Arizona's History Is Driven By People.
People and Water. Water and People. That’s what drives Arizona through the 20th Century.
Late in the 19th Century settlers in Arizona started building canals to take water from the local rivers and put it on the ground. Turns out you can grow most anything in Arizona if you can get water to it.
Church of the Rock Sedona
In 1900 the first automobile arrived in Phoenix. Ten years later a local sheriff was involved in the first car chase in the state. The sheriff, Carl Hayden, would go on to be a 7 term United States Senator.
Arizona becomes the 48th State of the United States on April 12, 1912. It is the last state admitted to the union until Alaska and Hawaii enter in 1959 and 1960. Women were granted the vote making it one of the first states in that category. In 1913 35% of the votes cast in Arizona were cast by women.
Former President Theodore Roosevelt dedicates Theodore Roosevelt Dam, the first dam built under the Federal Reclamation Act. It is still generating power and provides the reason for Roosevelt lake, a flood control and recreation fixture in central Arizona.
Palm Canyon
Dr. AJ Chandler opened the Hotel San Marcos in the soon to be town of Chandler in 1913. It was the first golf resort in the US and was not only completely electrified but also boasted a telephone in every room. Originally designed as a getaway for the rich and famous, it’s still in business.
Starr Daley, a murder/rape suspect is chased through Mesa and Tempe in 1917. He is lynched when caught at the foot of the Superstition Mountains.
Arthur Zimmerman, the German Foreign Council, admits that the Telegram that is intercepted by British Intelligence in March or 1917 is genuine. It promises Mexico the states of Arizona, New Mexico and Texas if Mexico supports Germany should the US enter WWI. It’s a large part of the reason why the US entered the war in April, 1917.
Standing On The Corner Park
Architect Mary Colter designed the buildings at Phantom Ranch at the bottom of the Grand Canyon in 1922. It’s an impressive part of the Canyon experience today.
Cesar Chavez is born in Yuma in 1927. He’d go on to become one of the most well known labor leaders in the world. His Union stood up to the growers in Arizona and gave the predominantly Hispanic fruit and vegetable workers rights to fair wages. It was a violent and angry movement.
The Detroit Tigers became the first Major League team to hold Spring Training in Arizona in 1929. Today more than half the teams of MLB hold Spring Training here.
Painted Desert National Park
Clyde Tombaugh discovers the sometime planet Pluto using the Lowell Observatory in 1930. The observatory was originally built in 1894. The observatory is still in use today.
Hoover Dam is dedicated in 1935. One of the most famous dams in America it is still considered a marvel and attracts lots of visitors.
In 1935 Frank Lloyd Wright completes his desert masterpiece Taliesin West in Phoenix. Today it is a museum and tribute to the architect.
Mittens-Monument Valley
The USS Arizona is probably the first ship hit in the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor December 7, 1941. The battleship sinks immediately with great loss of life. The war in the Pacific would continue until August, 1945. Thousands of Japanese-Americans are interred in ‘detention centers’ around the state.
The largest POW escape in WWII occurs in Phoenix at the Papago Park camp in 1944 when German prisoners escape.
A Flying Saucer crash is reported at the foot of Superstition Mountain in 1948.
Ronald and Nancy Reagan honeymooned at the Biltmore Hotel in Phoenix in 1952.
Jerome
McDonald’s first franchise store opens in Phoenix in 1953. In 1975 the first McDonald’s drive through restaurant opens in Sierra Vista.
Oklahoma (the movie) with a huge cast of stars is filmed in Arizona in 1955.
Del Webb, the legendary developer debuts Sun City in 1960. It is arguably the most widely known development in America with a population today near 40,000, predominantly retirees, with far more women than men.
Barry Goldwater a Republican from a prominent Arizona family is the nominee for President in 1964. He is soundly thrashed at the polls by Lyndon Johnson.
Gary Tenen and Randall Tufts are out in backcountry SE Arizona when they discover the Karchner Caverns in 1974. The Caverns are huge with over 2.4 miles (3.9km) of passageways. It’s now a State Park and is a very popular tourist destination.
Vermillion Cliffs Grand Canyon National Park
Mo Udall, son of a famous family and democratic activist runs for president in 1976 and loses keeping Arizona’s losing presidential candidates perfect.
Don Bolles, a reporter for the Arizona Republic is killed in 1976 when his car explodes in a Phoenix parking lot. He was involved in a corruption and influence investigation that involved politicians and the mafia.
Ernesto Miranda of the ‘Miranda Rule’ fame is murdered in Central Phoenix in 1976. His name still lives on after the Supreme Court of the US overturns a conviction because the arresting officers failed to inform him of his rights. It is still known as the Miranda rule and is part of the American criminal justice system.
Arizona native Sandra Day O’Conner becomes the first female member of the Supreme Court in 1981.
Glenn Canyon Dam
Arizona becomes the first state west of the Mississippi to approve a lottery in 1981.
In 1983 the Arizona National Guard breaks a strike at the Morenci-Clifton Copper mine.
Under intense pressure from the Federal Government the State votes to increase the legal drinking age from 19 to 21 in 1985.
Just after the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in Russia in 1986 the Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Plant opens in Arizona as the largest Nuclear facility in the US. It is still generating power today with no plans for retirement of the plant.
Governor Evan Mecham is impeached by the Arizona Legislature in 1988.
Former Governor Bruce Babbitt makes an unsuccessful run at the Presidency in 1988.
I hope you are enjoying this sometimes not so serious look at the people and times of Arizona. There will be much more political fun to come, I can promise you.
While the words and concepts in this article are all mine, I referred to these two sources to get some sort of accuracy in my account.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_Arizona
https://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/news/the-life-of-a-state-a-timeline-of-arizonas-history-6452192
All photos in this article are courtesy of the author.
Authored by: @bigtom13
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Thank you!
And I would say @bronco: And The Arizona Cardinals have been around since 1898. This makes them the longest running continuous franchise in the NFL!
I loved your review of Arizona's history and important facts, @ bigtom13. I like these types of publications because they are what I call general culture. When I finish reading this post I'm sure there are many people who have more knowledge of Arizona, and that's a good thing. I didn't know almost all the information you offer us here and I already know, for example, about the "Miranda Rule", about the first McDonald's franchise store and that if there is an Arizona candidate for president, he will surely lose. Hahahaha. I once saw on a television show that in Arizona there are more than 20 American Indian tribes and that there is a very high number of rattlesnake species.
I really congratulate you on your work. I wish there were more of this kind of post in steemit. We would know more! Thanks always to @adsactly for sharing quality work. Hugs
Thank you Nancy. The Cardinals ARE the longest running franchise, and they have been in the Bidwell family since 1929 (I think) which is also the longest.
Arizona has a larger fraction of indigenous people than any other state, and more land is in Reservations than any other state, also. I don't think there is any correlation between the number of species of rattlesnakes and the number of failed Presidential candidates, but that possibility does exist.
Jajajajajaja;)
Unfortunately nowadays Arizona, faces significant challenges in water supply. Because the state has been going through a persistent drought for several years, and Arizona residents consume about 113,000 cubic meters of water each year more than natural resources can fill. It's the equivalent of more than 35 Olympic-sized pools filled with water.
Since then, many cities in Arizona have some water use regulations. For example, they must pay a surcharge when they consume more than a certain amount of water per person. Also residents are allowed to water their lawn only on certain days of the week, depending on their mailing address.
Water is the critical mass for Arizona in the future. The next river compact is going to be a bare knuckle fight. California, Arizona, Colorado, Utah all rely on the tributaries and the Colorado. 40 million people get their drinking water from the river and way more than that rely on the produce grown in the desert. It's a real mess.
Arizona people and water indeed. Maybe we should rename them with the fishery Arizona and their dramatic politics. Hahaha.
@bigtom13, Great write up . It's obvious I wouldn't have the required time and space to read and know more about the beautiful nature of Arizona but I'm really impressed from the past few posts of yours. I'm really learning alot from your articles.
Spoiler Alert: We aren't done with the shady politicians or politics. The next installment will have plenty!
Putting water on the ground in the 20th Century fueled much of Arizona's explosive growth. Finding ways to make it go around will be the primary mission going forward.
Knowing more about Arizona in the hand of @ bigtom13. Many interesting data, this publication is very useful because it allows us, through this historical chronology, to have a broad vision of the development of this state and its progress as a society. The installation in Arizona of the largest nuclear power plant in the United States that still generates energy is an aspect that leaves many questions. Thank you for sharing this information, @bigtom13.
The Palo Verde plant is a different design than most reactors in the US. It is just churning out gobs of power day in and day out with no repercussions so far. There will be some pile waste at some point in the future, but hopefully there will be an answer for it when it happens.
Here in Africa not a lot of us know much about Arizona, but i want to categorically state that with this i have read up here, i can boast to know something about Arizona. In fact this should be termed a history class, this is the second episode i am enjoyed reading about it the other day and here i am today getting to know about its political and geographical structures. Please continue to provide me with the needed knowledge about Arizona and its people, maybe someday if i have an opportunity to choose where to go on vacation i might be considerate enough to choose Arizona.
Wonderful history.
Thank you! It would be a deep honor to have you visit Arizona. There really is a lot to see. There will be at least one more post in this series, to get us up to today.
@adsactly WOW ! amazing history of Arizona. Thanks for sharing.
You are welcome. It is very much my pleasure.
This is really good educational post..
I think,,we always learn from history ..
Every nation have a own history..All the nation learn from their history..
Without history a nation can't go long learn..
So,,Many many thanks sharing this valuable post..
👌👌👌
You are welcome. I enjoy sharing our history.
I think history is always inpirative and educational..
This the Arizona history.. Excellent writing Dear@adsactly...
Best of luck..
Thank you.
Great. Actually I am not an American or I was not born in america but I guess I can learn a lot from this post. It deals with a lot of history one can learn from it. Great post
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I'm glad that you can get value from this post without being an American. That's certainly what I was aiming for.