"A mass meeting of the citizens of Salt River Valley was held on October 20, 1870, for purpose of selecting a suitable piece of unimproved public land for a town site. Darrell Duppa, John Moore, and Martin P. Griffin were appointed as a committee to make the selection. They recommended the North 1/2 of sec. 8 T. 1 N., R. 3 E. and that the town be called Phoenix." Elliot's History of Arizona.

"The earliest settlement was probably early in 1868 about 4 miles east of the present town where the flour mill was later erected. First called Swilling, then Helling Mill, after the mill  owner, then called East Phoenix. When the question of a name came up Jack Swilling wanted to call it "Stonewall" after Stonewall Jackson, because he had been a Confederate Soldier. 'Salina' was also suggested. These were turned down. Then Duppa, pointing to the evidence of a former civilization and occupation suggested the name Phoenix. He declared 'A new city would spring Phoenix like upon the ruins of a former civilization.' The name was accepted." McClintock

"On some early military maps name was spelled "Phenix". Many army officers and others believed it was after the noted army officer and writer John Derby, who wrote under the pen name of John Phoenix. Derby was for some time commanding officer at Fort Yuma. Theodore Roosevelt once told Col. McClintock that he, Roosevelt, had always supposed the city was named after Derby. According to Farish, "The name Phoenix was first used officially when the Board of Supervisors of Yavapai County formed an election precinct by the name, May 4, 1868."

P.O. Established as Phoenix, June 15, 1890, Jack Swilling, PM. He served until July 8, 1870. John W. Olvany was the second. Captain Hancock was the third, taking charge February 13, 1871, retiring December 12, 1872."

Barnes, Will C. Arizona Place Names University of Arizona Press. 1997
P. 327

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Websites

Arizona Department of Commerce Community Profiles- Phoenix, Arizona
http://www.commerce.state.az.us/pdf/commasst/comm/phoenix.pdf

Phoenix, Arizona Local Government Website
http://www.ci.phoenix.az.us

City History
http://www.ci.phoenix.az.us/CITYGOV/history.html

Museums

Arizona Department of Library, Archives, and Public Records
1700 W. Washington, Phoenix 85007-3210
(602) 542-4675, Tours (602) 542-4581
http://www.dlapr.lib.az.us/index.html

Arizona Hall of Fame Museum
1101 W. Washington, Phoenix 85007-2925
Open Mon - Fri, 8 - 5.
(602) 255-2110
http://www.dlapr.lib.az.us/museum/hof.htm

Arizona Military Museum
Papago Park Military Reservation
5636 E. McDowell Rd., Phoenix, Arizona 85008-3495
Open Sat. & Sun: 1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Tues. & Thurs: 9:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
(602) 267-2676
http://www.azng.com/Museum/museum.htm

Hall of Flame Firefighting Museum
6101 E. Van Buren, Phoenix 85008-3450
(602) 275-3473 ("ASK-FIRE")
http://www.hallofflame.com

Heard Museum
2301 North Central Avenue, Phoenix, AZ 85004
Open Daily: 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
(602) 252-8848
http://www.heard.org

Phoenix Museum of History
105 N. Fifth St.
P.O. BOX 926
Phoenix, AZ 85004-4404
tel (602) 253-2734
http://pmoh.org/

Pueblo Grande Museum
4619 E. Washington St. Phoenix, AZ 85034-1909
Monday - Saturday: 9:00 a.m. - 4:45 p.m. Sundays 1 - 4:45 p.m.
(602) 495-0901
http://www.ci.phoenix.az.us/PARKS/pueblo.html

State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO)
Arizona State Parks
1300 W. Washington, Phoenix, AZ 85007
(602) 542-4009
http://www.pr.state.az.us/partnerships/shpo/shpo.html

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Newspapers

Arizona Republic
http://www.azcentral.com/

Ahwatukee Foothills Weekly 

Business Journal Of Phoenix

Phoenix New Times

Arizona Capitol Times
http://azcapitoltimes.com/

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Colleges

Arizona State University West

University of Phoenix

Phoenix College

DeVry Institute of Technology-Phoenix

Grand Canyon University
 

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Books/Manuscripts found in the ASU Library Catalog

History Books for Reference

Phoenix : the history of a southwestern metropolis / Bradford Luckingham.
F819 .P57 L83 1989

Phoenix then and now / by Allen A. Dutton.
F819 .P57 D87x

I, Jack Swilling, founder of Phoenix, Arizona (fiction)
PS3563.Y5 I5x 1961

The Swilling legacy / by Earl Zarbin.
F811.S98 Z37x 1984

Arizona mosaic / by George Babbitt, Jr.
F811 .B16x

City of Phoenix, Arizona : 75 anniversary, 1881-1956.
F819.P57 C493x

History of the City of Phoenix, Arizona.
XUPH 1.2:H 47

Discovering greater Phoenix : an illustrated history / Brad and Barbara Luckingham.
F819.P57 L82x 1998

Original Phoenix townsite : names and addresses of citizens and businesses, 1870 through 1908 / Eunice E. Kaney ; assisted by Oliver S. King.
F819.P57 K37x

Papago Park : a history of Hole-in-the-Rock from 1848-1995 / prepared by Jason H. Gartforeword by Roger Lidman.
F819.P57 G37x 1996

Phoenix, Arizona : 1920-1940 / by Michael J. Kotlanger.
LD179.15 1983d .K67

Phoenix, Arizona, central city of the southwest, 1870-1920 / by Geoffrey Padraic Mawn
F819 .P57 M34x v.1

Phoenix in the twentieth century : essays in community history / edited by G. Wesley
Johnson, Jr.
F819.P57 P59 1993

McClintock-Halseth collection, 1893-1947 [manuscript]
MS FM MSS 85

Shields, Mark, 1890-1967.Papers, 1869-1965 [manuscript collection
Also known as: Jack Swilling collection. Includes correspondence, news clippings, documents, manuscripts and a journal related to Shields' research on Jack Swilling. Phoenix real estate broker and journalist; researcher on the topic of Jack Swilling
MS FM MSS 31

Stauffer, Charles A., 1913-1970 Papers, 1901-1960 [manuscript]
MS FM MSS 20

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Last Updated: July 19, 2002
If you would like to know more about the author of this site, Jeffrey Scott, feel free to visit his homepage.
In addition, if you have any questions about this site or Arizona History, feel free to e-mail Jeffrey