Fountain Hills got its start in 1968 when Page Land and Cattle Co sold 4,500 acres of the P-Bar Ranch to McCulloch Oil Corp (later MCO Properties), the developers of Lake Havasu City. Other purchases were made to grow the "city" to 12,000 acres. Construction began in 1969, and the signature fountain on the lake was turned on 12/15/1970. Fountain Hills became the place to raise families?in 1993 it was listed in the book "50 Fabulous Places to Raise your Family", and in 1997 Parenting Magazine named it one of 10 "great" places in the U.S. to raise families. It wasn't until 1989 however that the voters approved self-government for their city.
Today, about 20% of the towns residents are over age 65, with two-thirds of the population married. The town of Fountain Hills is land-locked (north by McDowell Mountain Regional Park, east by Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation, south by Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community, and west by City of Scottsdale), and the only large parcel remaining for development is a 1,276 acre state owned parcel.
