|
1848 |
Gold discovered in California. Gila Trail becomes one of the main routes to the gold fields. |
|
1850 |
Compromise
of 1850 made establishment of the Territory of New
Mexico possible. (Arizona was part of New Mexico Territory) |
|
1852 |
Americans begin navigating the Colorado
River by steamer. Army
Corps of Topographical Engineers begins surveying Arizona.
See also: "Early
exploration routes into the Arizona area." (Froeschauer-Nelson,
Peggy. Cultural Landscape Report: Hubbell
Trading Post National Historic Site Ganado, Arizona) |
|
1853 |
Gadsden
Purchase gives Arizona the land from the Gila River to present
boundary. See also: Gadsden
Purchase of 1853 and History of Arizona:
Gadsden
Purchase. |
|
1854 |
First American mining
(commercial) ventures. |
|
1856 |
American Dragoons (cavalry) occupy Tucson;
Arizonans begin petitioning for separate territorial status. |
|
1857 |
Beale's
camels
and "Jackass Mail" stagecoach lines cross Arizona; Fort Buchanan established
on Sonoita Creek. |
|
1858 |
Butterfield
Overland Stage Line crosses Arizona. See also:
"Early
stage routes through the Arizona area." (Froeschauer-Nelson,
Peggy. Cultural Landscape Report: Hubbell
Trading Post National Historic Site Ganado, Arizona) |
|
1860's |
Period of gold
discoveries, Gila River, Colorado River, and Bradshaw Mountains. |
|
1861 |
Bascom
Affair pits Army against Chiricahua Apaches; Civil
War begins and U.S. military posts are abandoned in Arizona portion
of New Mexico Territory. |
|
1861-1886 |
Apache
Wars. See also: Cochise: Native
American leader (1812-1874) and Biography
of Geronimo |
|
1862 |
Arizona becomes a Confederate
territory; Battle at Glorieta Pass, New Mexico, ends Confederate
westward thrust; Battle at Picacho
Pass, near Casa Grande, is called westernmost battle of Civil
War; California
Column occupies Arizona for Union; Battle of Apache Pass between
Column and Apaches is largest in Arizona history; Fort
Bowie is established in the Pass. |
|
1863 |
Territory
of Arizona is established; President Abraham
Lincoln appoints Arizona Territorial officials; John
A. Gurley is named governor; dies August 18. John
N. Goodwin replaces him; Territorial officials take the oath of
office at Navajo
Springs, Arizona on December 29; Walker
Party discovers gold in Bradshaw
Mountains; Weaver-Peeples
party discovers placer gold at Rich Hill; Wickenburg
finds rich lode at Vulture Mine. See also:
A History of
Mining in AZ. |
|
1864 |
Territorial capitol
moves from its provisional site at Camp Whipple to Prescott;
four counties (Yuma,
Yavapai,
Pima and Mohave)
are created; Navajo
take "long
walk" to Bosque
Redondo, New Mexico. |
|
1867 |
Territorial capitol
moves from Prescott
to Tucson. |
|
1869 |
John Wesley Powell explores Grand Canyon. |
|
1870's-1880's |
Age of Silver; open range cattle industry
flourishes. See also: Preliminary
report concerning explorations and surveys, principally in Nevada
and Arizona. |
|
1871 |
Camp
Grant Massacre. |
|
1872-1873 |
General
Crook subdues central Arizona Apaches
and Yavapais. |
|
1876 |
Territorial
prison opens at Yuma. See also: Arizona Dept. of Corrections History |
|
1877 |
Territorial capitol
moves from Tucson
back to Prescott;
silver
discovered at Tombstone;
copper deposits
found at Bisbee. |
|
1881 |
City
of Phoenix incorporates; Southern
Pacific Railroad crosses
southern Arizona. See also: The
Promise of Gold Mountain. |
|
1883 |
Atlantic & Pacific (Santa Fe) railroad crosses northern Arizona. |
|
1888 |
Copper
replaces gold and silver in economic importance in Arizona. |
|
1889 |
Territorial capitol
moves from Prescott
to Phoenix; Legislators
meet temporarily in the chambers of the Phoenix
City Hall. |
|
1891 |
Moses H. Sherman and Marcellus E. Collins
of Phoenix donate ten acres of land for a territorial capitol
site. |
|
1895 |
Phoenix linked by rail to northern and southern railroad lines. |
|
1898 |
Rough
Riders fight in Cuba. See
also: William
Owen O'Neill and Buckey
O'Neill. |
|
1899-1900 |
Construction begins on a new capitol building in Phoenix; completed in 1900 at a cost of approximately $136,000. |
|
1901 |
Capitol building dedicated on February 25. |
|
1902 |
Frank
Murphy builds "Impossible Bradshaw Mountain Railroad." |
|
1903 |
Salt
River Water Users' Association formed, first of its kind in the
nation. |
|
1906 |
Referendum on joint Arizona-New Mexico Statehood is rejected in Arizona by a vote of 16,265 to 3,141. |
|
1910 |
Arizona
Enabling Act passed by Congress; Constitutional
Convention meets; population
of Arizona exceeds 204,000 on the eve of statehood. |
|
1911 |
Theodore
Roosevelt Dam completed; President Taft
vetoes admission of Arizona over recall
of judges; Arizona agrees to make the necessary changes in its
constitution. |
|
1912 |
Arizona
joins the Union on February 14; George
W. P. Hunt, President of the Constitutional Convention, becomes
first state Governor; first U.S. Senators, Henry
F. Ashurst and Marcus
A. Smith; U.S. Representative, Carl
Hayden. |
|
1912 |
Women gain right
to vote in Arizona. See also: History
of Women's Suffrage. |
|
1917 |
WWI
brings economic boom to Arizona. Labor unrest in Bisbee
brings deportation
of suspected radical I.W.W. Union members by locals. |
|
1929 |
Great Depression lasts into late 1930's. |
|
1936 |
Hoover
Dam on the Colorado River is dedicated. See also: PBS
film The American Experience: Hoover
Dam |
|
1941-1945 |
World
War II brings economic boom to Arizona; cotton, copper, cattle,
farming and industry flourish. |
|
1946 |
Arizona right-to-work
becomes effective; industrial development and manufacturing take on
new importance. Post-WWII brings surge of population
to Arizona. |
|
1948 |
Motorola
builds first plant in Phoenix
marking the beginning of high
tech industry in Arizona. |
|
1948 |
Arizona Indians gain right to vote. See: Mary Beth Faller. "Arizona Indians' path to voting." Arizona Republic, June 23, 2009. |
|
1950 |
Election of Governor Howard
Pyle gives rise to Republican Party. |
|
1960 |
Arizona population
exceeds 1 million. |
|
1961 |
Stewart Udall
becomes first Arizonan to serve on Cabinet (Secretary of Interior). |
|
1963 |
Arizona wins Supreme Court decision in
contest with California over share of Colorado
River water; hopes are revived for a Central
Arizona Project to bring water from the Colorado to central Arizona. |
|
1964 |
Arizona's U.S. Senator
Barry Goldwater
is the Republican Party candidate for President. |
|
1966 |
Legislative reapportionment
(one man, one vote). Legislative districts reapportioned
to represent an equal number of people. The Republican
Party gains control of the legislature for the first time. |
|
1968 |
Authorization is given for construction
of the Central
Arizona Project; Senator Carl
Hayden retires after serving Arizona in Congress since 1912. |
|
1981 |
Sandra
Day O'Connor becomes first woman on U.S. Supreme Court. See also: Library of Congress:
Resourceful Women |
|
1984 |
Population
of Arizona exceeds 3 million. |
|
1985 |
Central
Arizona Project brings water to state's interior. |
|
1988 |
Impeachment of Governor Evan Mecham. |
|
1988 |
Rose
Mofford becomes Arizona's first female governor. |
|
1992 |
Arizona becomes first state to have voter
approval of a paid Martin Luther King Jr./Civil
Rights Day state
holiday. |
