History of Mesa, AZ
When the Hohokam came over, there was nothing but sand and dry, arid air. They built canals so that water could be delivered across the desert region and that they could grow crops. With their work and digging expertise, water was transported to a region which covered 110,000 acres. They were able to make a dry, unfriendly growing area and turn it in to a fertile region. Hundreds of miles of those canals are still used today to grow crops in the region. History is vague between the time the Hohokam people left the area and the other Indians moved in. Some believe that early bands of Apaches chased them out, however some argue they just moved on or faded in to other groups of Indians. The Pima Indians were in the region hundreds of years later and were descendants of the Hohokam, but their history is not well known either. In the 1800s, Daniel Webster Jones was one of the modern settlers. He brought a group of Mormons from Utah and made a settlement which was called Lehi. Another group of men and families left Utah and Idaho since they heard of his success and were traveling to the area in 1880. Instead of joining the group in Lehi, they created their settlement across the mesa since they didn't want to be together. This is how the modern name Mesa came to be, even though it would take years for it to be adopted. The town Mesa City was registered in 1878. The first school was built in 1879. Mesa became incorporated in 1883 and the town's population was just 300 people, descendants of the Mormons who first came to the city. Dr. AJ Chandler was an innovator of the region. He not only expanded upon the canal system built near his house, but he created something even smarter. He created the first evaporative air cooling system, or early air conditioning in the 1890s. He also created an electric power plant, which the city bought from him in 1917. What the utility company made in profits, they in turn used to invest in the city and continue to improve upon its structure. The advancements made the city popular to outsiders and they soon moved to enjoy technology and the nice city. While other cities were floundering during the Great Depression, Mesa grew due to projects funded by the New Era of FDR. This included the WPA, which built streets, a town hall, a library and a hospital. The town's infrastructure made it even more popular to many people outside of the area who had earlier resisted moving to an urban area. Coupled with the moderate climate, Mesa's population began to soar. Military operations were moved to Mesa in the 1950s and the 1960s, due to the climate and the availability of large parcels of land for testing weapons. Mesa continues to grow, largely in part to an aging population that likes to have the warm climate year round. There are still some military operations around, but not as many as in the past.
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