| The oldest occupants of the Valley of the Sun | | | | public school operated from 5 September 1872, the |
| (Valley of the Sun) were the Hohokam Indians, who | | | | building in the county before joining adobe |
| lived in the region from 300 BC. Their civilization | | | | construction from 1873. |
| flourished through the mastery of a sophisticated | | | | The arrival of the Railway in the 1880s opened up |
| irrigation system. Water taken in the Salt River was | | | | the region and enabled Phoenix to begin its growth. |
| brought to the fields through a network of canals. | | | | One of the signs of this new economic prosperity |
| There was many traces of their innovation in many | | | | was the creation in 1888 of a chamber of commerce. |
| sites in Arizona, including Pueblo Grande (700-1400). | | | | In early 1888, the new city hall was ready to host |
| Their demise in the fifteenth century remains a | | | | municipal governments. |
| mystery to historians. Several hypotheses have been | | | | At the beginning of the twentieth century Phoenix |
| advanced (drought, war, emigration) and some | | | | attracted asthma and tuberculosis patients who came |
| experts consider the Pima and Tohono O'odham as | | | | to enjoy the clean dry air. |
| their descendants. | | | | On 18 May 1911, the Theodore Roosevelt Dam into |
| In 1867, Jack Swilling of Wickenburg was the first to | | | | service: it was the largest dam in the world. It |
| realize the advantages of the site at the foot of the | | | | became the father behind a reservoir (Lake |
| White Tank Mountains. He built a canal from the Salt | | | | Roosevelt) and allowed to irrigate more land. |
| River to feed a colony of farmers. The area that | | | | On 14 February 1912, President William Howard Taft |
| would become the east side of Phoenix was named | | | | made Phoenix the capital of the State of Arizona. |
| in his honor Swilling's Mill. Darrell Duppa suggested the | | | | Population growth was accelerating since 1920 the |
| name "Phoenix", in conjunction with the revival of | | | | population reached 29 053 inhabitants and 48 118 a |
| irrigated agriculture in this region. The city was | | | | decade later. During the Second World War, Phoenix |
| officially recognized by the Board of Yavapai County, | | | | became a production center for weapons, with the |
| on 4 May 1868. It was then a small village of farmers | | | | installation of Luke Field, Williams Field and Falcon Field. |
| and miners. The post office opened June 15 in the | | | | The 1930s were marked by the installation of the |
| same year, under the direction of Jack Swilling. | | | | famous architect Frank Lloyd Wright, who built the |
| On 12 February 1871, the authorities decide to create | | | | Arizona Biltmore. In 1950, 105 000 people live in the |
| the Maricopa County (Maricopa County) and Tom | | | | city. From the 1960s, the city of Sun City attracts |
| Barnum was chosen as the first sheriff. The first | | | | retirees from all over the country. |