Mesa's First 100 Years

Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary contains this definition of the word "mesa": "A usually isolated hill having steeply sloping sides and a level top; also: a broad terrace with an abrupt slope on one side..." But when the word is capitalized, it takes on a totally different connotation. It becomes Mesa... third largest city in Arizona... expansion-minded but growing with caution... the commercial and industrial center of eastern Maricopa County... a haven for tourists and part-time winter residents... one of Arizona's favorite retiree centers ... an agricultural community... and much more. Naturally, it wasn't always that way. One hundred years ago there was little except desert. The major industry was a hay-cutting operation along the Salt River. The hay went to the troops stationed at Fort McDowell; the profits went to a man named Smith. And because the man named Smith was making the desert green and earning a good living at it, a man named Jones saw a potential, and it was that foresight that brought about the establishment of the community that was to become Mesa, Arizona. The Smith was John Y. T. Smith, who came to Arizona in 1865. Shortly after arriving in the Salt River Valley, he negotiated a contract to supply Fort McDowell with hay, established a hay camp and set to work reaping the wild grasses of the rich river bottom. The Jones was Daniel Jones, who led a company of Mormon pioneers into the Salt River Valley in early 1877, and helped form a settlement along the river in an area known variously as Utahville, Jonesville and, more recently, Lehi. The settlers wrote back to friends and relatives about Smith's wonderful green hay, the soil, the climate and apparent opportunities, and their written words spurred the first full-scale migration into the area that was to become Mesa. So it is not incorrect to say that Mesa, Arizona, actually began in Paris, Idaho. For the words of the early settlers arrived in the tiny village of Paris, in the Bear Lake Valley of Idaho, and the glowing descriptions were so appealing that a group formed and began making plans for the trek to Arizona. Although about 80 faithful emigrants were to make the journey, no common point of departure was set. Those living the farthest north would start first, picking up additional members as they struggled southward to the Arizona border. On September 14, 1877, Francis Pomeroy and his family of 16 started first from Paris, Idaho, to be joined by George W. Sirrine and his family of eleven, and later, as the group traveled southward, by the Crismons, the New-ells, the Schwarz's, the Mallory's, Jesse C. Hobson, James Harve and others.

They traversed mountains, navigated the Colorado River without losing a single head of cattle, and escaped quick-sand. Traveling at a rate of 12 to 18 miles per day, they crossed the Utah border into Arizona on November 13.

Though lured to the area by the prospect of year-round sunshine, one of the first things the pioneers encountered in Arizona Territory was a snowstorm. It came on Christmas Eve, 1877, as they camped at Pine Springs near what is now Mormon Lake.

Four days later, the leaders of the company, Frances M. Pomeroy, George W. Sirrine, Charles Crismon and Charles Robson, left for the Salt River Valley and arrived in early January. But even though they had traveled more than 1000 miles through rugged and unfamiliar country on a four-month trip, their troubles weren't over.

They couldn't reach a suitable agreement with the group in Lehi about who was supposed to go where, so they found a place of their own, a little farther south.

At first glance, the land must have appeared uninhabitable, green only where the river flowed, brown and chaparral covered, with greasewood and mesquite everywhere else. But closer inspection showed the remains of a huge prehistoric canal system that had evidently been used to irrigate the fields of ancient Indian farmers. It was a natural for agriculture.

Three of the leaders went back leaving Charles Crismon to look after the interests of the group and prevent any claim jumping.

On February 14, 1878, the entire company arrived, and two days later they were at work building "the ditch" which followed the outlines of the ancient irrigation system.

In May of that year Section 22 was filed on for the townsite, trustees appointed and lots divided according to the amount of work each person had expended on the canal.

And the people asked that their city be named Mesa, in honor of the land. But that proposal was turned down by the Post Office Department because there was a Mesaville in nearby Pinal County.

So the colonists then named their community Hayden, in honor of Charles Trumbull Hayden, an Arizona pioneer. But that caused a great deal of confusion because Tempe had originally been dubbed Hayden's Ferry and some (Below) Everybody's Drug Store in Chandler Square, during the early '30s. Except for recent remodeling, the building is still much the same today and still houses the same drug store. Norman W. Mead (Bottom) Main Street 1911. Horse-drawn wagons begin the arduous task of supplying material to the new Roosevelt dam site on the Salt River. McLaughlin Historical Collection

people were still using that name. So the settlers named it Zenos, in honor of a Book of Mormon prophet.

Finally, in 1899, Mesaville withered and surrendered itself back to the desert and the citizens of Zenos quickly changed the name of their town to Mesa.

When the city was founded, there were approximately 80 people living there. It was described as "not really a city . . . simply a cluster of small and compact farms, grouped about a few business houses."

Today, the city is home for an estimated 115,000 . . . and many things have changed. Agriculture, which was once Mesa's leading economic base, is today ranked about fourth in the city's economy with most of the acreage in citrus crops.

When it all began those 100 years ago, the first crops were alfalfa, wheat, grapes and peaches. But the fruit, because there was no refrigeration, had to be preserved in some manner that would allow it to be transported to nearby markets.

The only feasible method was distillation. So one of Mesa's early industries was comprised of shipping fruit brandies to neighboring towns. Strictly for medicinal purposes, of course.

When the city was founded nearly every resident was a Mormon, and that influence is still very evident though the percentage has reduced drastically. An estimated 40,000 Mesa residents are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints. And probably the most architecturally notable building in Arizona is the church's Arizona Temple, located on Mesa's Main Street.

Widely recognized as one of the most beautiful ecclesiastical buildings in the country, it is allegedly based on a design similar to that of Solomon's temple. The structure departs from Mormon tradition because it has no towers or spires, instead using slender colonnades and a flat roof to set off its central mass. Completed in 1927 at a cost of about $800,000, the temple is set amid slender cypress trees and beckons thousands of tourists to its grounds every year.

Tourists and part-time winter residents have a wide variety of other sights and sites to satisfy their curiosity and cameras. Mesa's close proximity to the Superstition Mountains, the Casa Grande ruins, Apache Trail, lakes and other Valley cities make it an ideal base camp for the 60,000 temporary residents who swell the city's population every winter, and for the casual tourist as well.

The Mesa Chamber of Commerce promotes tourism constantly, and in the winter offers unusual tag-along tours, in which a Chamber official leads car caravans to places of interest.

But the city doesn't rely on tourism as its only source of income or enhancement.

Mesa has worked hard to attract new industry, and the efforts have been rewarding. Extremely appealing to industries looking at the city as a possible site is the ability to reach a consumer market of more than 16 million persons within a 450-mile radius. It is not surprising, therefore, that seven of the nation's top 500 industrial companies have major plants in Mesa. Also appealing is the strong, level-headed city government and cityowned utilities which always operate at a profit, permitting residents to live with no city property tax.

Although growing rapidly (the 1970 census showed a population of 70,693), Mesa retains its low profile and wideopen spaces attitudes. Some of that comes from its devotion to parks. When the city was incorporated in 1883, one block was set apart for park and playground purposes. Today, Mesa boasts 592 acres of park land, including a municipal golf course and a large wilderness area. There are also 13 public (and 1 private) golf courses in the city.

Schools have always been important to the community. The first one was a tent that also served as the home of Sarah M. Pomeroy, whose daughter, Ursula, was the first teacher. The first permanent school was a small adobe structure dubbed "the little adobe school house". A replica of this structure has been constructed at Mesa's new city museum, built by Mesa students and dedicated by First Lady Betty Ford.

Today, the Mesa Public School System is composed of four high schools, seven junior high schools, 27 elementary schools and three special schools, with a total enrollment, as of last October, of 30,564. The city also has two parochial schools, plus a number of private education facilities and Mesa Community college.

The list of other Mesa attributes is almost endless an average income of $13,500; 20 years as a spring training camp site for major league baseball; excellent medical facilities; social services; and an easy-going lifestyle.

So, it's obvious that the people of Mesa take pride in their city, and it shows.

Just like it did 100 years ago.

'Our Town,' the history of Mesa, Az., is a special 200-page hardcover book marking the town's 100th anniversary. It is available at a cost of $8 from: Centennial Office, Municipal Building, City of Mesa, Mesa, AZ. 85201.

The Loveable, Hateable Burro