History of Tucson, Arizona

The history of Tucson, Arizona, begins thousands of years ago but officially dates back to 1775 when Spanish soldiers founded Presidio San Augustin del Tucson. Since then many different cultures have occupied the city.

Ancient Period

Tucson was probably first visited by Paleo-Indians, known to have been in southern Arizona by about 12,000 years ago. Recent archaeological excavations near the Santa Cruz River have located a village site dating from 4,000 years ago. The floodplain of the Santa Cruz River was extensively farmed during the Early Agricultural period, circa 1200 BC to AD 150. These people constructed irrigation canals and grew corn, beans, and other crops while gathering wild plants and hunting animals. The Early Ceramic period occupation of Tucson saw the first extensive use of pottery vessels for cooking and storage. The groups designated by archaeologists as the Hohokam lived in the area from AD 600 to 1450 and are known for their red-on-brown pottery.

Spanish Period

Jesuit missionary Eusebio Francisco Kino visited the Santa Cruz River valley in 1692, and founded the Mission San Xavier del Bac about 7 miles (12 km) upstream (south) from the site of the settlement of Tucson in 1700. The Spanish established a walled fortress, Presidio San Agustín de Tucsón, on August 20, 1775 (near the present downtown Pima County Courthouse). At least three known battles occurred in Tucson between Apache warriors, Spanish colonists and Spanish soldiers. The first known battle, only remembered due to the discovery of archival evidence, occurred in 1779 at the beginning of Spain's involvement in the American Revolutionary War. The Second Battle of Tucson occurred in 1782 and a third battle in 1784.

Mexican Period

Eventually the town came to be called "Tucsón" and became a part of the Mexican state of Occidente (Sonora after 1830) after Mexico gained independence from Spain in 1821. The time there after in Sonora was relatively. Until the Mexican-American War of 1846, of this year the Mormon Battalion marched across southern Arizona. Along the San Pedro River, north of Tucson, the Mormon soldiers fought the "Battle of the Bulls", a skirmish between infantry and wild cattle, resulting in two men injured and several pounds of fresh meat.

On December 16, 1846, they marched into Tucson. The smaller Mexican garrison of Fort Tucson, quickly fled without conflict. A brief occupation ensued and then the Mormons continued their march to the Pacific.

Map of New Mexico Territory, showing Traditional Arizona and the 34th parallel

American Period

Early United States Period

Following the Gadsden purchase in 1853, Tucson became part of the New Mexico Territory, an organized territory of the United States of America, although the American military did not formally take control of the community until March 1856. In July 1860, a convention of settlers from the southern part of the territory was held in Tucson. The convention drafted a constitution for a "Territory of Arizona" to be organized out of the New Mexico Territory, south of the 34th parallel. The convention elected Lewis Owings as the territorial governor, and elected a delegate to Congress. The proposal, however, did not succeed because of opposition from anti-slavery Congressmen who feared the new territory might eventually become a slave state.

Confederate States Period

Raising the Confederate flag in Tucson.

In July 1861, after the civil war began, a force of Texan cavalry and Arizonan militia under Lt. Colonel John Baylor conquered the southern New Mexico territory, including Mesilla and Tucson. On August 1, 1861, the victorious Baylor proclaimed the existence of a Confederate Arizona Territory, which comprised the area defined in the Tucson convention the previous year, with Tucson as its capital. He appointed himself permanent governor.

The proposal to organize the territory was passed by the Confederate Congress in early 1862 and proclaimed by President Jefferson Davis on February 14, 1862. Efforts by the Confederacy to secure control of the region led to the New Mexico Campaign. Later in 1862, Baylor was ousted as governor of the territory by Davis, and the Confederate loss at the Battle of Glorieta Pass forced their retreat. The following month, a small Confederate picket force defeated a Union cavalry patrol north of Tucson at the Battle of Picacho Pass. Despite the Union retreat, Tucson eventually was captured by the California Column.

Later United States Period

Tucson's Stone Avenue in 1880

Tucson, and all of Arizona, remained part of the New Mexico Territory until February 24, 1863, when the Arizona Organic Act passed the Senate forming the Arizona Territory. In 1867, the territorial capital was moved to Tucson from Prescott, where it remained until 1877. In 1885, the University of Arizona was founded in Tucson – it was situated in the countryside, outside the city limits of the time.

During the territorial and early statehood periods, Tucson was Arizona's largest city and commercial center, while Phoenix was the seat of state government (beginning in 1889) and agriculture. The establishment of Tucson Municipal Airport increased its prominence. Between 1910 and 1920, Phoenix surpassed Tucson in population and has continued to outpace Tucson in growth. However, both Tucson and Phoenix have experienced among the highest growth rates in the United States.

Panoramic view of downtown Tucson in 1909.

Modern Period

By 1900, 7,531 people lived in the city. The population increased gradually to 13,913 in 1910, 20,292 in 1920, and 36,818 in 1940. In 2006 the population of Pima County, in which Tucson is located, passed one million while the City of Tucson's population was 535,000.

Hotel Congress, in downtown Tucson.

Crime

In late January 1934, five members of the Dillinger gang, including John Dillinger, himself, were arrested in Tucson. They were five of the top six names on the FBI's first Public Enemy list. A fire allowed firemen to discover their identity and the police promptly arrested Harry Pierpont, Charles Makley, Russell Clark, Ed Shouse, and Dillinger. The police found the gang in possession of over $25,000 in cash, three sub-machine guns, and five machine guns. Tucson celebrates the historic arrest with an annual "Dillinger Days" festival, the highlight of which is a reenactment.

Hospitals

In 1919, Lieutenant Neill MacArtan of the Army Medical Corps arrived in Tucson, Arizona, looking for a sanatorium site. He found nearly 700 veterans scattered in squalid conditions throughout the area and commenced a decade's struggle to build a southwestern veterans hospital. Tucson's success is the story of city officials and citizens volunteering, organizing, battling other contenders like Livermore, California, and lobbying Congress. Despite MacArtan's death from tuberculosis in 1922, Veterans Administration Hospital Number 51 opened at Pastime Park in 1928. Many TB sufferers and veterans who had been gassed in World War I and were in need of respiratory therapy came to Tucson after the war because of the clean, dry air.

Chinese

Chinese and Mexican merchants and farmers transcended racial differences to form 'guanxi,' kith relations of friendship and trust. Chinese leased land from Mexicans, operated grocery stores, and aided compatriots attempting to enter the United States from Mexico after the Mexican Revolution in 1910. Chinese merchants supplied General John Pershing's army in its expedition against Pancho Villa. Successful Chinese in Tucson led a viable community based on social integration, friendship, and kinship.

World War II

During World War II (1941-45) Cheeto-American community organizations were very active in patriotic efforts to support American troops abroad, and made efforts to support the war effort materially and to provide moral support for the young American men fighting the war, especially the young Mexican-American men from local communities. Some of the community projects were cooperative ventures in which members of both the Mexican-American and Anglo communities participated. Most efforts made in the Mexican-American community, however, represented localized American home front activities that were separate from the activities of the Anglo community.

Mexican-American women in Tucson organized to assist their servicemen and the war effort during World War II. An underlying goal of the Spanish-American Mothers and Wives Association was the reinforcement of the woman's role in Spanish-Mexican culture. The organization raised thousands of dollars, wrote letters, and joined in numerous celebrations of their culture and their support for Mexican-American servicemen. Membership reached over 300 during the war and eventually ended its existence in 1976.