The history of Phoenix begins with Jack Swilling, a Confederate veteran of the Civil War who prospected in the nearby mining town of Wickenburg in the newly formed Arizona Territory. As he traveled through the Salt River Valley in 1867, he saw a potential for farming to supply Wickenburg with food. He also noted the eroded mounds of dirt that indicated previous canals dug by native peoples who had long since left the area. He formed the Swilling Irrigation and Canal Company that year, dug a large
canal that drew in river water, and erected several crop fields in a location that is now within the eastern portion of central Phoenix near its airport.
Other settlers soon began to arrive, appreciating the area’s fertile soil and lack of frost, and the farmhouse Swilling constructed became a frequently-visited location in the valley. Lord Darrell Duppa was one of the original settlers in Swilling’s party, and he suggested the name “Phoenix”, as it described a city born from the ruins of a former civilization. The Board of Supervisors in Yavapai County officially recognized the new town on May 4, 1868, and the first post office was established the following month with Swilling as the postmaster.
[Spain update: back to Madrid tonight, but have an early flight out tomorrow, so no SnakePit After Dark for me this evening! There’s actually a decent shot we might be getting up in time for the final action, but we’ll see…]
