Fraser Fields was originally a plot of land purchased by Hyrum Smith Phelps in the early 1900s for $80 and a mare. He built the first house for one of his wives, Sara Lucretia Pomeroy, an adobe structure that stood where the restaurant “Bill Johnson’s Big Apple” is currently located. Hyrum later sold the land to Dr Jack Fraser who built a house on 4th St (University). Jack Fraser later sold the land to Passey Investment Corporation, which subdivided the land in 1946 and named the subdivision Fraser Fields. Lots were heavily advertised in the Mesa Journal Tribune starting in 1947 and Fraser Fields was called “Mesa’s Most Exclusive Subdivision”. Each lot sold for between $800 and $2000.
Fraser Fields is a superb example of post WWII custom ranch development. The quality and craftsmanship of the houses, the variety of architectural styles, broad facades, large steel casement windows, expansive and immaculate lawns, make for a well preserved, upper middle-income ranch style neighborhood.
Reflecting the ever-growing importance of the automobile, most houses have attached or semi-attached double garages. Fraser Fields represents the first major subdivision in Mesa to reflect a growing trend for affluent and middle class Americans to begin migrating from the city center out into rural edges of the city.
Today, Fraser Fields is an enclave of well-preserved large lots and ranch style homes. The neighborhood has an active and cohesive group of residents, many of whom are active in city politics and contribute to our neighborhood and our community in numerous ways.
In February 2003, Fraser Fields was designated as the 6th Historic Distric in the City of Mesa. The nomination was initiated by the residents of the neighborhood in order to preserve the integrity of the neighborhood, stabilize property values, and maintain a collective voice on issues affecting the neighborhood and surrounding areas.
Fraser Fields is a Registered Neighborhood in the City of Mesa. There are approximately 110 homes in the neighborhood built between the years 1945-1960. The neighborhood has no HOA. The primary contacts for the Registered Neighborhood and the Block Watch Program are Gary and Susan Schuller. The neighborhood was registered with the City of Mesa to help address concerns facing our neighborhood and surrounding areas.
The most important issues/ concerns facing our neighborhood are:
1)The blighted conditions in neighborhoods and business centers to the south, south east, west, and south west of the neighborhood boundaries. Also, the strip of Main Street known as "The Miserable Mile" from Mesa Drive to Stapley which is becoming the "Van Buren" of the East Valley.
2)Insufficient lighting in the neighborhood.
3)The alley way running east/west behind Mattas and Big Apple restaurants and then running north/south to Miller.
4)Poor street conditions in the neighborhood. (i.e. Pot holes, poor road patchwork, crumbling asphalt and streets damaged and never restored properly from gas line work.)
5)Transients passing through the neighborhood and drug use in the alleys.
6)Theft in the neighborhood.