Coolidge

Coolidge is a small city in south central Arizona desert, home to the Casa Grande Ruins National Monument.

Understand
Home to the Casa Grande Ruins National Monument, Coolidge is a small city of over 13,000 (2020) in the south central Arizona desert, south of metro Phoenix.

The area around what is now Coolidge was occupied by the Hohokam, an indigenous ancient Sonoran Desert people who built a massive compound consisting many of caliche structures and remained in the area for over 1,000 years. The only remaining and preserved structure from this compound is the Casa Grande Ruins National Monument.

The modern history of the city is centered around agriculture, particularly cotton. Coolidge was founded in 1925 when R.J. Jones laid out an 80 acres (32 ha) site during the construction of the Coolidge Dam on the nearby Gila River, which was completed in 1930. Both the dam and the townsite were named for Calvin Coolidge, the 30th President of the United States. The dam made the sandy soil native to the area into very rich farmland, and soon vast expanses of desert were plowed and acres of cotton were planted. This is when the area's status as the hub of the Arizona cotton industry was solidified and led to the incorporation of Coolidge as a city in 1945.

Get in
Coolidge is east of Interstate 10 and Casa Grande, accessible from I-10 on Arizona State Routes 87, 287 and 387.

Get around
The City of Coolidge operates local and regional bus service:
 * The Cotton Express (fixed service route, weekdays only M-F 7AM-8PM), which provides local bus service around the city
 * Central Arizona Regional Transit (CART) (2½ hour fixed service route, weekdays only M-F 5:15AM-8:30PM), which provides transportation between Florence, Coolidge, Central Arizona College and Casa Grande.

Buy
Coolidge's grocery stores sell many supplies suitable for a picnic at Casa Grande Ruins National Monument.

Sleep
In Coolidge:



In Florence, about east of Casa Grand Ruins National Monument:



Go next
Explore the immediate vicinity, south of metro Phoenix: Casa Grande and Maricopa.

Or go south to Picacho and Picacho Peak State Park for some hiking, or continue towards Tucson, the Old Pueblo.

Or go north to metro Phoenix and the Valley of the Sun.