Fountain Hills is a town in Maricopa County, Arizona, USA.

According to 2006 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the town is 24,669. Fountain Hills was the eighth fastest-growing place among all cities and towns in Arizona between the 1990 and 2000 census. In contrast to neighboring Scottsdale, some homes in Fountain Hills are widely spaced, in a more rural setting. Fountain Hills is home to the world's fourth tallest fountain, and neighbors the Fort McDowell Indian Reservation. Charles W. Juels' Fountain Hills Observatory is situated nearby. The town also holds two annual fairs, a local art fair and the Fountain Hills Great Fair which incorporates arts and a carnival. The town also claims to have the only thanksgiving day fair west of the Mississippi River.

History

It incorporated as an independent municipality in 1989, after spending most of its history as a master planned development on the far northerneastern end of Scottsdale. For many years the land on which the town sits was a working cattle ranch, and of it were sold to Robert P. McCulloch in 1968. The town of Fountain Hills is situated on the lower east slopes of the McDowell Mountains as they drain into the Verde River.

Law and government

Fountain Hills is set up under a Council-Manager system.

The current Mayor of Fountain Hills is Jay Schlum, elected in Mar 2008. The current Town Council consists of the Mayor and six Councilmembers: Vice Mayor Henry Leger, Councilmembers Keith McMahan, Mike Archambault, Dennis Contino, Ginny Dickey and Cassie Hansen. Rick Davis is the Town Manager. Among other council appointed staff are Town Attorney Andrew McGuire and Town Magistrate Ted Armbruster.

The town does not have its own law enforcement. They are patrolled by the Maricopa County Sheriff's office with the elected Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who also lives within the town.

Public schools

Fountain Hills Unified School District #98 is composed of four separate schools. McDowell Mountain Elementary School for Kindergarten-2nd grade, Four Peaks Elementary School for grades 3-5, Fountain Hills Middle School for grades 6-8, Fountain Hills High School for grades 9-12, and a Charter School.

Geography

Fountain Hills is located at (33.604811, -111.728526).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 18.2 square miles (47.2 km²), of which, 18.2 square miles (47.1 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square miles (0.1 km²) of it (0.27%) is water.

Fountain

The eponymous fountain was built in 1971 by Robert P. McCulloch, the same year that reconstruction of the London Bridge in Lake Havasu City, another of McCulloch's projects, was completed. The fountain sprays water for about 15 minutes every hour. The plume of water rises from a concrete water-lily sculpture in the center of a large man-made lake and is driven by three pumps. When all three pumps are on under zero wind condition, the fountain can reach over in height. When built, it was the world's tallest fountain and held that record for over a decade.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 20,235 people, 8,653 households, and 6,515 families residing in the town. The population density was 1,113.8 people per square mile (430.0/km²). There were 10,491 housing units at an average density of 577.5/sq mi (222.9/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 96.26% White, 0.59% Black or African American, 0.49% Native American, 0.89% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 0.66% from other races, and 1.06% from two or more races. 3.05% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 8,653 households out of which 23.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 66.7% were married couples living together, 6.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.7% were non-families. 19.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.34 and the average family size was 2.67.

In the town the population was spread out with 18.5% under the age of 18, 4.4% from 18 to 24, 24.6% from 25 to 44, 33.3% from 45 to 64, and 19.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 46 years. For every 100 females there were 93.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.1 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $61,619, and the median income for a family was $68,185. Males had a median income of $50,324 versus $32,307 for females. The per capita income for the town was $32,230. About 2.2% of families and 4.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.0% of those under age 18 and 3.8% of those age 65 or over.

The inner walking path that surrounds the fountain is approximately 1.25 miles in distance

Media

See also: Media in Phoenix, Arizona

The Fountain Hills Times is a major weekly newspaper in the town, published every Wednesday. The parent company of the Times, Western States Publishers, Inc., also publishes the Fountain Hills/Rio Verde Telephone Directory, Fountain Hills Community Guide, Fountain Hills HOME, and The Arizona Sentinel 'Let's Go!'.

Sister cities

• - Kasterlee (Antwerpen, Belgium)
• - Dierdorf (Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany)
• - Ataco, El Salvador

Gallery

References

External links

• City website
• Fountain Hills Times Newspaper
• Fountain Hills School District