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History of Surprise Arizona |
This video is from the Surprise History Project:
See the Surprise History Project if you want to purchase a book and DVD about Surprise AZ.
Population History per the U.S. Census Bureau as of Jun 15, 2017:
When Surprise was first founded in 1938, it only consisted of a square mile of land with a few houses and a gas station. There were few streets and not even a water system. Founder Flora Mae Statler named it Surprise because she "would be surprised if the town ever amounted to much". It was subdivided to build inexpensive dwellings for farm workers. In 1960 it was incorporated as a city bounded by Greenway Road, El Mirage Road, Bell Road, and Dysart Road.
Since the late 1990s, Surprise has experienced tremendous growth, especially since tens of thousands of retirees began moving there. Beginning in 1996 many came to live in Sun City Grand, a resort-style community for persons aged 45+. The developer, Del E. Webb built 9,802 new residences there from 1996-2005. Other retirement communities include Arizona Traditions and Sun Village.