The company was founded in 1939 by William S. "Bill" Porter,
Gary and Dennis' grandfather and sustained by their father Stan
Porter. Bill Porter owned and operated a sawmill in Heber,
Arizona until 1938 when he moved to Mesa. During World War II he was in charge of construction at William Air Force Base. Bill served 16 years in the State Legislature including a term as president of the State Senate. After the war he and his son Stan joined forces and started building statewide. In the late sixties they got help cleaning construction sites after school from a couple of enthusiastic but naive young men who were literally starting from the ground up. Gary and Dennis ultimately joined their dad in starting an affiliated company called Porter Brothers in 1974.