Sahuaro Ranch was established in 1886, when William H. Bartlett filed a claim to 640 acres of public land at this site. Using irrigation water delivered by the Arizona Canal, which reached the Glendale area in early 1885, Bartlett and his ranch managers built Sahuaro Ranch into a large, diversified farm that produced dried and fresh fruit, olives, nuts, and livestock. Bartlett, a wealthy grain broker from Peoria, Illinois, never lived full-time at Sahuaro Ranch, and in 1913 he sold the property. Little is known about the ranch during the 1910s and early 1920s, but the orchards were neglected and the ranch's agricultural production gradually declined. In 1927 the ranch was purchased by Charlotte and Richard W. Smith. He and his son, Richard S. Smith, returned Sahuaro Ranch to productivity, expanded the citrus groves, and started a dairy. After the Second World War, the younger Smith took over management of the ranch, modernized its operations, and began breeding thoroughbred horses. In 1977, Richard S. Smith and his wife Sharon sold the last 160 acres of ranch land to developers and the City of Glendale. Sahuaro Ranch ceased operation as a farm shortly after that. The 80 acres purchased by the city included the historic ranch buildings, which today are being preserved as a reminder of Glendale's agricultural heritage.