There is absolutely no doubt that the Gold Canyon we know and love today was created in large part by the vision of a gentleman by the name of Harold Christ who in the early 1970’s purchased the block of land (1625 acres) that the initial Gold Canyon development sits upon.
Notably, he bought that land from the Barkley Cattle Company, the company that was founded by “Tex” Barkley (who’s story is covered in another article on this site) one of the original cattle ranchers who settled in this area and who, even after his death, was helping to shape Gold Canyon’s future.
Mr. Christ understood very early on that any proposed development in the area required a reliable supply of water and undertook the task of addressing that issue from the outset.
After securing approval for his “Master Planned Community” from Pinal County in 1973/74 he worked with AZ Water to run the 12″ water main from Apache Junction that remains the primary source of water coming into Gold Canyon today. He then set about creating his vision of the “Gold Canyon Ranch”, which we now know as the “Gold Canyon Gold Resort”.
Rose Mofford, who was AZ’s first female Secretary of State and would go on to serve as Governor of Arizona from 1988-1991, attended the ground breaking for the resort, which would open its doors for the first time in 1982.
To put these dates into some kind of context, Mountainbrook Village, the neighborhood in Gold Canyon widely regarded as one of the first neighborhoods to be established and to really put Gold Canyon on the map, wasn’t developed until 1989.
Little Known Fact: Kenny Rogers & Dolly Parton stayed at the Gold Canyon Gold Resort during the time Kenny was filming one of The Gambler, made-for-tv westerns at Apacheland. Kenny and Dolly were recording an album together at the time and the album cover photo was actually taken at the Gold Canyon Golf Resort.
Before anyone runs off to find a copy of the album to see if they recognize any landmarks we have to tell you that the cover pic selected was one of Kenny and Dolly standing against one of the blank, white walls of the resort with absolutely no visible landmarks whatsoever. It could literally have been taken anywhere.
But when you know, you know and the Kenny/Dolly Album Cover is just one more of Gold Canyon’s hidden secrets!
