Editor's note: This information was provided by the town of Oro Valley and Lois Nagy of the Oro Valley Historical Society.
Oro Valley, which incorporated in 1974, was named after the Oro Valley Country Club & Golf Course and surrounding Oro Valley Country Club Estates.
The country club and surrounding homes were built in the late 1950s after three wealthy Chicago businessmen who liked to play golf bought several hundred acres of the Cañada del Oro Ranch.
Their vision was to build an upscale resort and golf course. The resort was never built, but the Oro Valley Country Club & Golf Course was realized - the first round of golf was played there in December 1958.
At the same time they built homes around the golf course. Some of the first homes were sold in the fall of 1959.
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Many years later, in the early 1970s, the city of Tucson was considering annexing land on the northwest side. Because of that the city was against any incorporation of the area. A controversy ensued. People in favor of incorporation figured that if the new town was named Oro Valley the pending incorporation would have the support of the Oro Valley Country Club and people living in the Oro Valley Country Club Estates, so that's how the town got its name.
