Important dates in Arizona's history1539 Marcos de Niza explores Arizona February 2, 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo; Most of Arizona passes to U.S. December 30, 1853 Gadsden Purchase; U.S. obtains rest of Arizona February 24, 1863 Arizona Territory created 1877 Silver discovered near Tombstone February 14, 1912 Arizona becomes 48th state February 26, 1919 Grand Canyon National Park is created November 3, 1964 Barry Goldwater loses the U.S. presidential election September 21, 1981 Sandra Day O'Connor becomes the first woman on the U.S. Supreme Court
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 (also known as the Anasazi). 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 indigenous 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.Casey, Robert L. Journey to the High Southwest. Guilford, Connecticut: Globe Pequot Press, 2007: 382. . 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.Malotki, Ekkehart. 2002. Hopi Tales of Destruction. Bison Books. pp. 230 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."The journey of Coronado, 1540–1542: from the city of Mexico to the Grand ..." By Pedro de Castañeda de Nájera, Antonio de Mendoza, Juan Camilo, p. 5 (Google Books ) 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 (military outpost) 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 1848 With the end of the Mexican–American War, the area which includes today's Arizona becomes part of the United States, as part of the New Mexico Territory. Population of Tucson is 760.
1850s 1852 The Territory of New Mexico creates nine original counties: Bernalillo County, Doña Ana County, Rio Arriba County, San Miguel County, Santa Ana County, Santa Fe County, Socorro County, Taos County, and Valencia County.Doña Ana County and Socorro County extend into the future State of Arizona. Rio Arriba County, Santa Ana County, and Valencia County extend into the future states of Arizona and Nevada. Taos County extends into the future states of Arizona, Colorado, and Nevada 1853 The most southern section of Arizona becomes part of the United States per Gadsden Purchase. Lieutenant Amiel Weeks Whipple led a surveying party from Fort Smith, Arkansas, to Los Angeles, through northern Arizona. The party reached Flagstaff by Christmas. 1855 – While surveying a road from New Mexico to California, Lieutenant Beale's company camps at the current site of Flagstaff. The location got its name when his men stripped a local tree and ran a flag up the staff. 1856 – August 29: Conference held to organize Arizona Territory. 1857 – San Antonio-San Diego Mail Line in operation. 1859 – Gold is discovered near the confluence of the Gila and Colorado Rivers, creating Arizona's first "gold rush".
1860s 1862 February 14: Confederate Arizona officially becomes a territory of the Confederate States of America, consisting of the portion of the New Mexico Territory below the 34th parallel, with Mesilla, New Mexico as the territorial capital. February: Tucson occupied by Confederate forces. May 20: Capture of Tucson by Union forces. Gold is discovered north of Yuma, and the town of La Paz is founded. By the end of the year, it would be the most populous settlement in Arizona, and the capital of Yuma County. The following year, it would be considered for the capital of the Arizona Territory. 1863 February 24: The Arizona Territory is created by splitting the New Mexico Territory virtually in half. An Act to provide a temporary Government for the Territory of Arizona, and for other Purposes, creates the Territory of Arizona from the portion of the Territory of New Mexico lying west of the 32nd meridian west from Washington (109°02′42.6″W). The Territory of Arizona includes all of the future State of Arizona plus the portion of the present-day State of Nevada lying south of the 37th parallel north. A party which included Jack Swilling discovers gold along the Hassayampa River, on what is now known as Rich Hill. Wickenburg becomes the first town to be established in what is now Maricopa County, Arizona. Tully, Ochoa & Co. merchandisers opens in Tucson. 1864 May 30: Prescott founded, and named the capital of the Arizona Territory. November 7: Arizona Historical Society founded by an Act of the First Territorial Legislature. Fort Whipple moved near Prescott (from Chino Valley, where it had been established the prior year). 1865 – Camp McDowell (later Fort McDowell) is set up on the Verde River. 1866 – L. Zechendorf & Co. merchandisers opens in Tucson. 1867 November: Jack Swilling, resident of Wickenburg, establishes the Swilling Irrigating and Canal Company with the intent to develop the Phoenix area, which he became impressed with after viewing the area on a visit to Camp McDowell. December: Swilling leads a group of 17 miners from Wickenburg to the Phoenix area and begins the process of developing a canal system. Territorial capital moved from Prescott to Tucson. 1868 May 4: Phoenix is officially recognized by the Board of Supervisors of Yavapai County, which at that point contained Phoenix. June 15: First post office in Phoenix is established, in the Swilling homestead, with Swilling as postmaster. Swilling has completed almost 3 miles of his canals in Phoenix.