History of Phoenix, AZ

^{When the first explorers were Spanish, their settlement efforts were limited to Tucson and the south before 1800. Central Arizona was first settled in the early 19th century by American settlers. The story of Phoenix story begins as people from those areas spread southward, in conjunction with the formation of a military force east of present-day Phoenix.}

^{The city of Phoenix was established in 1867, and in 1881 it was established as the City of Phoenix. Phoenix functioned as an agricultural center dependent on large-scale irrigation projects. Until World War II, the economy was based on the "Five C's": cotton, oranges, cattle, climate, and copper. The city has provided commercial, retail, banking, and government services in central Arizona, and has gained national recognition among winter tourists. The post World War Two years saw the city begin to grow at a tremendous rate, as more and more men trained for military service in the vicinity returned, bringing their families with them. Population growth was revived in the 1950s, in part due to the availability of air-conditioning, which makes the hot summer temperatures more tolerable, as well as the influx of industry, led by high-tech companies. The growth rate in the Phoenix city center has been almost 4% per year for the past 40 years. This growth rate slowed during the Great Depression but the U.S. The Census Bureau predicted that it would resume as the nation's economy recovered, and it had already begun to do so. While currently ranked as the 5th largest city in the United States by population, it is predicted that Phoenix will be the fourth in 2020.}