Incorporation
By 1881, Phoenix had outgrown its earlier townsite-commissioner form of government. The 11th Territorial Legislature passed “The Phoenix Charter Bill”, incorporating Phoenix and providing for a mayor-council government. The bill was signed by Governor John C. Fremont on February 25, 1881. Phoenix was unified with a population of approximately 2,500, and on May 3, 1881, Phoenix held its first city election. Judge John T. Alsap beat James D. Monihon, 127 to 107, to become the city’s first mayor. In early 1888, the city offices were moved into the new City Hall, at Washington and Central (later the site of the city bus terminal, until Central Station was built in the 1990s). This construction also provided temporary offices for the territorial government when it moved to Phoenix by the 15th Territorial Legislature in 1889.
The development the railroad in the 1880s was the first of several important events that revolutionized the economy of Phoenix. Merchandise now came into the city by rail instead of wagon. Phoenix became a trade center with its products reaching eastern and western markets. In response, the Phoenix Chamber of Commerce was organized on November 4, 1888. The Phoenix Street Railway electrified its.mule-drawn streetcar lines in the 1890s, with streetcar service continuing until a 1947 fire. From 1911 to 1926, an interurban line carried passengers and express packages between Glendale and downtown Phoenix.
Modern Phoenix (1900–present)
Central Avenue, Phoenix, Arizona, 1908
In 1902, President Theodore Roosevelt signed the National Reclamation Act approving dams to be built on western streams for restoration purposes. Residents were quick to enhance this by organizing the Salt River Valley Water Users’ Association on February 7, 1903, to manage the water and power supply. The agency still exists as part of the Salt River Project. The Roosevelt Dam east of the valley was completed in 1911. A number of new lakes were formed in the surrounding mountain ranges. In the Phoenix area, the river is now often arid due to large irrigation diversions, taking with it the large populations of migrating birds, beaver dams, and cottonwood trees that had lived on its waters.
On February 14, 1912, under President William Howard Taft, Phoenix became the capital of the newly formed state of Arizona. Phoenix was reasoned preferable as both territorial and state capital due to its more central location, compared to Tucson or Prescott. It was smaller than Tucson, but outgrew that city within the next few decades to become the state’s largest city.
Free Relocation Packages for Phoenix, AZ
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Hey nice article on the history of Phoenix, I didn’t know most of this and found it very interesting. Keep ‘em coming!