page_title: History of Phoenix, Arizona
section_title: The founding of Phoenix
hierarchical_section_title: History of Phoenix, Arizona / The founding of Phoenix
caption_attribution_description: English: The Duppa-Montgomery Adobe House was built in around 1870 and is located at 116 W. Sherman St. Phoenix, Arizona. It is one of Phoenix's oldest houses. This was the homestead house of Phillip Darrell Duppa, an Englishman who called himself "Lord" Duppa and who is credited with naming "Phoenix" and "Tempe" and the founding of the town of New River. Duppa later sold the adobe house to John Britt Montgomery. Designated as a landmark with Historic Preservation-Landmark (HP-L) overlay zoning. See: Phoenix Times
context_page_description: The history of Phoenix, Arizona, goes back millennia, beginning with nomadic paleo-Indians who existed in the Americas in general, and the Salt River Valley in particular, about 7,000 BC until about 6,000 BC. Mammoths were the primary prey of hunters. As that prey moved eastward, they followed, vacating the area. Other nomadic tribes moved into the area, mostly from Mexico to the south and California to the west. Around approximately 1,000 BC, the nomadic began to be accompanied by two other types of cultures, commonly called the farmers and the villagers, prompted by the introduction of maize into their culture. Out of these archaic Indians, the Hohokam civilization arose. The Hohokam first settled the area around 1 AD, and in about 500 years, they had begun to establish the canal system which enabled agriculture to flourish in the area. They suddenly disappeared by 1450, for unknown reasons. By the time the first Europeans arrived at the beginning of the 16th century, the two main groups of native Indians who inhabited the area were the O'odham and Sobaipuri tribes.
context_section_description: In 1863 the mining community of Wickenburg was the first to be established in what is now Maricopa County, to the north-west of modern Phoenix.  At the time Maricopa County had not yet been incorporated: the land was within Yavapai County, which included the major town of Prescott to the north of Wickenburg.
  As the Civil War came to a close, settlers from the north and east began to encroach on the Valley of the Sun.  The US Army set up Fort McDowell on the Verde River in 1865 to quell Native American uprisings.  In order to create a supply of hay for their needs, the fort established a camp on the south side of the Salt River in 1866, which was the first non-native settlement in the valley. In later years, other nearby settlements would form and merge to become the city of Tempe, but this community was incorporated after Phoenix.
  The history of the city begins with Jack Swilling, a Confederate veteran who in November, 1867 on a visit to the Fort's camp was the first to appreciate the agricultural potential of the Salt River Valley.  He promoted the 1st irrigation system, which was in part inspired by the ruins of Hohokam canals.  Returning to Wickenburg, he raised funds from local gold miners and formed the Swilling Irrigating and Canal Company, whose intent was to build irrigation canals and develop the Salt River Valley for farming.  The next month, December, Swilling led a group of 17 miners back to the valley, where they began the process of building the canals which would revitalize the area.  There is no concrete evidence on who came up with the name for the new community, but anecdotal stories give credit to Darrell Duppa, who suggested they name it Phoenix. Swilling had suggested "Stonewall", after Stonewall Jackson, and another proposed name was Salina, which had been an early name for the Salt River.  However, in light of the rebirth of a town after the collapse of the Hohokam civilization, the name Phoenix predominated.  A letter to a newspaper in Prescott, shows that this name was already in use by January 1868.
  The Board of Supervisors in Yavapai County, which at the time encompassed Phoenix, officially recognized the new town on May 4, 1868, and formed an election precinct.  The first post office was established on June 15, 1868, located in Swilling's homestead, with Swilling serving as the postmaster.  With the number of residents growing (the 1870 U.S. census reported 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.  The decision was hotly contested between two sites: the original settlement around Swilling's farm, and a site about a mile to the west, which was supported by the newly founded "Salt River Valley Town Association" (SRVTA).  Due to economic considerations benefitting the members of SRVTA, the more westerly townsite was selected, and a 320 acres (1.3 km²) plot of land was purchased in what is now the downtown business section.
  On February 14, 1871, following a vote by the territorial legislature, Governor Anson P.K. Safford issued a proclamation creating Maricopa County by dividing Yavapai County. In that same proclamation, he named Phoenix the county seat, but that nomination was subject to the approval of the voters.  An election was held in May, 1871, at which Phoenix' selection as the county seat was ratified.  Quite a few members of SRVTA were also elected to county positions:  among them were John Alsap (Probate Judge), William Hancock (Surveyor) and Tom Barnum was elected the first sheriff. Barnum ran unopposed as the other two candidates had a shootout that left one dead and the other withdrawing from the race.  The town's first government consisted of three commissioners.
  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. The first public school class was held on September 5, 1872, in the courtroom of the county building. By October 1873, a small school was completed on Center Street (now Central Avenu
caption: The Phillip Darrell Duppa adobe homestead house built around 1870 and located at 116 W. Sherman St. is one of Phoenix's oldest houses. This was the homestead house of "Lord" Darrell Duppa, an Englishman who is credited with naming the towns of "Phoenix" and "Tempe" and who is the founding of the town of New River, Arizona.
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