History of Phoenix

Early Phoenix (1900–Pre WWII)

In 1902, President Theodore Roosevelt signed the National Reclamation Act, allowing for dams to be built on western streams for reclamation 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. Several new lakes were formed in the surrounding mountain ranges.

On February 14, 1912, under President William Howard Taft, Phoenix became the capital of the newly formed state of Arizona. Phoenix was considered 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.

In 1913 Phoenix adopted a new form of government, from mayor-council to council-manager, making it one of the first cities in the United States with this form of city government.

WWII-1980

During World War II, Phoenix's economy shifted to that of a distribution center, rapidly turning into an embryonic industrial city with mass production of military supplies. Luke Field, Williams Field, and Falcon Field, coupled with the giant ground-training center at Hyder, west of Phoenix, brought thousands of new people into Phoenix.

On Thanksgiving