Local family shares their Maricopa roots, one piece of land at a time

Edwards was the owner of Trail's End Realty. Her family came to Maricopa in 1975 and continues to prosper; her grandson, Bryce Foreman, is the owner of Copa Boys Tree Service, and her daughter, Shawna Shapiro, owns Professional Hair Care by Shawna.

Edwards was among the people who played a big role in helping Maricopa go from a small, rural community to the budding metropolitan area it is today. She sold a lot of property in the area — land that is now where businesses and homes line the city's streets. They include plots such as where the Business Barn, which used to be Western Auto, currently sits; the spot where Thunderbird Fire Department is located; and more. For 38 years, she handled most of the sales in Hidden Valley and Maricopa.

"Real estate built Maricopa from '04 and up, back when Rancho (El Dorado) was built, when everything was getting sold and turned around," her grandson, Bryce Foreman, shared with Copacetic.

Though more realty companies would come to the area within the next couple of years, his grandmother's business had long been established by that time. Foreman said that she had "cornered her market."

According to Foreman, Edwards had "enormous sway at the time" in Maricopa because of her profession. His grandmother, he said, really left her mark on the city.

"My grandma did a lot of work to change planning and zoning," he said. "She did a lot of work to get the city to be more accepting to advertising, street advertising, signs on buildings, things like that."

Edwards passed away in 2016, but her legacy lives on, even though few might know about it.

Foreman said there's probably not many homes not sitting on a piece of land his grandmother sold. 

"My grandma was always heavily revered as like the toughest... woman in town and known for that," he said.  

Foreman noted that Edwards enjoyed everything about her profession. She also enjoyed growing up in the desert and could see a future for Maricopa.

She had 20 acres in the desert she'd call "the right spot," he noted, and mentioned that his grandmother enjoyed being around people and being successful at what she did.

"She was just always happy, especially at work," Foreman said. "The work meant the most to her."

Foreman believes having an impact and being relevant in the Maricopa community was her favorite part of the job. 

Shapiro worked at Trail's End Realty for her mother, a broker, for six years. Then, she eventually branched out under a different broker to do new home sales.

Even though her mother enjoyed selling property in the community, she believes Edwards didn't like how fast it was growing once Rancho El Dorado came in.

Edwards' business tagline was "Where the heck is Maricopa?" since that's what people would call in and ask her after seeing her advertisements for affordable homes and land.

Shapiro said she admired and took pride in her mother's determination to grow Maricopa and Hidden Valley in her two-wheel-drive Pontiac Bonneville sedan. She drove places most people wouldn't take a four-wheel-drive to find properties.

She said Edwards came up with the name for her business "cause it was literally the end of the Earth back then; there was nobody in Maricopa."

And it was especially her fiery and pioneering personality that Edwards was most known for. 

"I love how (much of) an Annie Oakley spirit my mother was," Shapiro said. "She would just protect whatever her cause was whether it be animals, children."

Edwards not only left her mark in real estate, but she also founded the Maricopa youth soccer team. According to Foreman, she created the team because he wanted to play soccer at the age of 4.

Edwards was passionate about the community, sponsoring many Little League and sports teams with her business as well as participating in Stagecoach Days. She was also fond of animals, and she saved and rescued many horses and other animals during her lifetime. 

After 2005, tens of thousands moved to Maricopa. Since that time, the community has had to work to keep its roots and history relevant amid rapid-fire growth. Foreman is among those who hopes to keep the legacy of his grandmother, and Maricopa's history alive. 

"Nobody knows it," he said. "Everyone's from somewhere and there's a few of us that are from here. There's stories. Every inch of concrete now, there's a story underneath it."

The family sold the Business Barn, which was owned by Edwards, after she passed away. 

Foreman said the Business Barn gave many businesses a "foot in the door" when his grandmother owned it since, as the town grew, not everyone could afford commercial space, but they could afford to set up shop there.

Foreman feels it's important to share his family's story since many people don't realize what went into creating the Maricopa they see today. They'll go past buildings or houses, drive on roads and streets and highways like State Route 238 and not know it used to be Dead Cow Road.

"We have a lot more people calling it home now, so how do we make 'em all aware what was here before and the heritage of everything?" he said. "Even though it's recent history, it's still, to me, important history."