Sunday, October 22, 2017, from 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. the Litchfield Park Museum, 13912 W. Camelback Road in Litchfield Park, will hold a free admission event.
In honor of Litchfield Park’s Centennial year (1917), the museum is providing an exhibit of the first 100 years of the town’s history which will include:
The Company Town – Litchfield Park 1917-1959: In 1917 Litchfield Park started as a small company town beginning at the north end of Litchfield Ranch (present-day Litchfield Park and part of Goodyear).
The New Town – Litchfield Park 1964-1986: Following Paul Litchfield’s death in 1959 Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. attempted to create a unique city called Litchfield Park. Twelve villages were planned, the first – Tierra Verde (green land) – would be superimposed over the old company town. In 1986 the original Litchfield Ranch land was sold; the only village built (Tierra Verde) remains and was incorporated in 1987 as the city of Litchfield Park.
Litchfield Park – 1987-Present: The city continues to retain the small-town atmosphere established during the new town years as a green oasis in the southwest valley.
The Founder – Paul Weeks Litchfield: The career of Paul Litchfield, President and CEO of the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. of Akron, Ohio from 1926 to 1940 is on display. It provides photos from his life in Boston and his career.
Los Campos de Litchfield Park – Revisited: This significant exhibit will be on display in our Wigwam Gallery. It pays homage to the many Mexican-Americans who worked for Goodyear’s subsidiaries providing years of labor to help make those businesses successful. On view will be an hour-long DVD Voices from the Camps where visitors will be able to hear these Mexican-Americans tell their personal stories.
Early Medicine in Litchfield Park: On view in our permanent galleries are remaining artifacts from the careers of Dr. Robert Hilton and Dr. George McMillan, the company town’s doctor and dentist from the 1940s through the 1970s.
Goodyear Aircraft-Arizona and Goodyear Aerospace: The museum is fortunate to have photos and artifacts from the two Goodyear subsidiaries. Goodyear Aircraft built in 1941 played a valuable part in WWII and Goodyear Aerospace succeeding Goodyear Aircraft and became a leader in the aerospace industry.