Following the establishment of Fort McDowell on the
eastern edge of central Arizona's Salt River Valley in
1865, enterprising farmers moved into the area. They dug
out the irrigation canals left by the prehistoric
Hohokam people and built new ones to carry Salt River
water to their fields. Valley farms soon supplied food
to Arizona's military posts and mining towns.
The
first settlers to move to the Tempe area, south of the
Salt River and east of Phoenix, were Hispanic families
from southern Arizona. They helped construct the first
two irrigation canals, the Kirkland-McKinney Ditch and
the San Francisco Canal, and started small farms to the
east and west of a large butte (Tempe Butte). In 1872,
some of these Mexican settlers founded a town called San
Pablo east of Tempe Butte.
Another settlement, known as Hayden's Ferry, developed
west of Tempe Butte. Charles Trumbull Hayden, owner of a
mercantile and freighting business in Tucson,
homesteaded this location in 1870. Within a few years,
he had built a store and flourmill, warehouses and
blacksmith shops, and a ferry. This community became the
trade center for the south side of the Salt River
Valley.
Both
settlements grew quickly and soon formed one community.
The town was named Tempe in 1879. "Lord" Darrell Duppa,
an Englishman who helped establish Phoenix, is credited
with suggesting the name. The sight of the butte and the
wide river, and the nearby expanse of green fields,
reminded him of the Vale of Tempe in ancient Greece.
As
more farmers came to settle in the Valley and started
raising alfalfa and grains for feeding livestock, the
Tempe Irrigating Canal Company provided all of necessary
water. With a network of canals that extended several
miles south of the river, irrigation water was carried
to more than 20,000 acres of prime farmland. Crops of
wheat, barley, and oats ensured a steady business for
the Hayden Mill. The milled flour was hauled to forts
and other settlements throughout the territory. By the
1890's, some farmers started growing new cash crops such
as dates and citrus fruits.
In
1885, the Arizona legislature selected Tempe as the site
for the Territorial Normal School, which trained
teachers for Arizona’s schools. Soon, other changes in
Tempe promoted the development of the small farming
community. The Maricopa and Phoenix Railroad, built in
1887, crossed the Salt River at Tempe, linking the town
to the nation's growing transportation system. The Tempe
Land and Improvement Company was formed to sell lots in
the booming town. Tempe became one of the most important
business and shipping centers for the surrounding
agricultural area.
The
completion of Roosevelt Dam in 1911 guaranteed enough
water to meet the growing needs of Valley farmers. On
his way to dedicate the dam, former President Theodore
Roosevelt applauded the accomplishments of the people of
central Arizona and predicted that their towns would
grow to become prosperous cities. Less than a year
later, Arizona became the 48th state, and the Salt River
Valley was well on its way to becoming the new
population center of the Southwest.
Tempe was a small agricultural community through
most of its history. After World War II, Tempe began
growing at a rapid rate as veterans and others moved to
the city. The last of the local farms quickly
disappeared. Through annexation, the city reached its
current boundaries by 1974. Tempe had grown into a
modern city. The town's small teachers college had also
grown, and in 1958, the institution became
Arizona State University.
Tempe's commercial center along Mill Avenue declined
during these years. Prompted by Tempe’s centennial in
1971, Mill Avenue was revitalized into an entertainment
and shopping district that attracts people from
throughout the Valley. Today, Tempe is well known
nationally as the home of the Fiesta Bowl and the
Arizona Cardinals. It is the seventh largest city in
Arizona, with a strong modern economy based on
commerce, tourism, and electronics manufacturing.