Maurice Reid’s orange trees flourished in the Casas Adobes area until many were taken out by builders over the years.
We’re defining Tucson in 100 objects. The daily series began April 20. Follow along at: azstarnet.com/100objects
There were three C’s that moved Arizona’s economy in the early days — copper, cotton and cattle.
We added two more along the way — climate, which we sold to increasing numbers of tourists; and citrus, which became a really big deal north of here in the lower deserts.
One region of Tucson, however, proved to be the perfect place for oranges, grapefruit and the date palms that traditionally line the groves.
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Maurice Reid, whose son, Gene, would later develop Reid Park as Tucson’s Parks director, identified a “thermal belt” in Tucson where the desert vegetation hadn’t been damaged by a severe freeze.
He bought land, beginning in the late 1920s — 1,500 acres of what is now the Casas Adobes area between two roads that Reid would name, Ina and Orange Grove.
They were tearing out citrus trees to build homes in Phoenix, so Reid bought them and hauled them down to his “thermal belt,” which, it turned out, wasn’t completely immune to freezes.
Reid’s groves mostly survived to be torn out for subdivisions over the years.
Look along Orange Grove Road, though, and you will find some trailer courts that look like Arabian oases, with date palms and orange trees.
