My Sedona Verde Valley Construction Roots Run Deep….
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Photo Grandfathers truck and aunt in mid 1940s
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My grandfather, A.C. Newton, and his wife (Lucille Gibson) moved from Oklahoma to Sedona in 1930, the early days of the Great Depression. He went to work through the WPA laying rock for construction projects and soon was operating his own business constructing homes and businesses out of rock that he hauled out of Oak Creek. Many of these buildings are still standing today, including the Rainbow’s End building, which originally served as a stagecoach stop and his family’s homestead house. A.C. Newton started and operated a ready-mix cement company and a dump truck excavation service serving the Sedona Verde Valley areas. A.C. Newton was the first licensed building contractor in Sedona.
A.C. Newton and my grandmother raised 9 children in Sedona, with the boys going to work early in construction for my grandfather. My father, Don Newton, was 10 years old when he began working as a masonry laborer for my grandfather, we spent most of his life working as a journeyman mason, material hauling, and excavation for new construction serving Verde Valley, Sedona and Flagstaff. He and my step-mother have built themselves stunning homes, performing most of the labor for the construction themselves. Although retired from construction, he stays busy creating artistic wrought iron gates and art sculptures out of steel.
Following in the family footsteps I began working in construction as a part time labor at an early age. I continued working in the construction trades focusing on framing, finish carpentry and concrete. In 1986 at age 26 I became an Arizona licensed residential general contractor. To enable me to expand my scope of construction projects in 2005 I met all the states necessary requirements and received my Arizona large commercial general contractor’s license. Since 2005 I have continued to increase my construction knowledge by educating myself in the studies of home performance, building science and energy efficient building practices earning multiple certifications including Building Performance Institutes Building Analyst Professional and Envelope Professional certifications.
ROC 297300 B-1 General Commercial Contractor
