History of the Carefree Sundial

There was a time when developers in Arizona had to do something extraordinary to lure prospective buyers to their then remote communities. For example, the "London Bridge" was moved to Lake Havasu City and a  gigantic fountain was constructed in Fountain Hills to publicize these communities-to-be. 

K.T. Palmer and Tom Darlington, the developers of Carefree, wondered how they would get people to drive through miles of vacant desert northeast of Phoenix to see their community in the middle of "nowhere".  In his well-researched article from the February 2000 issue of Peak at the Peak, Don Schoenau tells the story of their solution, the Carefree Sundial.  (Note. In 1963, a few years after the sundial was erected, Palmer and Darlington supported the creation of the Desert Foothills Scenic Drive as reported in the Black Mountain News.)    

Here the Sun Marks Time 

by Don Schoenau

Early in 1959, K. T. Palmer was driving down a super highway in Kansas and found himself gazing at a tall water tower dominating the scenery at one of the roadside service stops. The thought occurred to him that Carefree needed something similar as a central attention getter; something tall, something beautiful, and if possible, something useful. The idea was tossed out into the next meeting with his associates and eventually got to John I. Yellott, a solar energy expert of Phoenix. Mr. Yellott suggested a sundial, not just an ordinary sundial, but the largest one in the world. The idea found favor and he was commissioned to pursue it.

Oops, 250 years too late!

While working on the idea of a sundial for Carefree, Yellott visited India on one of his solar missions. In the marble city of Jaipur, he found many sundials, including the largest one in the world. This sundial, constructed more than 250 years ago, is a brick structure which towers more than one hundred and fifty feet from tip to tip. So the decision was made to construct the second largest sundial in Carefree. It is interesting to note that true sundials were probably developed in Egypt or Mesopotamia about 1500 B.C., the pyramids and obelisks being forerunners to the sundial as we know it today.

Still the Best in the West

The sundial was placed in this area because the World Sunshine Chart published by the U.S. Weather Bureau, indicated that this is one of two areas in the world most abundantly endowed with solar energy. The sundial was designed by the architectural firm of Joel Wong Associates of Scottsdale. The sundial, built in 1959, stands as the largest time piece of its kind in the Western Hemisphere.

A Sundial and Solar Heater (Almost)

The base, or plaza is 90 feet in diameter. The gnomon, or shadow-casting portion of the sundial, is 72 feet long and at its tip is 35 feet above the surface of the base. The gnomon is four feet wide and its upper or sun facing area is surfaced with copper Tube-in-Strip, coated with radiation absorbing paint, through which water circulates during the hours that the sun is shining and absorbs the sun's heat. The water was pumped to the Darlington and Palmer Building across the street. This heating system was abandoned as being inefficient. 

Seven Foot Globe and Rising Jets 

The strength of the sundial lies in the rigid framework of steel girders and pipes set deeply into concrete. Its beauty comes from the sheathing of gold-anodized aluminum. A sunburst, consisting of a wrought-iron globe seven feet in diameter decorated with simulated solar flares of multicolored glass, is suspended from the gnomon and is reflected in a rectangular pool from which jets of water rise and is illuminated at night.

How it Works

The gnomons of all accurate sundials point directly to the North Star and must be constructed of their exact position. In the case of the Carefree Sundial, the setting is 33 degrees 50' (the latitude of Carefree). Since Carefree is located at 111 degrees 55' 26" west longitude it solar time is 27.7 minutes later than Mountain Standard Time. The hour markers beneath the gnomon have accordingly been of the classical position for a horizontal sundial. A thirty minute advance was made to Carefree time, which agrees with Mountain Standard Time on four days of the year. On the other days a small correction must be made to determine standard time. Time, as told by the sun, varies slightly during the year depending on the earth's position in its orbit.

So what time is it?

This is all explained by a pilot dial which is placed for the benefit of those who want to check their watches by the sun. The correction for each week of the year is shown on a plaque mounted on the base of the pilot dial. To tell time by the sundial without bothering with the adjustments, one has to merely follow the shadow cast by the gnomon onto the concrete disks in the solar plaza, there being one disk for each hour of sunlight time with appropriate lines for breaking down the hour into 10 minute intervals.

Time Passes for the Sundial

In 1976 the Kiwanis Club of Carefree negotiated wit the Carefree Developers to acquire and maintain the sundial. On Friday, March 26, 1976, the deed was officially presented to the Kiwanis Club of Carefree.

During January of 1990, the sundial was given a completely new facelift. Workmen stripped off the old facade and new sheets of copper were applied. The sunburst was taken down and completely cleaned. The masonry walls were cleaned and repainted. At the same time most of the pumps and valves of the water system were replaced. The cost of this facelift was over $10,000 and came from donations from the Kiwanis, Chamber of Commerce and numerous business people.

I visited the sundial recently and it is beautifully maintained and looks like it was just constructed. It is located in the southeast corner of the Spanish Village. 

This article could not have been written without the cooperation of Jo Ann Stuckey, Director of the Cave Creek Museum. 

Don Schoenau

Editor. Don has also recorded the history of  Rawhide, Greasewood Flat and other landmarks. For a link to these stories see Shoenau's Histories.