ORO VALLEY, Ariz. (KGUN) — The Oro Valley Historical Society is marking 20 years of keeping the town’s past alive, a milestone leaders say reflects how much residents value their history.
Formed in 2005 by a small group of residents determined to protect landmarks from development, the Society has spent two decades restoring historic buildings and curating exhibits at Steam Pump Ranch.
“This was the first non-native settler to come to Oro Valley,” said secretary Devon Sloan, describing ranch founder George Pusch. “He came from Germany, traveled cross country, and ended up here because who wouldn’t want to? There was nothing here — no buildings, just trees, and believe it or not, water in the Cañada del Oro.”
Sloan said the Society’s 20th anniversary is about more than its own history.
“We want to keep Oro Valley history alive, as opposed to another shopping mall,” she said. “The fact we’re still here 20 years later shows people do care about what came before us.”
Restoring the past
The Society’s volunteers have spent countless hours stabilizing structures more than a century old. Sloan recalled a monsoon storm that collapsed the roof of the Steam Pump building.
“The whole roof caved down on an adobe structure,” she said. “You can only imagine what it took to bring the adobe back and then put the steel back on the top to make it look like it’s really a ghost of a building.”
Other parts of the property still await full restoration.
Volunteer experience
For President Bob Keller, who began volunteering after retiring in 2020, the Society is about community connection.
“I love being around a group of like-minded people that love history,” Keller said. “It’s just very satisfying to give back to the community. This is really an essential part of Oro Valley’s history, and being able to connect with people from all over the world makes it special.”
Keller helped spearhead new signage for self-guided tours across the ranch. “Quite often it’s pretty quiet here, so the idea of a self-guided tour where people could go from sign to sign and see the nature of each building has been really helpful,” he said.
What’s next
The Society is rolling out a new season of exhibits at the Pusch House Museum, open free to the public every Saturday morning alongside the Heirloom Farmers Market. Self-guided tours are available throughout the week.
One upcoming exhibit highlights Oro Valley founder Jim Kriegh’s meteorite collection, featuring stones he discovered in Mojave County. Sloan said the discovery was significant enough that the University of Arizona mapped the site. “We have some of those meteorites in the Pusch House, and it became a very big, important discovery,” she said
The group is also launching “Be Our Ranch Guest,” inviting local nonprofits to share their missions during Saturday events.
Sloan said the goal moving forward is to engage younger residents in preserving history — including digitizing archives to make records more accessible. “We need to make sure this is preserved not just on paper, but in the cloud, so people can just click online and see some history,” she said
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Kenny Darr is a reporter for KGUN 9. He joined the team in January 2023. Before arriving in Arizona he was an Anchor and Reporter at KADN in Lafayette, LA. Share your story ideas with Kenny by emailing kenny.darr@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.
