In 1891, Dr. Alexander John Chandler, a Canadian and the first veterinary surgeon in the Arizona Territory, settled on a ranch south of Mesa and studied irrigation engineering. By 1900, he had acquired 18000 acre of land and began drawing up plans for a town-site on what was then known as the Chandler Ranch. The town-site office opened on May 16, 1912.

The 1912 town-site