The history
of Phoenix, Arizona is epic in proportion. It spans the ancient culture
that developed the region - the Hohokam Indians - who lived in “The
Valley of the Sun” from the 300’s BC until about the 1400’s
when they mysteriously disappeared. And The Valley lay silent for
400 years.
It traverses
through the early settlers who discovered the ancients' sophisticated
network of irrigation canals; later to become an integral part of
the "rising from the ashes".
It's
storied past bursts with the rich textured-tales that so majestically
drapes the landscape of the great American West. Complete with gunslingers
and boot hills and dreams of mining riches...the coming of the railroad
in the 1880’s revolutionized the economy of Phoenix.
Jack Swilling...the early days.
It
was he...credited with recognizing the vast potential of the valley,
with it's rich soil, far removed from frost or snow...who
created the Swilling Irrigation Canal Company. Within
a couple of years, by 1868, a small colony had formed approximately
four miles east of the present city...and the area's agricultural
promise took hold.
Swilling's
Mill became the new name of the area. It was then changed to Helling
Mill, after which it became Mill City, and years later, East Phoenix.
Swilling, having been a confederate soldier, wanted to name the new
settlement Stonewall after Stonewall Jackson. Others suggested the
name Salina, but neither name suited the inhabitants.
It
was Darrell Duppa who suggested the name Phoenix, inasmuch as the
new town would spring from the ruins of a former civilization. That
is the accepted derivation of our name.
Phoenix
officially was recognized on May 4, 1868...and in 1881 it was incorporated,
a bustling city of 2500 people.
Phoenix
History
Phoenix Living
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