Have you ever wondered what the town of Gilbert looked like 50 or 100 years ago? Have you ever wanted to sit on a real Gilbert police motorcycle? You can do both in one exhibit at the Gilbert Museum!
In the Town Room visitors can see two dioramas of our community at different stages of its development (c1917 and c1944) and imagine what life must have been like! Then examine the 2 huge aerial photographs of the Gilbert area taken decades ago; try to find where your home now sits, it was probably farmland way back when...
Explore an exhibit of the Gilbert Police and Fire Departments with genuine firefighting equipment and a real Gilbert Police Motorcycle. Climb on up, have your picture taken and imagine what it would be like to be a police officer in Gilbert today.
Chronicling Gilbert’s rich history
Gilbert's earliest homestead was purchased in 1891; some of these farms were free if the family stayed for at least five years; others paid the government cash for their land, which could be purchased for as little as 50 cents an acre.
Gilbert was named after homesteader, William (Bobby) M. Gilbert, who sold his land to the railroad. The railroad then established a siding at the site, around which the town started to grow. Gilbert's railroad depot built in 1905 just north of the railroad tracks and west of Gilbert Road was torn down in 1969.
And did you know that Gilbert had its own airport from 1946 to 1959? The runway sat just to the south of the museum where the Mesquite Jr. High swimming pool currently rests. You can read more about our airport and our town on our
Gilbert History page.
The Gilbert Historical Museum – At the heart of Gilbert