Newlife in Sun City in Maricopa County, Arizona — The American Mountains (Southwest)

The Town of Marinette, Arizona

Photographed by Mike Wintermantel, January 19, 2026

1. The Town of Marinette, Arizona Marker

Photos caption:
Prior to 1960, Manne was a farming community where the primary crop was cotton. At one point the town had several stores a cotton gin, school and US Post Office. Farming continued even while Sun City was constructed and town buildings were evident when Sun City opened on Jan. 1, 1960. The Arizona Questers dedicated an historic plaque marking the original site of Marinette in 1985 at a site less than a mile east of the museum in 2025, that monument was relocated to the Del Webb Sun Cities Museum.

Inscription. Before there was Sun City...there was the Town of Marinette!
Marinette was initially a simple train stop established in the Northwest Valley in the 1890s. Two men from Marinette, Wis., purchased land surrounding the tracks and established a water stop, naming it after their hometown.
Developer R.P. Davie purchased the land in 1912 with the intention of creating a residential community called The Orchard Town of Marinette. No community was ever built, and Mr. Davie sold the land in 1920 to the Southwest Cotton Company.
For the next 40 years Marinette was a cotton farming community, Stretching from approximately 103rd Avenue to 111th Avenue on both sides of Grand Avenue, Marinette at one time had a school, two stores and a cotton gin.
By the mid-1950s, the land was owned by the J.G. Boswell Company. Concerned with the diminishing water table, James Boswell worked out a deal to sell the land and all that he had accumulated-which by that time included nearly all the area now encompassing Sun City and Sun City West-to the Del E. Webb Development Company.
In July of 1959, the Webb company began building Sun City, the nation's

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very first active-adult retirement community. The Town of Marinette still existed, and farming continued while the first Sun City homes were constructed.
Several of Marinette's buildings still stood the day Sun City opened on Jan. 1, 1960, but within a few years, all traces of the community had disappeared.
In 1985 the Marinette Chapter of The Arizona Questers dedicated this historic plaque to mark the original spot of Marinette. This plaque was originally located near a church on 105th and Coggins. In 2025 the Sun Cities Area Historical Society partnered with Maricopa County to relocate the monument to the Del Webb Sun Cities Museum.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Notable Places. A significant historical month for this entry is July 1959.

Location. 33° 36.069′ N, 112° 17.537′ W. Marker is in Sun City, Arizona, in Maricopa County. It is in Newlife. It is on West Oakmont Drive east of North 108th Avenue. Located at Sun Cities Area Historical Society/Del Webb Sun Cities Museum. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 10801 West Oakmont Drive, Sun City AZ 85351, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally,

Photographed by Mike Wintermantel, January 19, 2026

2. The Town of Marinette, Arizona Marker

this marker is in Arizona’s Sonoran Desert,

in the Phoenix Metropolitan Area,

and in the Tohono O’odham Nation.

It is also in the American Southwest.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain,

the Gadsden Purchase,

and Mexico’s Alta California.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 6 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Sun City, Arizona (here, next to this marker); Welcome (here, next to this marker); Another First for Sun City (here, next to this marker); Golf Car Oddities...Only In Arizona (a few steps from this marker); GFWC Peoria Woman's Club (approx. 3.4 miles away); Peoria Central School (approx. 3½ miles away); First Presbyterian Church of Peoria (approx. 3½ miles away); North American AT-6 Texan (approx. 5.8 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Sun City.

Marinette, Arizona Historic Site Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Mike Wintermantel, January 19, 2026

3. Marinette, Arizona Historic Site Marker

Located beneath the Town of Marinette marker:
The unincorporated town of Marinette, Arizona existed in this area prior to 1920 until 1957 when the United States Post Office serving the town was moved to Youngtown, Arizona.
Marinette, owned and operated by the Southwest Cotton Company, symbolized the importance played by the cotton industry in the early development of the State of Arizona.

Credits. This page was last revised on January 22, 2026. It was originally submitted on January 22, 2026, by Mike Wintermantel of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. This page has been viewed 68 times since then. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on January 22, 2026, by Mike Wintermantel of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.