History & Culture of Ahwatukee

Dr. Ames purchased 12 acres just south of South Mountain

South Mountain	(so'wth MAWN-ti'n)
Serving as the "exclamation point" of pride, South Mountain is the largest municipal park in the world. The 16,500-acre park is home to more than 300 species of plant life and a variety of fauna, including rabbits, foxes, coyotes, snakes, lizards and birds.

from the State of Arizona

Arizona	(air-i'-ZON-u')
The State of Arizona comprises the extreme south-western portion of the United States. It is bounded on the north by Utah, on the east by New Mexico, on the south by Mexico, and on the west by California and Nevada.

for only $4.00 per acre. He lived in a small house on this land while he and his wife waited for the construction of their much larger house to be completed, which occured in 1922.

This massive house was called several different names, including the "mystic house", and "house of my dreams", and English version of the Crow Indian word "Ahwatukee" (pronounced "Ah-wah-too-key").

The caretaker from 1921 until his death in 1976 was Byron Slawson. Much of what we have learned about this history of this property has been through his two daughters Ann Adams and Berma Evans.

The Phoenix City Council and Planning have divided Phoenix into 12 planning areas called urban villages. Ahwatukee Foothills is one of those villages located to the south of the city.