In 1902, the Arizona Eastern Railway, looking to establish a rail line between Phoenix and Florence, asked for donations of right of way. Some of the track was built upon a donation from one landowner, William “Bobby” Gilbert, and the community that then sprung around there took its name from him.
And while the railway was the key to Gilbert subsequently becoming the “Hay Shipping Capital of the World” during the World War I era, the town has grown from its rural roots to the largest “town” in America, one of more than a quarter-million people.
Now, more than a century after Gilbert incorporated, a vocal number of its citizens are questioning whether there is a place for rail in Gilbert’s future.
