John W. Galbreath Development Corporation Records

John Wilmer Galbreath was born to Frank and Belle (Mitchell) Galbreath on August 10, 1897 in Derby, Ohio. He attended Ohio University in Athens, Ohio and later established a scholarship to allow 10 students from the Columbus area to attend the University. In 1920, he established the John W. Galbreath Development Corporation in Columbus. He also operated Darby Dan Farms outside of Columbus and owned Darby Dan Farms in Lexington, Kentucky.

The John W. Galbreath Development Corporation turned considerable profits by purchasing defunct company towns from large industrial interests and converting them to individual ownership. The Corporation purchased Kennecott Copper Company's residential communities in Arizona in 1954. It also constructed new communities in close proximity to former company towns, including Kearny, Arizona (between Hayden and Superior on State Highway 177) in 1958. The town was named for Brevet Major General Stephen Watts Kearny, who led part of the U.S. Army through the area on the way to engage Mexican forces in California during the Mexican-American War. Galbreath spent his substantial profits on such interests as thoroughbred horses (including Swaps, who won the 1955 Kentucky Derby) and the Pittsburgh Pirates baseball club. Galbreath died on July 20, 1988 in Ohio.