By Monday morning, one of the oldest hills in Litchfield Park had something it had never seen before: hundreds of students heading off to school just steps away from residents lining up to explore a brand-new public library.
The dual grand opening of the Litchfield Park Library and The Hilltop School for the Arts marked more than just the debut of two new buildings. It represented a community embracing its future while honoring a hilltop whose story stretches back more than a century.
According to the Litchfield Park Historical Society, the property’s history began in 1919 when Goodyear executive Paul Litchfield purchased what would become Rancho La Loma. The family’s hilltop retreat grew over the following decades into a collection of homes where generations gathered for holidays and reunions. The family donated the 20-acre estate to the city in 2008 with the stipulation that it benefit the community.
