Phoenix (city)

HISTORY

The Hohokam people lived in the land that would become Phoenix for around 2,000 years.

The Hohokam created a complex system of about 135 miles (217 km) of irrigation canals, which enabled their agrarian society to flourish in the desert.

The Hohokam people disappeared between AD 1300 and AD 1450; it is believed that periods of drought and severe floods led to the civilization's abandonment of the area.

Map of Hohokam lands ca. 1350. By Diego Castro Wikipedia Commons

In 1867, Jack Swilling of Wickenburg, Arizona came to the area. He saw a potential for farming, and formed a small community that same year about four miles (six km) east of the present city.

The only problems he saw were a lack of rain and good irrigation. Swilling corrected the problem by having a series of canals built.

Swilling was a Confederate soldier during the Civil War. He wanted to name the city "Stonewall," after General Stonewall Jackson.

It was Englishman Lord Darrell Duppa, one of the original settlers in Swilling's party, who suggested the name "Phoenix". He saw the prehistoric ruins of the native Hohokam people and predicted that another civilization would rise from them, like the mythological fire bird which was born again from its own ash after it died.

The Phillip Darrell Duppa adobe house was built in 1870 and is the oldest known house in Phoenix.

The Phillip Darrell Duppa adobe house. By Marine 69-71 at en.wikipedia,

Phoenix became a city on February 25, 1881. At that time it had a population of about 2,500 people.

Phoenix was Frank Lloyd Wright's home and architectural canvas from the late 1920s until his death in 1959. Projects of his in Phoenix include his winter home, Taliesin West, the main campus for The Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture, the David and Gladys Wright House (built for Wright’s son and his wife) and Gammage Auditorium in Tempe (the last public building he designed).

Gammage Auditorium Wikipedia Commons

On March 13, 1997 The Phoenix lights were seen by thousands of Phoenix-area residents, including the state’s governor. It is generally described as a UFO sighting.

In 2008, Phoenix reported itself to be the kidnapping capitol of the US, with 358 ransom or border-related kidnappings, almost one every single day. They received millions in federal funds. It was not true and Phoenix police chief Jack Harris was removed from his position as a result of the kidnapping statistic controversy.

FUN PHOENIX FACTS

The city lies along the Salt River. The riverbed is normally dry or just a trickle due to large irrigation usage, but the river is full after infrequent rainstorms or when more water is released from upstream dams.

At over 16,000 acres, Phoenix’s South Mountain Park is one of the nation’s largest city parks. It is nearly 20 times larger than Central Park in New York City.

With the exception of Barack Obama, every American president since Herbert Hoover was in office has slept in the Arizona Biltmore Hotel in Phoenix.

Phoenix has more days per year where the temperature exceeds 100°F than any other major U.S. city.

The greatest snowfall recorded in Phoenix measured 1 inch. It happened twice in 1933, and 1937.

Phoenix is the capital city of Arizona.

Phoenix had about 1,475,834 people in 2005. It was the sixth largest city in the United States in the 2000 census.

Northern skyline, downtown Phoenix, Sunnyslope Mountain clearly visible in background

Phoenix  is the largest capital city in the United States.

People who live in Phoenix are known as Phoenicians.

Source Mental Floss