and steadily existed as a small community dominated by agriculture. This agricultural character, combined with the wide swathes of open desert, and the backdrop of several rugged mountain ranges, made it a well-sought-after location for Western movie production. Movies and TV Shows featuring the likes of Gene Autry, Ronald Reagan, John Wayne, and Steve McQueen, among many others, have used parts of Marana as filming locations.
Modern Marana
In 1977, the Town of Marana was formally incorporated, by ranchers and farmers wanting to protect their water rights along the Santa Cruz River as the Tucson area grew northward. Residential, commercial, and industrial development started in earnest in the 1990’s, and has continued at a strong, rapid pace ever since.
Today, Marana is a community of transitions – transitions from a hospitable built-up suburb to open desert, from rugged mountains to flat plains, and from luxurious accommodations to the Western-inspired look and feel of yesteryear, to name a few. Throughout it all, the Western and agricultural spirit still exists and remains strong in Marana. Marana today is truly close to everything, far from ordinary!