Once part of Steam Pump Ranch, the Cañada del Oro Ranch eventually shapes our community’s growth becoming Rooney Ranch Shopping Center.
Written by Devon Sloan, July 2025
The shopping area we all now know as Rooney Ranch (Lambert Lane and Oracle Road) actually
started way back in July 1895 in Nebraska when Laurence Francis Rooney was born.
How, did this… become this?
Entrance to CDO Ranch
Rooney Ranch Shopping (Photo by Barclay Group)
Originally, this area was part of the Cañada del Oro Ranch, a Spanish land grant, homesteaded by Oro Valley’s first non-native rancher, George Pusch (a German immigrant who also owned Steam Pump Ranch). You can see in the black and white photo above that the land crossed what we now know as Oracle Road and extended into Catalina State Park, which was open land at the time. In the 1930s, Mr. Rooney visited Tucson, and like so many of our snowbirds today, he loved our desert life. Owner of the Manhattan Construction Company in Oklahoma, he was a mover and shaker and frequently visited with Jack Procter, Manager of the Pioneer Hotel, who lived on Steam Pump Ranch after the Pusch family.
Laurence Francis Rooney Sr.
The boundaries of Steam Pump Ranch abutted the Cañada del Oro Ranch to the north. He kept a few cattle on the ranch, and the family would visit this area as snowbirds from October until May until the 1950s while their boys attended the Russel Ranch School, a few miles north on Oracle Road. Interestingly, the Cañada del Oro Ranch was managed at that time by George W. Pusch, son of the original owner of the ranch.
Eventually, Jack Procter sold many acres of the Steam Pump Ranch east of Oracle Road to Mr. Rooney. In 1958, the Rooney family sold 375 acres of the Cañada del Oro Ranch to a gentleman who had a different vision than ranching for the area. He teamed up with Lou Landon, a Chicago businessman and eventually Oro Valley Country Club Estates and the surrounding golf course materialized. (Watch the video, where wife, Donna Landon, talks about her husband, Lou’s vision behind Oro Valley Country Club Estates.)
After Laurence Rooney’s death in 1960, his sons subsequently and at different times, became Presidents of Manhattan Construction Company. The company is now run by the 5th generation of the Rooney family.
The 4th generation of the Rooney family played a significant role in shaping Oro Valley’s growth in the late 1990s. The mixed-use development at Lambert Lane and Oracle Road is part of the Cañada del Oro Ranch and includes retail, dining, auto repair, hardware, banking, health and beauty outlets and provides Oro Valley with a hub that serves our community with convenient access to all these amenities, contributing to the overall development and appeal of Oro Valley.
Rooney Ranch Area Development Begins
Under Laurence Rooney’s vision for Manhattan Construction Company, and his sons’ development prowess, naming this area Rooney Ranch seems fitting to show our appreciation for the contribution of the Rooney family and their commitment to enhancing Oro Valley.
1998 – Supermarket-now Frys, Bank of America, Burger King-now Starbucks, Pizza Hut-now
Sherwin Williams.