City of Tempe

City of Tempe Municipal Water Report Info

After Fort McDowell was established on the eastern side of central Arizona's Salt River Valley in 1865, pioneering farmers moved into the region. They rediscovered irrigation canals left by the ancient Hohokam people and constructed new ones to deliver Salt River water to their fields. Valley farms soon provided food to Arizona's military outposts and mining communities.

The first settlers in the Tempe area, south of the Salt River and east of Phoenix, were Hispanic families from southern Arizona. They helped build the first two irrigation canals, the Kirkland-McKinney Ditch and the San Francisco Canal, establishing small farms east and west of Tempe Butte. In 1872, some Mexican settlers founded a town called San Pablo east of Tempe Butte.

Another settlement, Hayden's Ferry, developed west of Tempe Butte. Charles Trumbull Hayden, a Tucson merchant, homesteaded this area in 1870. Within a few years, he had established a store, flour mill, warehouses, and blacksmith shops along with a ferry service. This community became the trading hub for the southern Salt River Valley.

Both settlements grew rapidly and eventually merged. The town was named Tempe in 1879 by "Lord" Darrell Duppa, an Englishman who established Phoenix. The butte, wide river, and surrounding green fields reminded him of the Vale of Tempe in ancient Greece.

As more farmers settled in the Valley and began growing hay and grains for livestock feed, the Tempe Irrigating Canal Company provided essential water. With canals extending several miles south of the river, irrigation water reached over 20,000 acres of farmland. Wheat, barley, and oat crops ensured steady business for the Hayden Mill, with processed flour transported to forts and settlements throughout the territory.

By the 1890s, farmers began cultivating new cash crops like dates and citrus fruits. In 1885, the Arizona legislature selected Tempe as the site for the Territorial Normal School to train teachers. The Maricopa and Phoenix Railroad, built in 1887, connected Tempe to the national transportation network. The Tempe Land and Development Company formed to sell lots in the growing town, making Tempe an important commercial and transportation center for the agricultural area.

Roosevelt Dam's completion in 1911 guaranteed sufficient water for Valley farmers. Former President Theodore Roosevelt, on his way to dedicate the dam, praised central Arizona residents' achievements and predicted their towns would become prosperous cities. Less than a year later, Arizona became the 48th state, with the Salt River Valley poised to become the Southwest's new population center.

Tempe remained a small agricultural community through most of its history but began growing rapidly after World War II as veterans and others relocated there. Local farms quickly disappeared through expansion, and by 1974, the city had reached its current boundaries. The small teachers college also expanded, becoming Arizona State University in 1958.

Tempe's Mill Avenue commercial center declined during these years but was revitalized following the city's 1971 centennial into an entertainment and shopping district attracting visitors from throughout the Valley. Today, Tempe is Arizona's eighth largest city, with a robust modern economy based on commerce, tourism, and electronics manufacturing.