[6] At least two major thoroughfares in today's Ahwatukee are named after people who claimed lands in the area, in the decades after the signing of the Homestead Act in 1862.

[7] In the 1940s the rumor goes, Hunter disassembled and buried in the Ahwatukee desert a Studebaker car purportedly owned by Al Capone.

[7] One of the first houses in the area was built by Dr. William Van Bergen Ames, who co-founded Northwestern University's now-closed dental school in Evanston, Illinois.

[7] At the time, the Chandler Arizonan newspaper called the house, built in the foothills of the South Mountain, "unmatched in scope and size".

[8] The house was noted to be a 12,000 square feet (1,100 m2) winter residence, designed by prominent Phoenix architect Lester Mahoney, with construction starting in 1921.

[10] The property was bought by Helen Brinton in 1935,[9][10] who gave the house (and eventually the area) the name it is known by today (as explained below).

[11] In 1946, the International Harvester Company rented land from a United States Army tank testing facility west of today's Lakewood community, for use as truck and heavy equipment proving grounds.

[13] Presley Development was noted to have a role in Ahwatukee eventually becoming a part of Phoenix, instead of neighboring Chandler or Tempe through a handshake deal between Maricopa County Supervisor Bob Stark, who was also an attorney with Presley Development, and Phoenix Mayor John D.

[15] Plans for Ahwatukee were approved by Maricopa County in November 1971, and 17 model homes were opened in an area near 50th Street and Elliot Road in 1973.

[11][16] In the same year as the model homes’ opening, the Arizona State Legislature set aside $5 million to build a prison near the proving grounds.

As a result of having access points only via 48th Street in the northeastern part of the area, and a number of east–west crossings over I-10, Ahwatukee has been called the world's largest cul-de-sac.

[16][28] When Loop 202's South Mountain Freeway segment was built, the area acquired a western gateway, via a series of exits along the southern border of the community.