Phoenix is known primarily for two things. One, they have an extremely popular basketball team in the Suns. Two, that it’s incredibly hot. In addition to those things, Phoenix is also the sixth most populated city in the U.S. with 1,445,632 people (2010 U.S. Census).
On this day, February 5th, in 1881, Phoenix, AZ is incorporated as part of the Arizona Territory in The Phoenix Charter Bill. The Arizona Territory was incorporated on February 24th 1863 and lasted until February 14th 1912 when it was admitted into the U.S. as the 48th state. Residents of Phoenix are called Phoenicians, not to be confused with the ancient culture in the land of Canaan.
The founding of Phoenix began in the 1850’s when Jack Swilling went west looking for wealth. Swilling would later serve in the Confederate Army from 1861 to 1865. Swilling saw Phoenix as an optimal spot to build a city, but the only problem was that it lacked a water source. Swilling had canals built to bring water, and from there, Lord Darell Duppa proposed that the city be titled Phoenix because like the mythical bird, it was being rebuilt from the ruins of its former Native American civilization.