Coolidge is the commercial center of Arizona 's cotton industry. In 1925, after the Coolidge Dam construction transformed the flat desert into rich farm and ranch land, R.J. Jones laid out an 80 acre site to found the city.  The city's name honors the President Calvin Coolidge who dedicated the dam in 1930.  The warm, dry winter climate makes it an ideal tourist and retirement center.  Hundreds of thousands of visitors annually visit Casa Grande Ruins National Monument in Coolidge, where the ruins of prehistoric Hohokam people are preserved. The ruins include Casa Grande (Spanish for 'Big House'), a four-story caliche structure built in the early 1300s, and its surrounding walled neighborhood.

From Coolidge's founding until the early 1950s, the economy was mainly dependent on agriculture, and to a lesser extent, mining.  Growth was steady until the late 1940s when water use reached a maximum and mechanical equipment replaced farm workers.  Its economy has diversified to include manufacturing, tourism, and regional trade and services for agricultural producers and farm families.  The 500-acre Pima-Coolidge Industrial Park on the Gila River Indian Reservation has boosted manufacturing.

The Coolidge Historical Society Museum, re-organized in 1987, displays historical artifacts of educational value from Coolidge and surrounding area dating from the 1920s to 1950s.  Many photographs from the early days of Coolidge are part of the museum exhibits.  The Golden Era Museum displays a private collection of many original pieces including antique, vintage, and classic toys, trains, automobiles, and dolls.  Collected for more than 25 years, many pieces date back as far as 1914, bringing back the memories of yesteryears.

*Information taken from the City of Coolidge

Official Website - http://www.coolidgeaz.com/