Timeline of Arizona


The following is a timeline of the history of the area which today comprises the U.S. state of Arizona. Situated in the desert southwest, for millennia the area was home to a series of Pre-Columbian peoples. By 1 AD, the dominant groups in the area were the Hohokam, the Mogollon, and the Ancestral Puebloans. The Hohokam dominated the center of the area which is now Arizona, the Mogollon the southeast, and the Puebloans the north and northeast. As these cultures disappeared between 1000 and 1400 AD, other Indian groups settled in Arizona. These tribes included the Navajo, Apache, Southern Paiute, Hopi, Yavapai, Akimel O'odham, and the Tohono O'odham.
The first European presence in the state were the Spanish. In 1539 Marcos de Niza explored the area, followed by Francisco Vásquez de Coronado the following year. Spanish missionaries began to settle in the southern portion of the state, near present-day Tucson, around 1700, but did not move further north. With the construction of the Presidio San Augustin del Tucson, on August 20, 1775, Tucson became the first European city in what would become Arizona. In 1822, Arizona became part of the state of Sonora, Mexico, but most of current Arizona was transferred to the United States as a result of the Mexican–American War, with the rest transferring with the completion of the Gadsden Purchase in 1853. During the American Civil War, both sides laid claim to Arizona, although the North and South split the New Mexico/Arizona area differently: the South split the territory into north and south divisions, creating Confederate Arizona, while the northern section remained part of the United States as the New Mexico Territory; while the North in 1863, after driving Confederate forces from the Tucson area, created the Arizona Territory from the New Mexico Territory by splitting off the western section. Prescott became the territory's first capital, which would transfer to Tucson in 1867, then back to Prescott in 1877, before settling finally in Phoenix in 1889.
Arizona achieved statehood in 1912, becoming the 48th state, with Phoenix remaining the capital of the new state. In the 1900s, the state, particularly the Phoenix Metropolitan area, has seen tremendous population growth. Phoenix currently ranks as the 6th most populous city in the nation.

Pre-Columbian and Spanish eras

Pre-Columbian

  • ca. 9,000 BC – Paleo-Indians arrive in the southwest, including Arizona, known as the Clovis culture, they were hunter-gatherers.
  • ca. 4,500 BC – Maize is introduced into the southwest United States, including Arizona.
  • ca. 1,500 BC – Pre-Columbian Indians begin developing irrigation systems.
  • 1,250 BC – Las Capas, slightly north of present-day Tucson, settled by pre-Columbian peoples, centered on an irrigation system.
  • 600 BC–550 AD – Ancestral Puebloans begin to settle on the Four Corners area.
  • 1–300 AD – Hohokam establish several villages along the Gila River.
  • 200 AD – The Mogollon culture begins to appear in the southeast area of Arizona.
  • 300 AD – Ceramics appear in the Hohokam culture.
  • ca. 450 AD – Pueblo Grande settled.
  • 600–1300 AD – Hohokam build large network or irrigation canals throughout the area.
  • 875 AD – Patayan peoples appear along the Colorado River.
  • 899 AD – Major floods along Salt River disrupt Hohokam irrigation systems.
  • 1000 AD – The Kayenta tradition of the Ancestral Puebloans develops in northern Arizona.
  • 1100 AD – The Hopi found the village of Oraibi, the oldest continuously inhabited settlement in North America.
  • 1276–99 AD – Severe drought hits the Colorado Plateau.
  • 1276–99 AD – Grasshopper Pueblo founded by the Mogollon and Ancestral Puebloans.
  • 1300 AD – Ancestral Puebloans abandon their communities in north Arizona.
  • 1300 AD – Hohokam have largest population in the southwest.
  • 1300 AD – Awatovi founded by the Hopi.
  • 1300 AD – The Yavapai, descended from the Patayan, begin settling in Arizona near the southern extent of the Colorado Plateau.
  • 1370s AD – Drought hits the Hopi areas.
  • 1300–1450 AD – Periods of drought alternate with flooding in the Salt River area.
  • 1400 AD – The Athabaskan ancestors of the Navajo enter Arizona.
  • 1430s AD – Drought hits the Hopi areas.
  • 1440s AD – Drought hits the Hopi areas.
  • ca. 1450 AD – Pueblo Grande abandoned due to drought.
  • 1455–65 AD – Drought hits the Hopi areas.

Arrival of the Spanish

  • 1539 – Marcos de Niza, a Franciscan missionary, leads an expedition which passes through eastern Arizona.
  • 1540–42 – Francisco Vázquez de Coronado leads an expedition, part of which explores Arizona.
  • 1583 – Antonio de Espejo's explores eastern Arizona, discovers mines near present-day Jerome.
  • 1598 – Juan de Ornate leads an expedition into Arizona, explores the Verde Valley.
  • 1687 – Jesuit priest Eusebio Kino establishes missions among the Tohono O'odham people along the Santa Cruz River.
  • 1691 – Kino establishes the Mission Los Santos Ángeles de Guevavi.
  • 1694 – Kino explores Arizona, discovers the ruins of Casa Grande.
  • 1732 – Mission San Xavier del Bac founded by Jesuits near present-day Tucson.
  • 1736 – Silver discovered on the ranch of the Basque settler,, near the Guevavi mission. The name of Urrea's ranch was Arizona, meaning "the good oak tree".
  • 1751 – The O'odham people rebel against the Spanish, but the rebellion is put down.
  • 1752 – In response to the rebellion, the Spanish construct a presidio at Tubac, the first permanent European settlement in Arizona.
  • 1757 – Tumacácori Mission established.
  • 1768 – Arizona becomes part of the Provincia de las Californias, under Spanish rule.
  • 1775 – Southern Arizona explored by Juan Bautista de Anza while leading an expedition from Mexico to San Francisco.
  • 1776 – Presidio San Augustin del Tucson established, when the presidio of Tubac was relocated.
  • 1779 – December 6: First Battle of Tucson.
  • 1781 – Yuma Indians massacre Spanish settlers and missionaries.
  • 1782
  • * May 1: Second Battle of Tucson.
  • * December 25: Third Battle of Tucson (1782).
  • 1784 – March 21: Fourth Battle of Tucson, Sonora, New Spain.
  • 1789 – One of the first Spanish land grants is bestowed to Toribio de Otero, a 63-acre ranch which remained in the Otero family until 1941.
  • 1804 – The Spanish province of Las Californias is split, and Arizona becomes part of the new province of Alta California.
  • 1821 – Mexico achieves independence from Spain.
  • 1824 – The Alta California Territory was formed, which included Arizona, under the Mexican Constitution of 1824.
  • 1825 – The first people from the fledgling United States enter Arizona, the trapper Sylvester Pattie and his son James; trapping along the San Francisco, Gila, and San Pedro rivers.
  • 1846
  • * December 16: Capture of Tucson, Sonora, Mexico, by United States forces.
  • * Kit Carson leads an exploration which passes through Arizona on their way from Santa Fe to California.
  • * Lieutenant Colonel Phillip Cooke led a group of Mormon settlers, known as the "Mormon Battalion" across Arizona on their way to San Diego.
  • 1847 – Tucson occupied by "Mormon Battalion."

U.S. possession and territory

1840s

1850s

1860s

1870s

  • 1870
  • * October 20: Town site selected in what is currently downtown Phoenix.
  • * Phoenix is laid out, original town site consists of 320 acres, or 0.5 square miles.
  • * Population of the Salt River Valley reaches 240, the Arizona Territory has 9,658 people.
  • * 1700 acres under cultivation in the Salt River Valley.
  • * Maricopa Canal completed.
  • * Arizona Citizen newspaper begins publication in Tucson.
  • * J.S. Mansfield news depot opens in Tucson.
  • 1871
  • * February 12: Maricopa County is broken out of Yavapai County, Phoenix becomes the county seat.
  • * July 4: First wheat ground in Salt River Valley at Birchard's Mill.
  • * First permanent building in Phoenix, the Hancock residence, is constructed at Washington and First Streets.
  • * The second building in Phoenix, a brewery, is constructed.
  • * The first store and the first church open in Phoenix.
  • * The Tempe Irrigating Canal Co. is created.
  • * Tempe founded by Charles T. Hayden.
  • * Population of Phoenix reaches 500.
  • 1872
  • * September 5: Phoenix public school in session.
  • * December 19: Fort Grant is established at the foot of Mount Graham.
  • * Adobe schoolhouse constructed in Phoenix.
  • * Phoenix's first wedding, between George Buck and Matilda Murray.
  • * Phoenix's first Chinese settlers arrive.
  • * The first bookstore and newsstand in Phoenix is opened by Edward Irvine.
  • * Public School department in Tucson is organized.
  • * Population of Tucson is 3,500.
  • 1873
  • * Hellings Mill in the Phoenix area expands to include a hog-slaughterhouse.
  • * San Diego-Tucson telegraph begins operating.
  • * Fort Lowell built near Tucson.
  • 1874
  • * Hayden's mill opens in the Phoenix/Tempe area. It will remain in operation for more than 100 years.
  • * Phoenix's formal patent for the town site is formally granted.
  • * Salt River floods.
  • 1875 – Salt River floods.
  • 1876
  • * July 1: Territorial Prison built in Yuma. First prison in Arizona.
  • * Empire Ranch is founded in southeastern Pima County.
  • * Salero founded as a mining camp. Currently a ghost town, one of the best preserved in Arizona.
  • 1877
  • * Tucson incorporated.
  • * Maricopa Library Association organized.
  • * Lehi is founded by Mormon settlers.
  • * Territorial capital returned to Prescott, from Tucson.
  • * Copper deposits discovered in Bisbee and Jerome.
  • 1878
  • * Salt River Herald, Phoenix' first newspaper, begins publication.
  • * The first bank in Phoenix, a branch of the Bank of Arizona, opens.
  • * Population of Phoenix reaches 1500.
  • * Brick factory opens in Phoenix.
  • * Grand Canal completed.
  • * Mesa is founded.
  • * El Fronterizo newspaper begins publication.
  • 1879
  • * Presbyterian church established in Phoenix.
  • * Salt River Indian Reservation is formed.
  • * The Southern Pacific railroad reaches Maricopa.
  • * Arizona Daily Star newspaper begins publication in Tucson.
  • * Presbyterian Church built in Tucson.
  • * Town of Terminus is founded as a supply stop for the construction of the Southern Pacific Railroad.
  • * Colossal Cave is discovered southeast of Tucson.

1880s

  • 1880
  • * Arizona Gazette newspaper begins publication.
  • * Methodist church established in Phoenix.
  • * First legal hanging in Maricopa County.
  • * Southern Pacific Railroad begins operating in Tucson.
  • * Tucson Library Association organized.
  • * St. Mary's Hospital opens near Tucson.
  • * Terminus is renamed Casa Grande. Population by end of year was 33.
  • * Population of Phoenix reaches 1,800; population of Tucson reaches 7,007.
  • * Bien/McNatt House is built in Casa Grande.
  • * Harshaw founded as a mining town. Currently a ghost town.
  • 1881
  • * February 25: Phoenix officially incorporated when Governor John C. Frémont signs "The Phoenix Charter Bill", and instituting a mayor-council form of government.
  • * La Guardia, Phoenix's first Spanish language newspaper, begins publication.
  • * May 3: John T. Alsap defeated James D. Monihon, 127 to 107, to become the Phoenix's first mayor.
  • * May 9: City Council begins meeting.
  • * June 24: Catholic church in Phoenix dedicated.
  • * Phoenix Rangers organized in response to hostile Apache activity in Tonto Basin.
  • * Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe railroad begins operating in Tucson.
  • * Methodist Church built in Tucson.
  • * AT&SF's subsidiary, the Atlantic & Pacific Railroad constructs line from Albuquerque to California. The line passes through Flagstaff, and many towns in northern Arizona take their names from men working on the line: Kingman, Holbrook, Drake and Winslow.
  • 1882
  • * March 20: Wyatt Earp kills Frank Stilwell in Tucson.
  • * Kingman founded.
  • * The Kingman Daily Miner begins publishing. As of 2015, it is still in publication.
  • * Robles Ranch established. Will become Three Points.
  • 1883
  • * Cotton cultivation is brought to the Salt River Valley.
  • * Two smallpox outbreaks in Phoenix. City creates the position of Health Officer.
  • * Mesa City incorporates.
  • * Tucson chartered. Townsite is bounded by Speedway Boulevard on the north, 22nd Street on the south, 1st Avenue on the east, & on the west by Main Avenue from north of 18th Street, & 10th Avenue from south of 18th Street.
  • * First church, a Methodist congregation, established in Flagstaff.
  • 1884
  • * Arizona Industrial Exposition begins.
  • * Valley Bank founded by William Christy.
  • * The Women's Christian Temperance Union opens a Phoenix branch.
  • 1885
  • * Arizona Canal completed.
  • * Phoenix broken up into four wards, although city officials remain citywide offices.
  • * Destructive fire destroys major portions of Phoenix.
  • * Arizona Insane Asylum is awarded to Phoenix, while the state university is awarded to Tucson.
  • 1886
  • * A second major fire in Phoenix destroys several buildings and results in approximately $100,000 in damage.
  • * Phoenix Fire Department established, when bond issue passes establishing 2 fire companies.
  • * First private gas lighting company established in Phoenix.
  • * First telephone company opens in Phoenix.
  • * Phoenix Opera House is completed.
  • * Arizona Insane asylum's construction is completed.
  • * Casa Grande suffers from a devastating fire.
  • * Judge William T. Day House is built in Casa Grande.
  • * Fire destroys a major portion of Flagstaff on Valentine's Day.
  • 1887
  • * Maricopa-Phoenix railway and horse-drawn Street Railway begin operating.
  • * Public water system created in Phoenix.
  • * Public Health Department is established in Phoenix.
  • * Mule-drawn streetcar system established in Phoenix.
  • * Salt River Valley News begins weekly publication.
  • * Philanthropist Mary Tileston Hemenway sponsored an archeological expedition led by Frank Hamilton Cushing which explored the Casa Grande ruins.
  • * McMillan Building built in Flagstaff.
  • 1888
  • * Electric power company created in Phoenix.
  • * New city hall opens in Phoenix.
  • * November 4 – Phoenix Chamber of Commerce established.
  • * Peoria is founded.
  • * For the second time in 3 years, Flagstaff suffers a major fire.
  • * Babbitt Brothers building constructed in Flagstaff.
  • 1889
  • * Prescott incorporated.
  • * Capital of Arizona Territory relocated to Phoenix from Prescott.
  • * Citrus cultivation is begun in the Salt River Valley by the Arizona Improvement Company.
  • * The Atlantic & Pacific Railroad constructs a freight depot in Flagstaff.

1890s

  • 1890
  • * Arizona Republican newspaper begins publication.
  • * Population of Phoenix reaches 3,152; Casa Grande's population was 256.
  • * Walnut Grove dam bursts, 50 people killed.
  • * Ladies Benevolent Society formed in Phoenix.
  • * Shonessy House in Casa Grande is built.
  • * Dr. Alexander Chandler purchases 80 acres southeast of Phoenix, and establishes a ranch and trading post.
  • 1891
  • * Phoenix Indian School opens.
  • * Largest flood in the history of the Salt River Valley occurs.
  • * Telephones come to Phoenix.
  • * A territorial convention is held in Phoenix. The idea of becoming a state is discussed, but is voted down.
  • * University of Arizona opens per Morrill Act; Old Main, University of Arizona built.
  • *U.S. President Benjamin Harrison signs An act to repeal timber-culture laws, and for other purposes, also known as the Forest Reserve Act of 1891, giving the President of the United States the authority to create protected national forests on federal lands.
  • 1892
  • * June 22: Casa Grande Reservation is created by President Benjamin Harrison. The first prehistoric and cultural reserve in the United States.
  • * The Phoenix Sewer and Drainage Department is created.
  • * The Phoenix Indian School holds its first classes.
  • * Mesa Free Press begins publication.
  • * Flagstaff suffers another major fire.
  • 1893
  • * The Phoenix Street Railway switches over from mule-drawn to electrical streetcars.
  • * The Arizona Territory passes a law allowing cities, including Phoenix, to annex land surrounding the city, as long as it obtained the permission of the inhabitants of that area.
  • * Arizona State Museum established in Tucson.
  • * Casa Grande suffers its second major fire in 6 years.
  • * The Abineau building, a brick liquor store, was built in Flagstaff.
  • 1894
  • * Orangedale is founded by Winfield Scott.
  • * Phoenix passes an ordinance limiting prostitution to a single block area.
  • * Phoenix's speed limit is raised to 6 mph.
  • * Tempe incorporates.
  • * Lowell Observatory is established.
  • 1895
  • * Santa Fe, Prescott and Phoenix Railway begins operating.
  • * Arizona Gazette newspaper begins publication.
  • * Union High School opens, and the Phoenix Union High School district is created.
  • * Rosson House built in downtown Phoenix.
  • * Sisters of Mercy Hospital opens in Phoenix.
  • * In Phoenix, the New York Store is opened by Sam Korrick; Nathan and Isaac Diamond open the Boston Store; and Baron Goldwater opens a branch of his Flagstaff store, M. Goldwater and Brothers.
  • 1896
  • * The Adams Hotel opens in Phoenix.
  • * Date Palms are introduced into the Salt River Valley.
  • * Sirrine House built in Mesa.
  • * The Cathedral of Saint Augustine is constructed.
  • 1897
  • * May 24: Peoria founded.
  • * The Friday Club begins a movement to open a public library in Phoenix.
  • * Roman Catholic Diocese of Tucson established; Cathedral of Saint Augustine (Tucson) built.
  • * Flagstaff suffers its fourth major fire in 11 years.
  • * The Little Red Schoolhouse is constructed in Kingman.
  • 1898
  • * El Demócrata newspaper begins publication in Phoenix.
  • * The block of the red-light district is now illegal in Phoenix.
  • * Doris Opera House Opens in Phoenix.
  • * First public library opens in Phoenix.
  • * Casa Grande Hotel opens.
  • * The Coconino Chop House, an iron building, was constructed in Flagstaff.
  • 1899
  • * Phoenix Library Association created.
  • * Northern Arizona University founded in Flagstaff.
  • * The second half of the Weatherford Hotel is constructed in Flagstaff, and the hotel would open on New Year's Day, 1900.
  • * Las Dos Naciones Cigar Company founded, the only cigar company in the southwest.

1900–09

  • 1900
  • * July 14: Most of downtown Prescott is destroyed by fire.
  • * Dorris Theatre opens in Phoenix.
  • * Phoenix accesses unincorporated lands, area increases from.5 acre to over 2 acres.
  • * In spite of efforts by the Women's Temperance Union, Phoenix has 28 saloons and 18 casinos.
  • * First automobiles arrive in Phoenix.
  • * Population in Phoenix reaches 5,544, population of Tucson is 7,531.
  • * San Rafael Ranch built south of Patagonia.
  • 1901
  • * February 25: The State Capitol building is dedicated, built at a cost of $130,000.
  • * Drought hits Phoenix.
  • * The Phoenix Women's Club is founded.
  • * The Carnegie Free Library opens in Tucson.
  • 1902 – Evans School for Boys opens; later renamed Mesa Ranch School.
  • 1903
  • * February 7: Salt River Project founded.
  • * Voters in Phoenix approve a bond to create a municipal waterworks.
  • * Desert Laboratory founded in Tucson.
  • 1904
  • * Chandler's ranch has grown to 18,000 acres.
  • * Riordan Mansion built in Flagstaff.
  • 1905
  • * The largest agricultural crop in Phoenix is alfalfa.
  • * Flooding once again causes issues in Phoenix.
  • 1906
  • * Construction begins on the Theodore Roosevelt Dam.
  • * Gambling is outlawed in Phoenix.
  • * A.J. Chandler purchases 100 ostriches, the beginning of Ostrich farming in Chandler.
  • *U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt signs An Act For the preservation of American antiquities, also known as the Antiquities Act of 1906, giving the President of the United States the authority to create national monuments on federal lands to protect significant natural, cultural, or scientific features.
  • 1907
  • * St. Luke's Home, a tuberculosis treatment center, opens in Phoenix.
  • * The YMCA raises $100,000 to construct a building in Phoenix.
  • * Southern Pacific railway station built.
  • * Roskruge School, Tucson's first high school, opens.
  • 1908
  • * Salt River again floods.
  • * Prescott National Forest is established.
  • * Granite Reef dam completed.
  • * In Phoenix, the Carnegie Library is completed and open to the public.
  • * The Coconino County Hospital for the Indigent is opened in Flagstaff.
  • * The Arizona Prison at Florence opens.
  • 1909
  • * In Phoenix, the Central Avenue bridge over the Salt River is approved.
  • * The original "Old Main" campus of Mesa High School opens.
  • * Mesa installs potable waterworks system.
  • * Arizona Overland Telephone Company opens in Flagstaff, giving residents long distance capability for the first time; headquartered in the Telegraph Building, built the same year.
  • * September 15: Yuma Territorial Prison is closed.

1910s

Statehood through World War II

1910s, continued

  • 1913
  • * November 22: Hotel San Marcos, the first golf resort in the state, opens in Chandler.
  • * Phoenix adopts council-manager form of government, becoming one of the first cities in the country to adopt this form of government.
  • * 35% of the votes cast in Phoenix were by women.
  • * Phoenix has 646 registered automobiles.
  • * Ash Avenue Bridge is completed in Phoenix.
  • 1914
  • * Arizona votes to ban alcohol.
  • * William Fairish becomes Phoenix's first manager.
  • * Chandler High School is formed, classes are held at the Grammar School, and at several local merchants until a building can be constructed.
  • 1915
  • * St. Mary's Basilica in Phoenix is dedicated.
  • * Phoenix's first sewer treatment plant is completed.
  • * Mesa installs sanitary sewer system.
  • 1916
  • *U.S. President Woodrow Wilson signs An Act To establish a National Park Service, and for other purposes.
  • 1917
  • * Arizona adopts its state flag.
  • * Litchfield is founded when the Goodyear Tire Company purchases a tract of land.
  • * Salt River Valley Water Users Association gains control of the Salt River Project.
  • * Migrant workers from Mexico are brought in to pick cotton in the Salt River Valley.
  • * Mesa purchases existing gas and electric utilities from Dr. A.J. Chandler.
  • * Orpheum Theater opens in Flagstaff.
  • 1918
  • * August 3: Casa Grande Ruins are declared a national monument by President Woodrow Wilson.
  • * Alfalfa falls to the number two agricultural product, behind cotton in Phoenix.
  • * The Rialto Theatre opens in Phoenix.
  • * Spanish flu infects a significant portion of the population in Phoenix.
  • 1919
  • * In anticipation of the upcoming U.S. Census, Phoenix votes to extend the city limits.
  • * City airfield established in Tucson.
  • * Hotel Congress opens in Tucson.
  • * Rialto Theater opens in Tucson.

1920s

1930s

1940s

Post-war years through the 1960s

1940s, continued

  • 1946
  • * The Arizona State Constitution is amended; Arizona becomes a right-to-work state.
  • * Ray Bussey is elected mayor of Phoenix.
  • * Avondale incorporated.
  • * Tempe Airport starts operations as a private airport.
  • * Gilbert Airport is opened as a private airport, it would close in 1962–63.
  • 1947
  • * October: A fire destroys all but four of Phoenix's electric streetcars. The city begins the process of transitioning to a public bus transit system.
  • * The Phoenix Charter Revision Committee is formed. The political group, headed by Barry Goldwater, would dominate city politics in the 1950s.
  • * Phoenix Symphony Orchestra is founded.
  • * The [History of the History of the New York Giants (NL)|New York Giants (NL)|New York Giants] start spring training in Phoenix.
  • 1948
  • * Motorola opens a research and development center for military electronics in Phoenix.
  • * Phoenix Jewish News begins publication.
  • * Phoenix establishes its first sales tax.
  • * KPHO-TV becomes Phoenix's first television station.
  • * Barry Goldwater elected to the Phoenix city council.
  • * Mesa Country Club established.
  • * Falcon Field becomes part of Mesa
  • * Casa Grande Cotton Kings, a semi-professional ball team were founded.
  • * The Church of the Nazarene, was built in Casa Grande.
  • * Chandler Municipal Airport opens.
  • 1949 – Modern wastewater treatment plant built at Riverview in Mesa.

1950s

  • 1950s – Widespread use of air-conditioning leads to a construction and population boom in Phoenix.
  • 1950
  • * Catalina Highway constructed in Tucson.
  • * KTYL-FM radio in Mesa begins broadcasting.
  • * The Phoenix population reaches 106,818, now 99th most populous city in the United States, and the largest in the Southwest; Mesa's population reaches 16,790; Chandler's population stands at 3,800.
  • * Flagstaff Symphony Orchestra is formed.
  • 1952
  • * Wright House built in Phoenix.
  • * Republican Barry Goldwater elected United States Senator, defeating the Senate Majority Leader Ernest McFarland; Republican John Howard Pyle elected governor
  • * Arizona Public Service formed by the merger of Central Arizona Light and Power and Northern Arizona Light and Power
  • * Racial segregation is banned at Sky Harbor Airport.
  • * Adam Diaz becomes the first Hispanic on the Phoenix city council.
  • * Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum founded.
  • * Kingman incorporated.
  • 1953
  • * State courts declare school segregation illegal. Phoenix begins school desegregation.
  • * KYTL-TV begins operations as an NBC affiliate in Phoenix. Currently KPNX-TV.
  • * Channel 10 begins broadcasting in Phoenix, currently KSAZ-TV, the Fox affiliate.
  • * General Motors Desert Proving Grounds opens in Mesa.
  • * 10 million gallon Pasadena city reservoir completed in Mesa.
  • * U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower signs Public Land Order 924 abolishing Crook National Forest and transferring its land to Coronado National Forest, Gila National Forest, and Tonto National Forest.
  • 1954
  • * May 24: Chandler upgraded from a town to a city.
  • * Peoria incorporated.
  • * Phoenix finishes the desegregation of Public schools.
  • * Tempe Airport purchased by the city of Tempe.
  • 1955
  • * January 24: Ira Hayes, one of the men made famous by the flag raising on Iwo Jima, and a member of the Pima Indian Tribe, was found dead of exposure near Sacaton.
  • * Terminal 1 opens at Sky Harbor Airport, built at a cost of $835,000, it represented the most modern and efficient passenger terminals of its time. It was demolished in 1991.
  • * In Phoenix, Metropolitan Bus Lines is purchased by L.A. Tanner and renamed Valley Transit Line. Tanner was unsuccessful in his attempts to also purchase the city-run municipal bus system.
  • * Phoenix battles Scottsdale over annexation of unincorporated areas. This battle would last until an agreement was reached regarding "spheres of annexation influence" in 1964.
  • * KTVK-TV opens operations as an ABC affiliate in Phoenix.
  • * Agriculture falls to second behind manufacturing in Phoenix's economy.
  • * Phoenix bans segregation in public housing.
  • * United States Naval Observatory Flagstaff Station opens.
  • 1956 – Tucson Air National Guard Base active.
  • 1957
  • * Park Central Shopping City in business.
  • * Phoenix Towers built.
  • * Tempe Airport is closed by the city and razed.
  • * Radio station KNOT begins airing from Flagstaff.
  • 1958
  • * Phoenix doubles in size through annexation
  • * Arizona State College becomes Arizona State University.
  • * The first Cactus Fly-In, a show of vintage aircraft, takes place at Casa Grande Airport.
  • * Phoenix Flyers Club established.
  • * Radio station KVNA begins broadcasting on AM from Flagstaff. An FM counterpart would begin broadcasting in 1999.
  • 1959
  • * Phoenix Art Museum opens.
  • * L.A. Tanner is successful in purchasing the city-owned municipal bus system, merging it into his Valley Transit Line. All bus service in Phoenix is now unified.
  • * Sunnyslope annexed by Phoenix.
  • * Deer Valley airport opens.
  • * The Francisco Grande hotel is opened in Casa Grande as the spring training location for the San Francisco Giants.

1960s

1970s through the end of the millennium

1970s

1980s

1990s

21st century

2000–09

2010s