Though easy to miss while driving by, nestled in the heart of the Ocotillo area of South Chandler is the historic Goodyear Townsite. Located south of Ocotillo along Basha Road, the Goodyear Townsite was founded in 1916 when the Southwest Cotton Company (SCC) a subsidiary of the Goodyear Tire Company leased large tracts of land south of the Chandler Townsite to grow cotton for tire production as the foreign supply from Egypt was cut off due to World War One. On a portion of this land, they developed the Goodyear Townsite, improving it between 1917 and 1922. The townsite featured amenities one would find in any settlement of the day, including a general store, a theatre, a school, and other facilities. The town was even updated in early 1920 to include paved roads and electric lights. At its core, however, Goodyear was a townsite built to grow cotton and to that end a canal was dug supplying the vital water needed to support both the settlement and daily life for those living in Historic Goodyear.
Though unfortunately much of the townsite has been demolished over the last century, proud reminders of the past still can be found in the Goodyear area. These include many foundations of buildings, the Goodyear Hospital, the now greatly expanded general store which now serves as the Basha headquarters, and the canal.
In 1917, the inciting improvement of the town was dug, the Goodyear Canal. The canal ran from Pecos down to modern-day Hunt Highway. The canal provided the lifeblood of the farming operation and supplied the townsite. The canal has been undergrounded for most of its length, remaining above ground only along Basha Road south of Ocotillo, directly adjacent to the location of the historic townsite.
Where the canal is above ground, however, it appears much like it did over 100 years ago when it was constructed, lined with palms on either side. In June 2023, the Chandler City Council recognized and designated the Goodyear Canal as a historic landmark. Today, water still flows through the canal just as it did a century ago, circulating water for the lake system of the Ocotillo Management Group. The Goodyear Canal is and will continue to be a functional historic landmark and an homage to a little-known chapter in the history of Chandler.