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Phoenix was
incorporated in 1881, the charter of that year
being revised in 1893.
Prehistory
The earliest settlers in the Valley of the Sun
were the Hohokam Indian people, who lived there
as early as 300 BC. They were the first to farm
there, building an extensive network of
irrigation ditches that brought water from the
Salt River. Their name is derived from their
O'odham name, Huhu:gam. They also lived in the
Pueblo Grande between 700 and 1400 A.D. Their
irrigation system comprised some 135 miles (217
km) of canals that lasted until their culture's
decline. Their disappearance ca. 1450 A.D.
remains a mystery. Prolonged drought may have
destroyed or displaced them; or, they may be the
ancestors of the modern Pima who now live on the
Salt River and Gila River reservations and the
Tohono O'odham who live in southern Arizona.
Origin of
the city
In 1867, Jack Swilling of Wickenburg stopped
to rest his horse at the foot of the north
slopes of the White Tank Mountains. He looked
down across the expansive Salt River Valley and
his eyes caught the rich gleam of the brown, dry
soil turned up by the horse's hooves. He saw
farmland, predominantly free of rocks, and
beyond the reach of heavy frost or snow. All it
needed was water. By 1868, he and others from
Wickenburg had dug a short canal from the Salt
River and founded a small farming colony
approximately four miles (6 km) east of the
present city and a few miles northwest of a
similar farming community at Hayden's Ferry,
which would become Tempe).
The area was
named Swilling's Mill in his honor. It would
later become Hellinwg Mill, Mill City, then East
Phoenix. As for the town that was to be built,
Swilling, a former Confederate soldier, wanted
to name it Stonewall, after Stonewall Jackson;
others suggested Salina.
Darrell Duppa
recommended the name Phoenix, memorializing the
birth of a new civilization from the ruins left
by the Hohokam.
The town of
Phoenix was officially recognized on May 4,
1868, when the Board of Supervisors of Yavapai
County (which at the time encompassed Phoenix),
formed an election precinct there. The Phoenix
post office was established June 15, 1868, with
Jack Swilling as postmaster.
The area was
surveyed in 1870 and mass meeting of the
citizens of Salt River Valley was held on
October 20, 1870, to select a suitable piece of
unimproved public land for a town site. They
recommended the North 1/2 of section 8 Township
1 N., Range 3 E. and that the town be called
Phoenix.
On February
12, 1871, the territorial legislature created
Maricopa County, the sixth in the state, by
dividing Yavapai County. Maricopa county gave up
portions in 1875 and 1881 to help form Pinal and
Gila counties, respectively. The first county
election in Maricopa County was held in 1871,
when Tom Barnum was elected the first sheriff of
Maricopa County.
The first
public school in Phoenix opened on September 5,
1872, in the courtroom of the county building.
By October 1873, a small adobe school building
was completed on Center Street (now Central
Avenue), a short distance north of where the San
Carlos Hotel now stands. Miss Nellie Shaver, a
newcomer from Wisconsin, was appointed as the
first female schoolteacher in Phoenix.
On April 10,
1874, President Grant issued a land patent for
the present site of Phoenix. The total cost of
the Phoenix Townsite of 320 acres (1.3 km2) was
$550, including all expenses for services.
By 1881,
Phoenix had outgrown its original townsite-commissioner
form of government. The 11th Territorial
Legislature passed the Phoenix Charter Bill,
incorporating Phoenix and providing for a
mayor-council government. The bill was signed by
Governor John C. Fremont on February 25, 1881.
Phoenix was incorporated with a population of
approximately 2,500, and on May 3, 1881, Phoenix
held its first city election, in which Judge
John T. Alsap defeated James D. Monihon, 127 to
107, to become the city's first Mayor.
Prosperity
and modernity
Phoenix Downtown (southern skyline) in 2004,
looking westThe coming of the railroad in the
1880s was the first of several important events
that revolutionized the economy of Phoenix.
Merchandise now flowed into the city by rail
instead of wagon. Phoenix became a trade center
with its products reaching eastern and western
markets. In recognition of the increased tempo
of economic life, the Phoenix Chamber of
Commerce was organized on November 4, 1888.
In early 1888,
the city offices were moved into the new City
Hall, built where the downtown bus terminal now
stands. This building also provided temporary
offices for the territorial government when it
moved to Phoenix from Prescott in 1889.
In 1902,
President Theodore Roosevelt signed the National
Reclamation Act making it possible to build dams
on western streams for reclamation purposes.
Valley of the Sun residents were quick to
supplement this federal action by organizing the
Salt River Valley Waters Users' Association on
February 4, 1903, to assure proper management of
the precious water supply. It functions to this
day as the major agency for controlled use of
irrigation water in the Valley.
On May 18,
1911, the Theodore Roosevelt Dam, then the
largest masonry dam in the world, began
operation. It created Roosevelt Lake, expanded
irrigation of land in the Valley for farming,
and increased the water supply for the growing
population.
On February
14, 1912, President William Howard Taft approved
Arizona's statehood, making Phoenix the state
capital.
In 1913,
Phoenix changed its form of government from
mayor-council to council-manager. Phoenix was
one of the first cities in the United States to
have this form of city government.
In 1924,
President Calvin Coolidge sold 13,000 acres (53
km˛) of South Mountain to the city of Phoenix
for $17,000. At its present size of 16,500 acres
(67 km2), South Mountain Park is the largest
metropolitan park in the world, and it
entertains 3 million visitors each year.
1940 marked
another turning point, as the war changed
Phoenix from a farming center to a distribution
center. Phoenix rapidly turned into an embryonic
industrial city with mass production of military
supplies. Luke Field, Williams Field and Falcon
Field, coupled with the giant ground-training
center at Hyder, west of Phoenix, brought
thousands of men into Phoenix.
In 1950,
105,000 people lived within the city limits and
thousands more lived in adjacent communities and
depended upon Phoenix for their livelihoods. The
city had 148 miles (238 km) of paved streets and
163 miles (262 km) of unpaved streets, a total
of 311 miles (501 km) of streets within the city
limits.
Phoenix has
been selected four times since 1950 as an
All-America City, rare among larger cities. The
hallmark of an All-America City is the extent to
which its private citizens get involved in the
workings of their government. Thousands of
citizens have served on various city committees,
boards and commissions to assure that major
decisions are in the best interest of the
people.
In 1993,
Phoenix was selected as the "Best Run City in
the World", also known as the Carl Bertelsmann
Prize, by the Bertelsmann Foundation of Germany,
a branch of Bertelsmann media company. It shared
the honor with Christchurch, New Zealand.
(Source:
Wikipedia, April, 2006 from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phoenix%2C_Arizona)
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