Gilbert Family Halloween Carnival Join us for the Family Halloween Carnival on Saturday, October 24, 2009 from 5-9pm. Children of all ages will enjoy this night of safe and friendly Halloween fun as they visit Frankenstein’s Fishing Hole, more ...

25th Annual Gilbert Days 5K and 1 Mile Fun Run

Be a part of the silver anniversary celebration for the 25th Annual Gilbert Days 5K and 1 Mile Fun Run on Friday, November 20, 2009.  The 5K and 1 Mile Fun Run take place within the boundaries of Freestone Park utilizing sidewalks, more ...

2nd Annual Gilbert Holiday Nights of Lights Get in the holiday spirit and join us for Nights of Lights held on Thursday, December 3, 2009. Be there for the lighting of our Town’s 28 foot tree and experience ground displays, community entertainment, more ...

GILBERT HISTORY:
In 1902 the Arizona Eastern Railway asked for donations of right of way in order to establish a rail line between Phoenix and Florence. A rail siding was established on property owned by William 'Bobby' Gilbert. The siding, and the town that sprung up around it, eventually became known as Gilbert. Gilbert was a prime farming community, fuelled by the construction of the Roosevelt Dam and the Eastern and Consolidated Canals in 1911. It remained an agricultural town for many years, and was known as the 'Hay Capital of the World' until the late 1920s. Gilbert began to take its current shape during the 1970s when the Town Council approved a strip annexation that encompassed 53 square miles of county land. Although the population was only 1,971 in 1970 the Council realized that Gilbert would eventually grow and develop much like the neighboring communities of Tempe, Mesa, and Chandler.

Gilbert has experienced a rapid transition from a historically agriculture-based community to an urban center and suburb in the Phoenix Metropolitan Area. In the past two decades, Gilbert has grown at a pace unparalleled by most communities in the United States, increasing in population from 5,717 in 1980 to over 138,000 in January 2003.