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Gila Bend was founded in 1872 and is a town located in Maricopa County, Arizona. As of the census of 2000, there were 1,980 people, 659 households and 492 families residing in the town. Gila, (pronounced "hee-la") Bend, was named for the sharp bend in the Gila River. It is located near a prehistoric Hohokam Indian Village which Farther Eusebio Francisco Kino visited in 1699. Kino found the fertile banks of the Gila River had been abandoned by an early Indian tribe call the Opas, who had established a rancheria and raised two grain crops annually, irrigating from the Gila River. This same rancheria was visited by Spanish Captain Juan Bautista de Anza, commander of the Presidio at Tubac, and founder of the City of San Francisco, and Father Francisco Tomas Garces in 1774.
In recognition of historical routes that pass through the area, the town's website refers to Gila Bend as "The Crossroads of the Southwest". The nickname the "Crossroads of the Southwest" stems from the area having been part of an important transportation route in the settling, development and growth of the Great Southwest. Gila Bend was the "center of a wheel", with spokes leading in many directions throughout the region. For hundreds of years the area has been part of an important transportation route in the settling, development and growth of the Great Southwest. Gila Bend is ideally situated as the "center of a wheel" with spokes leading to and from all areas of the southwest.
Gila Bend does have some really interesting places to stay at, including the Space Age Lodge. When you drive into Gila Bend be sure to stop and have a look around.
Town of Gila Bend Town Hall
644 West Pima Street
P.O. Box A
Gila Bend, Arizona 85337
Telephone: 928-683-2255
Town of Gila Bend Website
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