Important dates in Arizona's history![]() |
---|
|
The following is a timeline of the history of the area which today comprises the U.S. state of Arizona . Situated in the desert southwest, for millennia the area was home to a series of Pre-Columbian peoples. By 1 AD, the dominant groups in the area were the Hohokam, the Mogollon, and the Ancestral Puebloans (also known as the Anasazi). The Hohokam dominated the center of the area which is now Arizona, the Mogollon the southeast, and the Puebloans the north and northeast. As these cultures disappeared between 1000 and 1400 AD, other Indian groups settled in Arizona. These tribes included the Navajo, Apache, Southern Paiute, Hopi, Yavapai, Akimel O'odham, and the Tohono O'odham.
The first European presence in the state were the Spanish. In 1539 Marcos de Niza explored the area, followed by Francisco Vásquez de Coronado the following year. Spanish missionaries began to settle in the southern portion of the state, near present-day Tucson, around 1700, but did not move further north. With the construction of the Presidio San Augustin del Tucson, on August 20, 1775, Tucson became the first European city in what would become Arizona. In 1822, Arizona became part of the state of Sonora, Mexico, but most of current Arizona was transferred to the United States as a result of the Mexican–American War, with the rest transferring with the completion of the Gadsden Purchase in 1853. During the American Civil War, both sides laid claim to Arizona, although the North and South split the New Mexico/Arizona area differently: the South split the territory into north and south divisions, creating Confederate Arizona, while the northern section remained part of the United States as the New Mexico Territory; while the North in 1863, after driving Confederate forces from the Tucson area, created the Arizona Territory from the New Mexico Territory by splitting off the western section. Prescott became the territory's first capital, which would transfer to Tucson in 1867, then back to Prescott in 1877, before settling finally in Phoenix in 1889.
Arizona achieved statehood in 1912, becoming the 48th state, with Phoenix remaining the capital of the new state. In the 1900s, the state, particularly the Phoenix Metropolitan area, has seen tremendous population growth. Phoenix currently ranks as the 6th most populous city in the nation.
Maricopa County is in the south-central part of the U.S. state of Arizona. As of the 2020 census the population was 4,420,568, or about 62% of the state's total, making it the fourth-most populous county in the United States and the most populous county in Arizona, and making Arizona one of the nation's most centralized states. The county seat is Phoenix, the state capital and fifth-most populous city in the United States.
Chandler is a city in Maricopa and Pinal counties, Arizona, United States, and a suburb in the Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). It is bordered to the north and west by Tempe, to the north by Mesa, to the west by Phoenix, to the south by the Gila River Indian Community, and to the east by Gilbert. Most of the city is located in Maricopa County, while a portion of it in the south is in Pinal County. As of the 2020 census, the population of Chandler was 279,458, up from 236,123 at the 2010 census.
The Phoenix Metropolitan Area, also known as the Valley of the Sun, the Salt River Valley, Metro Phoenix, or The Valley, is the largest metropolitan statistical area in the Southwestern United States, with its largest principal city being the city of Phoenix. It includes much of central Arizona. The United States Office of Management and Budget designates the area as the Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), defining it as Maricopa and Pinal counties. It anchors the Arizona Sun Corridor megaregion along with the second-most populous metropolitan area in the state, the Tucson metropolitan area. The gross domestic product of the Phoenix Metropolitan Area was $255 billion in 2018, 16th-largest amongst metro areas in the United States.
John W. "Jack" Swilling was an early pioneer in the Arizona Territory. He is commonly credited as one of the original founders of the city of Phoenix, Arizona. Swilling also played an important role in the opening of the central Arizona highlands to white settlement. His discoveries resulted in a gold rush to the region, and this in turn led to the establishment of Arizona's first territorial capital at the mining town of Prescott.
The Diocese of Phoenix is a Roman Catholic ecclesiastical territory, or diocese, in western and central Arizona in the United States. It is a suffragan diocese of the ecclesiastical province of the Archdiocese of Santa Fe.
In the U.S. state of Arizona, Interstate 10 (I‑10), the major east–west Interstate Highway in the United States Sun Belt, runs east from California, enters Arizona near the town of Ehrenberg and continues through Phoenix and Tucson and exits at the border with New Mexico near San Simon. The highway also runs through the cities of Casa Grande, Eloy, and Marana. Segments of the highway are referred to as either the Papago Freeway, Inner Loop, or Maricopa Freeway within the Phoenix area and the Pearl Harbor Memorial Highway outside metro Phoenix.
State Route 347, also known as John Wayne Parkway, is a 28.69 miles (46.17 km) long, north–south state highway in central Arizona. The route begins at SR 84 and heads north. It passes through Maricopa, meeting SR 238. The route ends at an interchange with Interstate 10 (I-10) south of Chandler. It primarily serves as the major road to Maricopa; much of the road lies within the Gila River Indian Community, with another short stretch through the Ak-Chin Indian Community. The road was built in the late 1930s and established as a state highway in the 1990s. On average, between 4,000 and 35,000 vehicles use the roadway daily.
The transportation system of Arizona comprises car, rail, air, bus, and bicycle transport.
The metropolitan area of Phoenix in the U.S. state of Arizona contains one of the nation's largest and fastest-growing freeway systems, with over 1,405 lane miles (2,261 km) as of 2005.
Many arterial roads in the Phoenix metropolitan area have the same name in multiple cities or towns. Some roads change names or route numbers across town borders, resulting in occasional confusion. For example, the road known as Apache Boulevard in Tempe continues east as Main Street in neighboring Mesa and then as Apache Trail in Apache Junction. Although Broadway Road maintains the same name through Goodyear, Avondale, Phoenix, Tempe, Mesa, and Apache Junction, each town uses a different reference point for address numbers.
Lescher & Mahoney was an American architectural firm from Phoenix, Arizona.
The Canyon Athletic Association (CAA), previously known as the Arizona Charter Athletic Association, is an American non-profit regulatory organization for athletic competition among secondary schools located in Arizona. The CAA serves small non-traditional education institutions including charter schools, public schools, home school organizations, and parochial schools. As of 2014, the CAA membership consisted of approximately 125 High Schools and Junior High Schools.
The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Phoenix, Arizona, United States.
The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Mesa, Arizona, United States.
There is a current proposal to bring commuter rail service to the Phoenix metropolitan area.
Ida Redbird was a Native Amereican potter from the Gila River Indian Community of the Gila River Indian Reservation in Arizona. She was the first president of the Maricopa Pottery Maker's Association and was widely credited with the revival of ancient Maricopa pottery techniques and forms. Her polished black-on-redware pottery was highly prized with collectors. Texas photographer Ted Sayles shot a series documenting Redbird sculpting her pottery. The series toured museums throughout the Western United States
Vintage 2013 Population Estimates
{{cite book}}
: External link in |series=
(help)