History of Phoenix

The history of Phoenix can be divided into three important periods which are the Native American Period with the Hohokam people occupying the land which was to become today’s Phoenix. The Hispanic Period wherein Father Eusebio Kino, who is an Italian Jesuit that serves the Spanish Empire, was among the very first Europeans to travel to Phoenix in the 1600s.

The Early United States Period where both American and the European Mountain men were most likely to have come through the area as they were exploring the place which is now known as Central Arizona in the early 19th century. But as a city, Phoenix’s history begins with Jack Swilling an American Civil War veteran who came to the west seeking wealth during the 1850’s. The old Hohokam ruins that showed a clear path for the canals made Jack Swilling imagine the possibilities. The city was eventually named Phoenix as it really was a new city born from the ruins of a civilization that passed.