Built in 1921 at a cost of $135,000, a Spanish Colonial structure, affectionately known as “Old Main,” served as the Casa Grande district’s only high school for 76 years, Casa Grande Union High School. The building included a gymnasium, added in 1936, which is the only known adobe gymnasium in the state.  Construction of the adobe structure was done using on-site earth to make 30,000 adobe bricks, and the manufacturing of the gym walls created much-needed jobs in Casa Grande’s deflated economy during the Depression years.

In 1997, the city stepped forward to find a new use for the building when plans were made to move the school to a different site. The structure was rehabilitated with a modern interior while restoring the original exterior with the assistance of a Heritage Fund Grant.  The acquisition, rehabilitation, and adaptive reuse of the high school for a new city hall was completed at the cost of over $4 million.

The building now houses several key city departments, including the city manager’s office, city attorney’s office, the planning and zoning department, and the city clerk’s office. The building originally used for Casa Grande’s City Hall prior to its current site is now utilized as the Casa Grande Main Library.

The town hall for the Town of Patagonia is actually the former railroad station! The railroad served in the Town of Patagonia until it was abandoned in 1962. The railroad was abandoned and the rails removed, but the building remained in-tact. Spearheaded by the efforts of the Rotary Club, the railroad right-of-way was conveyed to the town where it serves as a park running through the middle of the town. The station was moved from its original site adjacent to the present location and then connected to the town hall.

The New Mexico and Arizona Railroad connected the southern Arizona area to Mexico with the Benson-to-Nogales Railway and passed through Patagonia. Eventually a direct rail line that extended from Tucson to Nogales, Sonora, in addition to a decline in mining activity and population in the area, led to the abandonment of the rail line. The station grounds were donated to the town and made into a town park. The depot was originally sold to a local businessman and the town eventually purchased the building that now serves as the town hall.