BlockFrom the record
One of 467 National Register listings published here for Maricopa County · listed in 2002 · category: Site.
Sources: the case file at the National Archives · the National Register database, National Park Service
Initial Point of the Gila and Salt River Base Line and Meridian
Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2002.
The listing
- What is counted as historic. The nomination lists 1 site as contributing to the listing.
- Address. Summit of Monument Hill at 115th Ave. and Baseline Rd., Avondale, 85323
- When was it listed? October 2002
- Category. site
- Census division. Gila Bend
- National Register reference number. 02001137 - the number the National Park Service assigned this property when it was listed, and the key its nomination file is catalogued under at the National Archives.
Fires near this property
784 since 1992Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 784 fires within 5 miles of Initial Point of the Gila and Salt River Base Line and Meridian between 1992 and 2020, burning about 11,074 acres in total. 16 started naturally. 93 were recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Reported cause | Fires |
|---|---|
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 588 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 93 |
| Debris and open burning | 54 |
| Natural | 16 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 16 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 6 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 5 |
| Smoking | 3 |
| Railroad operations and maintenance | 1 |
| Fireworks | 1 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 1 |
The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.
| Date | Cause | Size | Reported by | Name on the report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 September 2000 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 4.2 acres | Pima Agency | EARLY |
| 7 September 2018 | Arson/incendiarism | under an acre | Avondale Fire and Medical Department | 232342 |
| 5 September 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Avondale Fire and Medical Department | 232270 |
| 5 September 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management - State Office | AZ-101893 |
| 30 September 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management - State Office | not named |
| 30 September 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management - State Office | 154016 |
| 3 September 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Avondale Fire and Medical Department | NOT NAMED |
| 3 September 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Avondale Fire and Medical Department | NOT NAMED |
Mines and quarries near this property
10 of 14 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 14 workings within 5 miles of Initial Point of the Gila and Salt River Base Line and Meridian: 7 past producers, 5 unknowns, 1 occurrence, 1 plant. 1 still produces. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Gold, Clay. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Where | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avondale Sw | Gold | Occurrence | ||
| Building Products Co. | Clay | Plant | ||
| Gravel Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Unknown | ||
| Gravel Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Unknown | ||
| Gravel Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Unknown | ||
| Gravel Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Unknown | ||
| Gravel Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Unknown | ||
| Sand and Gravel Quarry | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | Sand and Gravel | |
| Sand and Gravel Quarry | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | Sand and Gravel | |
| Sand and Gravel Quarry | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | Sand and Gravel |
Storms near this property
12 since 1993Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Avondale, the town this property stands in, in 12 storm reports between 1993 and 2025: 5 flood, 3 lightning, 2 thunderstorm wind, 2 flash flood. The reports record 1 injury. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 1993 | Thunderstorm Wind | Avondale | 1 hurt, $5,000,000 | Strong winds from nearby thunderstorms exceeded 50 mph in many areas of the Valley. Homes and businesses sustained damage, trees were uprooted and power lines were downed. Arizona Public Service reported 10,000 customers without power. An 8-year-old boy in Avondale was severely injured just after 1800 MST when a window burst and glass cut his jugular vein. The roof of a convenience store was blown off, as well as some damage to a church and an elementary school. A 1-mile section of a 69,000-volt power line near Perryville was knocked down. High winds blew tree limbs onto power poles and took shingles off several homes. |
| July 2025 | Lightning | Avondale | $100,000 | Broadcast media showed a large house fire from a lightning strike along the area of 121st Avenue and Southern Avenue in Tolleson with the fire causing severe damage. No injuries were reported. |
| August 2007 | Thunderstorm Wind | Avondale | $20,000 | Authorities in the Gila River Indian Community estimated winds as high as 80 mph. |
| October 2025 | Lightning | Avondale | $10,000 | Lightning strike resulted in a small house fire near the area of El Mirage and Lower Buckeye Roads in Avondale. Timing estimated from radar. No injuries reported. |
| June 2008 | Lightning | Avondale | $5,000 | The Ethan Fire was sparked by lightning on the 25th, and grew to over 5,000 acres several days later. Estimated cost to fight the fire was about $700,000. |
| July 2007 | Flash Flood | Avondale | $5,000 | A vehicle attempted to cross a flooded roadway and became stranded and quickly flipped over. Bystanders at nearby Phoenix International Raceway pulled four young people from the pickup. TV images showed the bystanders breaking out the windows, reaching inside the overturned pickup, and tossing the two young childrem to other rescuers. |
| March 2023 | Flood | Avondale | - | According to MCDOT, the unbridged Gila River crossing along El Mirage Road between Southern Avenue and Indian Springs Road was closed due to flooding beginning on the 14th and continued into April. Timing based on water releases from Granite Reef Dam. |
| March 2023 | Flood | Avondale | - | A man was swept away after attempting to walk through the flooded unbridged El Mirage Road crossing that goes through the normally dry Gila River between Southern Avenue and Indian Springs Road. The man was walking through the water while carrying his bicycle when he was swept away on the 17th. The man was successfully rescued with no injuries reported. Event timing is based on Granite Reef Dam releases. |
| March 2023 | Flood | Avondale | - | Two people were rescued after driving around road closure barricades and attempting to drive through a flooded roadway with a recreational vehicle. While attempting to cross the flooded roadway, the recreational vehicle was swept off the road. The incident occurred around 2100 MST on the 30th at the unbridged El Mirage Road crossing that goes through the normally dry Gila River between Southern Avenue and Indian Springs Road. The two people were safely rescued by the fire department via helicopter. No injuries were reported. Event timing is based on Granite Reef Dam releases. |
| March 2023 | Flood | Avondale | - | Buckeye Fire Department performed a water rescue at the unbridged Gila River crossing along El Mirage Road between Southern Avenue and Indian Springs Road on the 18th. The exact details surrounding the water rescue are unknown. The road had been closed since the 14th due to the elevated flow in the river. Event timing is based on releases from Granite Reef Dam. |
| April 2023 | Flood | Avondale | - | According to MCDOT, the unbridged Gila River crossing along El Mirage Road between Southern Avenue and Indian Springs Road was closed due to flooding beginning on March 14th and continuing into April. End timing based on upstream FCDMC stream gauge along the Gila River at 116th Avenue. |
| August 2021 | Flash Flood | Avondale | - | A streamflow gage on the Agua Fria River at Buckeye Road exceeded alarm stage at 0241MST with peak flow of 1932 cfs and a crest height of 0.79 feet. Impacts to the low water crossing at Lower Buckeye Road are common with this flow level, but no impacts were reported. No damages or injuries were reported. |
Map coverage status
No historic map-sheet match is published for this property yet. That does not mean no map exists. This record needs a coordinate-quality review before it can be joined to a sheet boundary. Browse the county's mapped places while that work is pending.
Sources for this property
| National Archives record | The nomination case file for reference 02001137 in Record Group 79. |
| Maricopa County | All 467 listed properties in this county. |
Provenance
- Listing record. National Park Service National Register of Historic Places, listed-properties dataset, current to 2026-05-22.
- Map join. Address geocoded through the United States Census geocoder, then tested against the published boundary of every sheet in the USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection.
- How this page is made. Listing fields come from federal records; map-sheet coverage is a labelled coordinate-to-boundary calculation, not a source-field claim.
- Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
- Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
- Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.