Following
the establishment of Fort McDowell on the
eastern edge of central Arizona’s Salt River Valley in 1865,
enterprising farmers moved into the area. They dug out the irrigation
canals left by the prehistoric Hohokam people and built new ones to
carry Salt River water to their fields. Valley farms soon supplied
food to Arizona’s military posts and mining towns.
The first
settlers to move to the Tempe area, south of the Salt River and east
of Phoenix, were Hispanic families from southern Arizona. They helped
construct the first two irrigation canals, the Kirkland-McKinney
Ditch and the San Francisco Canal,
and started small farms to the east and west of a large butte (Tempe
Butte). In 1872, some of these Mexican settlers founded a town called
San Pablo east of Tempe Butte.
Another
settlement, known as Hayden's Ferry, developed west of Tempe Butte.
Charles Trumbull Hayden, owner of a mercantile
and freighting business in Tucson, homesteaded this location in 1870.
Within a few years, he had built a store and flourmill, warehouses
and blacksmith shops, and a ferry. This community became the trade
center for the south side of the Salt River Valley.
Both
settlements grew quickly and soon formed one community. The town was
named Tempe in 1879. "Lord" Darrell Duppa,
an Englishman who helped establish Phoenix, is credited with suggesting
the name. The sight of the butte and the wide river, and the nearby
expanse of green fields, reminded him of the Vale of Tempe
in ancient Greece.
The completion
of Roosevelt Dam in 1911 guaranteed enough water to meet the growing
needs of Valley farmers. On his way to dedicate the dam, former President
Theodore Roosevelt applauded the accomplishments of the people of
central Arizona and predicted that their towns would grow to become
prosperous cities. Less than a year later, Arizona became the 48th
state, and the Salt River Valley was well on its way to becoming the
new population center of the Southwest.
Tempe
was a small agricultural community through most of its history. After
World War II, Tempe began growing at a rapid rate as veterans and
others moved to the city. The last of the local farms quickly disappeared.
Through annexation, the city reached its current boundaries by 1974.
Tempe had grown into a modern city. The town's small teachers college
had also grown, and in 1958, the institution became Arizona
State University.
Tempe’s
commercial center along Mill Avenue declined during these years. Prompted
by Tempe’s centennial in 1971, Mill Avenue was revitalized into
an entertainment and shopping district that attracts people from throughout
the Valley. Today, Tempe is well known nationally as the home of the
Fiesta Bowl and the Arizona
Cardinals. It is the seventh largest city in Arizona,
with a strong modern economy based on commerce, tourism, and electronics
manufacturing.
Tempe
AZ History
Tempe AZ Living
Tempe AZ Schools
Tempe AZ Homes
