History of Phoenix AZ up to 1881 – Native American period and Founding

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“As a general rule, the most successful man in life is the man who has the best information
Benjamin Disraeli

 

Native American period

For more than 2,000 years, the Hohokam peoples occupied the land that would become Phoenix.[8] The Hohokam created roughly 135 miles (217 km) of irrigation canals, making the desert landarable. Paths of these canals would later become used for the modern Arizona CanalCentral Arizona Project Canal, and the Hayden-Rhodes Aqueduct. The Hohokam also carried out extensive trade with the nearby AnasaziMogollon and Sinagua, as well as with the more distant Mesoamerican civilizations. It is believed that a Hohokam witness of the supernova that occurred in 1006 CE created a representation of the event in the form of a petroglyph that can be found in the White Tank Mountain Regional Park west of Phoenix. This has been interpreted as the first known North American representation of the supernova.[9]

It is believed that between 1300 and 1450, periods of drought and severe floods led to the Hohokam civilization’s abandonment of the area.[8] Local Akimel O’odham settlements, thought to be the descendants of the formerly urbanized Hohokam, concentrated on the Gila River. Some family groups did continue to live near the Salt River, but no large villages existed. Yavapai also had settlements in the area. Later, Maricopa peoples fleeing enemy tribes, came from the lower Gila River near its confluence with the Colorado River, and settled alongside, as well as deer and Mexican wolves, often lived in the Salt River Valley when water supplies and temperatures allowed.

When the Mexican-American War ended in 1848, most of Mexico’s northern zone passed to United States control, and a portion of it was made the New Mexico Territory (including what is now Phoenix) shortly afterward. The Gadsden Purchase was completed in 1853. The land was contested ground during the American Civil War: both the Confederate Arizona Territory, organized by Southern sympathizers in 1861 with its capital in Tucson, and the United States Arizona Territory, formed by the United States Congress in 1863 with its capital at Fort Whipple (now Prescott), included the Salt River Valley within their borders. The valley was not militarily important, however, and did not witness conflict.

In 1863 the mining town of Wickenburg was the first to be established in what is now Maricopa County. At the time this county did not exist, as the land was within Yavapai County along with the other major town of Prescott.

The US Army created Fort McDowell on the Verde River in 1865 to quell Native American uprisings. The fort established a camp on the south side of the Salt River by 1866, which was the first non-native settlement in the valley after the decline of the Hohokam. In later years, other nearby settlements would form and merge to become the city of Tempe,[10] but this community was incorporated after Phoenix.

 

 

Founding

The history of Phoenix as a city begins with Jack Swilling, a Confederate veteran of the American Civil War (1861–1865), who came west to seek wealth in the 1850s, and worked primarily in Wickenburg. On an outing in 1867, he stopped to rest at the foot of the White Tank Mountains, observed the abandoned river valley, and considered its potential for farming, much like that already cultivated by the military further east, near Fort McDowell. The terrain and climate were optimal; only a regular source of water was necessary. The existence of the old Hohokam ruins, showing clear paths for canals, made Swilling imagine new possibilities. He had a series of canals built, which followed those of the ancient Native American system.

A small community formed that same year about 4 miles (6 km) east of the present city. It was first called Pumpkinville, due to the large pumpkins that flourished in fields along the canals. Later it was called Swilling’s Mill in his honor, though later renamed Helling Mill, Mill City, and finally, East Phoenix. Swilling, a former Confederate soldier, wanted to name the city “Stonewall”, after General Stonewall Jackson. Others suggested the name “Salina”. Neither name, however, was supported by the community. Finally, Lord Darrell Duppa suggested the name “Phoenix“, as it described a city born from the ruins of a former civilization.[11]

The Board of Supervisors in Yavapai County, which at the time encompassed Phoenix, officially recognized the new town on May 4, 1865, and formed an election precinct. The first post office was established on June 15, 1868, with Jack Swilling serving as the postmaster. With the number of residents growing (the 1870 U.S. census reported about a total Salt River Valley population of 240), a town site needed to be selected. On October 20, 1870, the residents held a meeting to decide where to locate it. A 320 acres (1.3 km2) plot of land was purchased in what is now the downtown business section.[12]

On February 12, 1871, the territorial legislature created Maricopa County, the sixth one formed, by dividing Yavapai County. The first election for county office was held in 1871, when Tom Barnum was elected the first sheriff. Barnum ran unopposed as the other two candidates, John A. Chenowth and Jim Favorite, had a shootout that ended in Favorite’s death and Chenowth withdrawing from the race.[13]

Several lots of land were sold in 1870 at an average price of $48. The first church opened in 1871, as did the first store. Public school had its first class on September 5, 1872, in the courtroom of the county building. By October 1873, a small school was completed on Center Street (now Central Avenue).[13] Land entry was recorded by the Florence Land Office on November 19, 1873, and a declaratory statement filed in the Prescott Land Office on February 15, 1872. President Ulysses S. Grantissued a land patent for the present site of Phoenix on April 10, 1874. The total value of the Phoenix Townsite was $550, with downtown lots selling for between $7 and $11 each. A short time later, a telegraph office, 16 saloons, four dance halls and two banks were opened.[14]

 

Phoenix (/ˈfnɪks/ fee-niksO’odhamS-ki:kigkYavapaiWathinka or WakateheWestern ApacheFiinigisNavajoHoozdohMojaveHachpa ‘Anya Nyava)[3] is the capital, and largest city, of theU.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populous city nationally, and is also the most populous state capital in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data.[4]

It is the anchor of the Phoenix metropolitan area (also known as the Valley of the Sun) and is the 12th largest metro area by population in the United States with about 4.2 million people in 2010.[5][6] In addition, Phoenix is the county seat of Maricopa County and is one of the largest cities in the United States by land area.[7]

Phoenix was incorporated as a city in 1881, after being founded in 1861 near the Salt River close to its confluence with the Gila River. The city has a notable and famous political culture and has been home to numerous influential American politicians, including Barry GoldwaterWilliam RehnquistJohn McCainCarl Hayden, and Sandra Day O’Connor. Residents of the city are known as Phoenicians.

Located in the northeastern reaches of the Sonoran Desert, Phoenix has a subtropical desert climate.

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_Phoenix,_Arizona_history

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phoenix,_Arizona

 

 

3

a little about me and my expertise – video

LAND SPECIALIST – LAND EXPERT – INVESTMENT BROKER – ARIZONA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PPs3kpKR4nY

 

 

Feel free to contact Walter regarding any of these stories, the current market, distressed commercial real estate opportunities and needs, your property or your Investment Needs for Comercial Investment Properties in Phoenix.

 

 

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Walter Unger CCIM, CCSS, CCLS

I am a successful Commercial Investment Real Estate Broker in Arizona now for 15 years and I worked with banks and their commercial REO properties for 3 years. I am also a commercial landspecialist in Phoenix and a Landspecialist in Arizona.

 

WHETHER YOU LEASE OR OWN

NOW IS THE TIME FOR YOU TO EXPAND, UPGRADE OR INVEST.

 

we are at on the a rise of the cycle in Commercial Real Estate.  so there is only one way and it’s called we are going up and now is the time for you to expand, upgrade or invest in Commercial Properties in Phoenix.  The prices on deals I may get you will not be around forever.

 

WAITING TO SELL YOUR LAND ? TIMES CHANGE / IT’S TIME

  We barely could give land away the last few years, but times are changing.  Even in those meager years, I sold more land across the state than most other brokers. Before the real estate crash I was a land specialist in Arizona with millions of dollars of transactions, but then I had to change and also sell other commercial investment properties, which was fun, but I am a Commercial Landspecialist in Arizonal, a Commercial Land Specialist in Phoenix and love to sell land, one acre to thousands of acres.

 

If you have any questions about Commercial Investment Properties in Phoenix or Commercial Investment Properties in Arizona,  I will gladly sit down with you and share my expertise and my professional opinion in Commercial Properties in Phoenix or Commercial Properties in Arizona with you.Obviously I am also in this to make money, but it could be a win-win situation for all of us.

 

Please reply by e-mail walterunger@ccim.net or call me 520-975-5207 (cell)  602-778-5110 (office direct).

 

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Thank You

Walter

 

Walter Unger CCIM

Associate Broker

Kasten Long Commercial

2821 E. Camelback Road, Suite 600

Phoenix, AZ 85016

Cell:      520-975-5207

Direct:   602-759-1202

Office :  602-445-4141

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