Infancy – Through the 1870-1880 decade

For the desert has both the power to sustain life and destroy it. The dreaded torture of drought descended in 1897. For two more seemingly endless years the rains that came hardly demp ened the earth. Men abandoned decades of work; the popula tion dropped at an alarming rate.

In 1900 the water came in the form of a flash flood that destroyed diversion dams and all hope of Spring crops. It was this crisis which swept away the selfish interests of farmers and city people, causing them to unite in a determined effort to develop an adequate water storage system a system which meant survival.

Thus began an adventure in reclamation which would win world-wide acclaim and bedeck Phoenix with more beauty and prosperity than her most ardent admirers had ever hoped for. Arizonans realized such a large-scale reclamation program would have to be financed by the Federal Government, and the efforts of many resulted in passage of the historical Federal Reclamation Act of 1902. The Federal funds thus realized would be returned to the government from water and power revenues earned by the project.

The need for cooperation and long range planning led to the formation of the Salt River Valley Water Users' Association in 1903, which became the first multi-purpose reclamation project authorized under the Act. On March 18, 1911 after almost five years of backbreaking toil - Phoenicians gazed upon a completed Roosevelt Dam. Dedicated by President Theodore Roosevelt himself, the magnificent masonry weapon against flood and drought created what was then the world's largest storage reservoir. Construction had included five hydroelectric generating units which would supply power to pump additional irrigation water in the Valley.

There are still some Phoenicians around who remember the great sense of triumph which prevailed that day as people flocked from all parts of the state to witness the dedication.

Big SURF in Scottsdale, the sun, sand and surf paradise where man made waves delight the "saltiest" of beachcombers.

Horses, being the primary mode of transportation for some time, gave Phoenix a primitive forerunner of motelsfeed corrals. A popular gathering place, the feed corral was the spot the cowboy, farmer, or miner "put up" when he came to town.

Life in those early days of Phoenix was rough by today's standards of comfort and convenience, but there were many who felt the discomforts were offset by the neighborliness of its people.

A school boy named Jack Williams (who was destined to serve as Phoenix mayor and is now Governor of Arizona) saw much of Phoenix through the handlebars of his bicycle. Mention of his hometown's personality in the teens and twenties brings back visions of "unpaved streets, a veritable pall of smoke which hung over the town in winter time generated by wood and coal-burning stoves; livery stables; church socials, trollies, people rocking on front porches, the ice man with his wagon, and the busy railroad depot."

Women from nearby Indian Reservations were a traditional sight on Washington Street, "where they would sit all day long with their pottery spread on a blanket in front of them, patiently waiting for customers." He remembers the old "town ditch" which meandered pleasantly along an erratic route through town. "Frequently lingering under porches of old homes, it disappeared under streets and reappeared again to bathe the roots of trees and shrubs adorning some neighbor's property."

Loading baggage and freight at the train depot gave this lad an unforgettable glimpse of the city's growing role in commerce and tourism. He observed the first train in the "main line" era roll into Phoenix from the East bedecked wth celebrities and an Indian band. "Every summer those who could afford it would escape the heat by taking 'The Peavine' (a part of the Santa Fe line which traveled a very twisting trail), to Iron Springs and other resorts in Northern Arizona," recalls Governor Williams.

The next great day of rejoicing for Phoenicians and their neighbors came little less than a year later on February 14, 1912-the day Arizona achieved statehood! The largest crowd ever gathered in Phoenix viewed the inauguration of George W. P. Hunt, first elected governor of Arizona.

Soon more people came seeking the healthful climate and economic opportunity. In 1910 Phoenix had a population of 11,134; within ten years it had grown to nearly 30,000. World War I brought significant agricultural changes and cotton became a vital cash crop. The long-staple variety was especially prized for its use in tire and airplane fabrics. Acres formerly devoted to hay and feed grains now produced melons and winter vegetables which were eagerly absorbed by international markets. Railroads and three overland roads to Cali fornia had seen some improvement and the Valley no longer retained an air of isolation.

Autos were beginning to outnumber the colorful horse and buggy, but most Phoenicians bustled to and fro on an elaborate street car system (consisting of seven divisions and suburban lines) while they caught up on local doings reading one of the city's two daily or four weekly newspapers.